Shiloh Godson: Making Pleasurable Soundtracks in Nollywood

A wealth of creative minds has continued to make the Nollywood industry memorably pleasant. One such mind is Shiloh Godson, a Sound Designer and Founder/Composer of Hush Sounds. In this tele-interview with Rebecca Ejifoma, he shares his small wins, current projects in the US, and plans for movie enthusiasts.

There are film producers and there are directors. There are casts and there are scriptwriters. But not many know that there is a Shiloh Godson. He is an enthusiastic sound designer, who serenades movie enthusiasts with rich and delicious soundtracks. While he may not be your regular screen god or crush, he is one of the many magic fingers behind the sweet memories movies have left in your mind’s eyes. 

Over time, Shiloh has carved a marvellous niche for himself having been in the movie space officially since 2019. This has helped him to exercise his dexterity in 13 movies in Nigeria and two in the US. “I’ve done 10 films this year. For context, five films in a year are regarded as a lot. I was speaking with my friend, Michael Truth. We laughed that five films in a year are a lot for a filmmaker,” he giggled.

The movies include Blackmail, Badamasi Portrait of a General, the Johnny Jackson’s Story, Money Miss Road (documentary), and Date Night among others.

Indeed, Shiloh, as he is fondly called, is not backing down any time soon. This is because he enjoys working on films. He chuckled, “Some films I’ve worked on were simply amazing. It’s fun knowing I can change people’s emotions simply by adding a bit of colour through everyday sounds, music, or even weird noise. Most films I’ve worked on were with some of my best buddies and they were fun of course.”

Arguably, as dialogue to drama engages the audience so is sound massaging to viewers and listeners. And the Hush Sound boss subscribes to this notion. “Sound is 50 per cent of the movie. 50 per cent of the entire story comes through sound,” he emphasised. “Imagine writing this piece and 50 per cent of the words were randomly yanked off, it becomes gibberish. That’s how important sound is.”

Writing music for films starts hard for every composer, the sound editor acknowledged. “Each film starts with a blank page. We never reuse previous ideas or tunes; it’s new for every film”. He told THISDAY, “Time has always been a major constraint. It still is a challenge at this moment. Even some months ago while writing the music for Johnny Jackson’s story, I wrote the score for Mr Greg’s scene the same evening after having an interview about the project.” 

Shiloh also emphasised how demanding filmmaking could get. “Honestly, it’s been a real issue, especially for those of us in the film industry, for context, from April to July, I was at my desk for 14 to 16 hours every day nonstop, and at some point writing music and sound designing shifts from being nonstop fun to being work with some flashes of fun.”

Sharing insights on major projects he has been part of, he reminisced. “It’s different for every film. Blackmail was loads of fun for us because it was filmed in a lockdown. We had to create depth with sound. And I’m a sucker for violence in films, I enjoy seeing people beat themselves up.”

Although the sound designer concedes that his track record is a long way from here, he hopes to strike the right notes soon. “A fun accomplishment is that I’m currently writing a film score with the best vocalist I’ve ever heard. I’ve wanted to work on a film with her for a long time. Hopefully, it comes out as a nice score.”

Even Shiloh has been positively influenced. “I’ll say the person who has influenced me most in filmmaking is Obi Emelonye. When I met him, I didn’t even know what sound design or soundscape was,” he said gleefully. “He has also had an impact on my personal life. That’s when he’s not threatening me,” he chuckled.

As an ardent soundtrack connoisseur, Shiloh has scored four films this year and is currently writing one of them. He is also working on two US films and one Nigerian movie.

Interestingly, Shiloh doesn’t only have a knack for creating pure sounds, he also has a beautiful sense of humour that could trip his listeners any time any day.