Revolutionising Multimedia: Gift Edah’s Innovative Approach to Creative Problem-Solving

Renowned Multimedia and Entertainment Technology Executive, Gift Edah, in this interview with Sunday Ehigiator, gives insight on how he is changing the game with his innovative approach to creative problem-solving. With over 200 landmark projects under his belt, Edah has established himself as a trailblazer in the industry. Enjoy excerpt

Take us through your journey of becoming a multimedia and entertainment technology executive?

It all started with my love for music. I remember that, as far back as 2002, I started experimenting with recording music using tape recorders (that’s the cassette tape players). 

This quest for recording knowledge led me to head the technical department at Redeemer’s University from the school’s inception in 2005 to 2009, when I was graduating. I attribute my foundation in multimedia to the amount of time and research we put into that department. 

I’ll say my first professional sound recording was in 2005 when Pastor E.A. Adeboye came on a visit to the University for his first ministration ever, and with the system I had put together, we were able to record that service and give it to him on a CD while he was leaving.

My journey into multimedia technology started with a love for recording and producing music. 

I grew to start doing assignments for mass communication department students, radio dramas, documentaries, voiceovers, and adverts, and then a department in the school, history and international relations led by Mopelola Ogunbowale (now a Professor at the University of Buffalo) needed a documentary featuring Prof Jide Osuntokun. 

At this time, we were doing all the shows, live sound productions, and recording artists using our crude methods until a friend of mine, Mayowa Tomori, introduced me to Ableton Live in 2008.

I would say that I graduated with two degrees, one in Computer Science and one in Multimedia technology. Because I was quite proficient at what I did, I handled most of the engagements for school, and we met up to every standard. 

I had successfully racked up an immeasurable amount of hours, completing meaningful projects. I eventually started my company in 2012. However, these experiences were the building blocks of the multimedia consulting service company I lead today.

How do you stay updated with the latest trends?

My path involves a lot of research and self-improvement. Till today, I believe that human capital development is one of the ways Nigeria can take its place in the League of Nations. 

So, I make it a point of duty to stay up to date. I’ve always been a research guy and experimented with many things. So, till today, my model for delivering solutions to clients is I use it first. I understand the strengths and limitations; I jokingly say, ‘Machines love me’ because I deeply understand hardware and software systems. 

I take my time with them. I read up all I can find. Now, there are a lot of tutorials that exist, but if the tutorial culture even exists today, I can lay claim to being one of the guys who worked with a company called Green Street Media from its inception; the owners of TechCity and pioneered reviewing gadgets in the African space, I handled sound production. 

We had grown from the school technical department to becoming the massive Ad Production agency it is today. Venturing into VR Productions and Live Streaming was born out of research. I stay up-to-date through constant and continuous research. I ask questions where I need to look for answers critically and where I have to.

What inspired you to push the boundaries of multimedia with these landmark initiatives?

I want to create or assist creatives to be their best, so I run a creative content support service. So when I am asked what I do, I say I support the creative and entertainment industry because that’s what it is. With the advent of Afrobeats, we’ve seen how arts and even sports can only be what they are today because of the media’s support.

The technological part of media is one mystery that not so many people have figured out or even understand. 

It’s always surprising when people find out that scripting and programming protocols go into things like controlling lights at events or even making some of the visuals you see, the computing power alone, the hardware requirements and practical areas where contemporary technological knowledge is applied. 

Every good director or media guy is a low-key computer engineer or real-life technology enthusiast because we all come into practice through our love of computing, music, or the creative arts. For me, it was all three.

So yes, doing 200-plus events in a year is probably because of the vast areas of expertise and experience that we possess across the board. The need for the service, perfection, or the need to enable creativity started driving me, and then it was modified to the need to do it properly. Now, we need to compete with the guys outside Nigeria, which we have done, and we need to chase perfection.

Walk us through your experience with leading cross-functional teams and providing innovative solutions?

I’ve had experience across different creative arts or media sectors. My experience getting things done on the ground helps me relate to my team members’ challenges, offering them viable ways to solve their problems. 

My ability to solve problems and provide insights allows my team to trust my direction. And this is what has helped me, you know, deliver innovative solutions across board.

How do you balance creative vision with technical expertise in your projects?

I’ve been trying to solve this entire life, creating a formula to help people translate their dreams from the creative world of forms to reality. The difference will be the access to information. 

The missing link between dream and reality will be access to information, your network of doers, your network of competent hands, all of which can be controlled by your budget and then your ability to carefully manage your production process or the creative process, which is your production management or your creative production management. 

These are the ways I balance my process: I can plan and strategise carefully, and I have a fantastic team of people who are now at the top of their game and who, for the proper budget, can get a lot done. 

I function well behind the audio consoles, video consoles, graphics design, photography cameras, videography cameras, etc. Being able to do all of these helps me show them what I see in my head in the language they understand.

What are some of the most significant challenges you’ve faced in your career, and how did you overcome them?

People need to talk about access to equipment and the logistics of getting the equipment in Africa, especially in Nigeria. We have not yet mentioned the role of the equipment distributors; back in the day, we bought gear and waited 1 to 3 months before it was delivered. 

So, whatever creative vision you have can be affected by the access to gear you have. I remember producing one song project for about eight to ten months, starting in February and finishing in October, so many months in between, and the project went live in November. 

So, the challenges I have faced stemmed from building and developing all of these segments, getting the right network for equipment, building the right networks to be able to finance the equipment, acquiring equipment, and building the right skills to be able to communicate your vision to your team and communicate your ambition to your clients. 

So, there have been numerous challenges, but we’ve consistently worked resiliently to surmount them. These challenges have enhanced my experience showing, teaching, mentoring, directing and providing opportunities within my team and with whatever projects that accommodates new guys. I can gladly say that I run one of the best training/Incubation hubs for Media professionals.

How do you approach problem-solving in complex multimedia projects?

I break the problem down into parts. I find out which needs a creative solution, which requires a financial solution, a logistics solution and a human asset solution. 

Once I know what, I begin to sort for the solutions across; for creative solutions, if I can’t provide the solution myself, I look for who can. For financial solutions, if I cannot find answers, I look for who can provide technological solutions. 

These technologies are available, and in some cases, like in the case of a game show I’m currently working on, the technology was not available when the show was started, and we waited so many years till the technology became available. So yes, I split them into parts and try to solve them at the unit level.

What role do you think technology plays in enhancing creativity and human development?

First, from its networking abilities, the ability to connect by just providing a repository of knowledge offers the solutions; I mean, all the knowledge I have now was acquired from mainly reading through technological mediums. 

Technology does a lot; it provides various kinds of support.  Technology enables us to express our abilities, from core tech guys to finance to multimedia. I’ve seen myself working now with tools to express, collect my thoughts, record, and transcribe my thoughts after transcription. 

With human input, I use technology to communicate, spread these thoughts, and assemble teams that bring thoughts to reality. I mean, all of these are done effectively, time-saving. And that’s really what technology can bring to the table.

Share your experience with global event management and live broadcasts?

An event is global if you have people from all over the world on your project; it’s global when you have people all over the world engaging with that project, Again from working live streams, working on live streams within the OB-Van at the Redemption camp Holy Ghost Service, to leading the technical team at the international conference, to creating live recordings that have been broadcasted at different events. 

Case-in-points to Dangote’s Birthday wish to Bill Gates, to handle global concerts like Outpouring Lagos and work with the team to design the back end of Outpouring in different other locations with Min. Dunsin Oyekan.

I have gathered some experience, including working across concerts in the UK. Documentaries for Google projects, also working with to document the impact documentary for the Malala Project in Nigeria has provided me with experience working with large teams, international teams, people who have been in the media long before we even started and also interacting with the standard ways of getting broadcast and media projects done.

How do you measure the success of Multimedia projects?

Many things can determine success; first, what are the set-out goals? Are we able to deliver what we said we would do? Were we able to surmount all the hurdles that presented themselves? Is our client satisfied? 

So once our clients are satisfied with us, we can overcome every hurdle without negatively impacting the environment or leaving any bad taste in anybody’s mouth, which can be very hard; we can say that we’ve successfully delivered the ideas. 

Once you are used to converting ideas to reality, you understand that success can be in the amount of time it takes or the satisfaction derived from the product of your creative endeavour.

What advice would you give to aspiring multimedia and entertainment technology professionals?

Know your craft; once you know your stuff 100%, you will always find room for expression. The world now needs so many creatives, so know your stuff and be willing to learn and unlearn. If you can delay gratification, it will help. Invest in your art, invest in your skill, and invest in talent.

Share your experience with developing and deploying custom technology solutions?

There are quite a number of them; I think one that comes to mind now is the recording system at King’s Court Ikeja; at the time, we were transitioning from tape-CD-based to internal sound card recording. 

At the time, we deployed the system to record 20 tracks using MOTU firewire hardware; it was the first of its kind in Nigeria because the recording was 50 feet away from the console. 

This was after working through my conventional audition, but they needed something to mix and apply effects. And that was quite intriguing and wonderful at the time. 

There are so many I don’t even know which to pick out, but that was a landmark for me because I think that was my first time working with a digital interface beyond 16 channels and deploying for a client was quite intriguing. This was in 2011, by the way.

Walk us through your process for leading and managing projects from conceptualisation to deployment?

Following what I mentioned earlier, we design and plan for what we want to do. We break down the components of what I need to find out, which is a new form, which is the technology form and which is in financial form, which would be hard work, creative work, and come up with a plan to engage and deliver all of them because everybody knows what they are doing. 

I generally almost always come up with the result I desire. Yes, there are other factors, what we call the Nigerian factors. But again, one of the beauties of doing what we do is working through the factors.

How do you prioritise and manage multiple projects simultaneously?

Honestly, this is always a challenge. However, I’ve realised that I can do this, which is one of the motivations that helps me create new professionals. I’ve learned to trust my team, so I’ve had to build a competent and reliable team. 

And I’ve learned to trust they will do what I’ve told them to do well. This is the only way I can now attend to the things that need my input. And that is how we can deliver for different people at different times, places, and time zones.

Share your experience with training and development in the media industry?

Many people want to be able to get things done, and they want to be valuable human beings and make good contributions to society. So, my experience has been helping them discover what they bring to the table. 

I’ve seen guys who come in to be sound engineers, being production designers. I’ve seen guys who come in as errand men becoming fantastic sound engineers. My experience is being able to help you bring out what is within. 

It’s pretty challenging because now we’ve had the epidemic of the get-rich-quick syndrome, so not many people can commit.

Share your experience with collaborations?

I approach collaborations or partnerships simply to deliver to clients what is in their best interest. I’ve had situations where I stepped out of my role, stepped out of my function, or went out of my way to deliver jobs because I believed my project was only as successful as the weakest link on the team. 

So, my job is to find that link and strengthen it.  I approach collaborations as we understand the strengths of our would-be collaborators, then try to focus on the aspects where they may not be strong or the aspects where you might need help. If I can put function efficiently, we will have a well-oiled machine.

What are your future plans and aspirations in the multimedia and entertainment technology industry?

I want to be one of the largest producers of competent hands globally. The world would be better if we had more people creatively telling meaningful stories. I want to help create these guys, the Navy SEALs of the entertainment and production industry. 

Once you have the team, you can pass whatever idea through the pipeline and results begin to come out; once I can do that, we can solve different problems creatively, delivering real-life reorientation solutions to the whole world. 

I also would love to own a very massive Hollywood studio someday. I don’t know how close that day is yet, but yes, we’re working actively towards it.