How I’m Pioneering Nollywood’s Trailer Creation Niche ~ Ebuka E. Nzeji

In Nollywood, finding a niche and thriving in it is no ordinary feat. For a passionate storyteller and editor like Ebukah Emmanuel Nzeji, the journey into professional trailer editing has neither been straightforward nor predictable. From humble beginnings at Royal Arts Academy to a formative experience in a British Council creative enterprise program, Nzeji’s path has been marked by resilience, risk-taking, and a determination to create something groundbreaking.

As a pioneer of trailer editing as a full-time profession in Nollywood, Nzeji recounts in this interview a story of perseverance, rejections, and breakthroughs. Through a combination of storytelling, sound design, and marketing skills, he has carved out a space for himself in a largely uncharted niche, overcoming industry skepticism to earn recognition from major brands and filmmakers. The organisations he has worked with include The British Council, Unilever Nigeria, and United Nations, and he has made trailers for films including Biodun Stephen’s Deafening Silence, Tolu LordTanner’s The Artifact, Emem Isong Misodi’s Dance With Me, and Abimbola Olagunju’s Wòkè.

Nzeji describes his editing process as “fluid” and “eclectic”.

How and why did you get into trailer editing?

It all started in 2017 when I just finished from Royal Arts Academy where I studied film editing. When I was done, they wanted to retain me in their studio. I said I wanted to hit the streets and hustle in the industry and get experience on the road. I wanted to be a road man, trying to do things by myself. So I did that for a whole year, between 2017 and 2018. In late 2017, I had what looked like a bit of success. I was editing for a popular musician, Ade Bantu. He treated me like a brother. I did that gig for a bit, but along the line, the person who served as the middleman between the musician and I owed me a lot of money, so I had to stop working with him.

By 2018, I was left hanging. I feel 2018 was the worst year of my life. I was left in “the streets”, practically trying to survive Nollywood on my own. I started going out, attending festivals, and meeting people. A friend of mine, Ottah Osondu (a Screenwriter) and I would link up with several people who thought to work with us. At the end of the day, those guys played us by not paying after we wrote documentaries, series, and game shows for them. I was also having serious problems with the person I was squatting with at the time, so it was really challenging. I was going through all these emotional and psychological problems while navigating my career.

Around December 2018, I was coaxed by my friend from film school days, Stella Okeafia, to apply for a creative enterprise program organised by the British Council. It was a first of its kind in Africa and I didn’t believe I would enter the program because of the way Nigeria is – You might not get picked unless you have [a connection with] someone inside, so I hesitated. My friend called again to remind me two weeks later. She kept on insisting and pressuring me till I finally registered. What I didn’t know was that it was about to be a game changer for me.

By December 18th, 2018, I received an email from the British Council that I had been selected from over 3000-plus entries across Africa to be a part of that program. One of the criteria for the program was that I was to present a series of business ideas that could function in Nollywood. Some guys from South Africa and the UK were our facilitators, and there were some Nigerian mentors as well. It was in the course of that program that someone I wasn’t expecting called me and told me I should consider creating a trailer company—God bless him wherever he is now. Immediately, my brain just opened. It was like God had been trying to speak to me about it, but I wasn’t listening. I thanked the guy and began my research, and my pitch got me into the semifinals and finals until I was able to win a £1000 grant on March 30th, 2019. That was how I became the first person in the history of Nollywood to start a trailer company.

The big question was who was going to trust me? A lot of people – like Frank Donga, Zulu Oyibo of Inkblot, and Michael Williams of Ebony Life – were all encouraging me to keep pushing the brand and see what will come out of it. I tried my best and reached out to one of my mentors, Madam Ijeoma Onah, who eventually became my godmother in the industry. It took me two years of cold emailing to get her attention. Between 2019 and 2021, what I was doing was going for movies like James Bond and Knock Out Blessing and cutting a fan trailer for myself, especially when I felt the trailer was not well done. Then I’d show it to the director, but nobody was still willing to give me their trailers to make.

In 2021, Royal Arts Academy reached out to me to come to their studio and work with them–not as an intern, but as an actual professional— and I agreed because I needed some stable income. While working with them, I forfeited trailer editing to work for a living. One of the senior editors there, Uche Alexmoore, now a director-producer, mentioned that he had a trailer to make but he was tired and he didn’t really like making trailers. So I offered to make it and he told me to speak with Madam Emem Isong Misodi, the founder of Royal Arts Academy. Emem Isong said I would not be paid until they see what I do. When I made the first trailer, she didn’t like it but Uche showed me how she likes her trailers. By the time I did the second trailer, she liked it.

Uche told me that Madam Emem’s silence actually meant that she had accepted the trailer, because she didn’t give any further comments or corrections. And he said she’s a hard person to please with those kinds of things. That was how my confidence grew. My first payment ever for a trailer was around ten to twenty thousand Naira in 2021. Uche also told me that nobody in this industry pays separately for trailers, and that I would have issues with producers. I told him I’d try because I’m very defiant in the face of all these challenges. It’s safe to say that Uche Alexmoore and Emem Isong Misodi gave me my first shot at creating Trailers professionally, and I remain grateful to them.

Along the line, I started doing trailers, teasers, and promo videos for Royal Arts. By 2022, things came full circle as I kept on attending festivals and introducing myself to people as a trailer editor until an opportunity came. By then I had done a lot of trailers for short films and upcoming brands. In September 2022, I went to the Nigerian International Film Summit organized by Ijeoma Onah and that was where I met Preye Augustine, a fast-rising producer who was searching for a trailer editor. It was like a match made in heaven. That opportunity gave me my first cinema trailer gig. Today, if I’m counting, I’ve done up to six cinema trailers.

My career path caused the President of the Directors Guild of Nigeria, Victor Okhai to say I was actually the first person to come out in the industry as a “career Trailer Editor”. Other directors and producers, such as Zulu Oyibo, Emmanuel Eyaba, Tolu Lord Tanner, Yemi Daramola have admitted the same thing.

Why did you choose it as a career?

As a boy who watched a lot of Television, and movies whilst growing up, I have always been fascinated about how sounds were emotionally blended with visuals, but it was more of a fantasy then. Because I had still wanted to be an engineer or a scientist.

So the reason I chose Trailer creation as a career was because it was a path that I knew would employ most of my creative powers — and help me stand out.

I knew if I had to stand out in this film business I had to carve a niche for myself but what I didn’t know was that I already had a niche; I just wasn’t exploring it. I combined my skills as a storyteller, graphic designer, screenwriter, editor, and little film scoring experience. These, combined with the ability to market stuff are the skills I started using for Trailer creations. Creating Trailers is totally different from editing films.

I found out that there was actually nobody in this industry who was positioning themselves in that niche, and the reason was that there was this issue of scalability. How do you scale up such a business? But I took the risk. I’m someone who likes to take risks with money. I like to take risks in places where people seem not to find things viable. So far as I can see what other people are not seeing in that area, then I’ll just jump into it. So that was the reason why I made that leap into becoming a full-time trailer editor or creator. The rest is history and we’re still growing from strength to strength. I recently registered my brand with the CAC, and I am on the verge of registering it as an incorporated business.

How would you describe your artistry?

Fluid. It’s eclectic. I flow with my stream of consciousness and mostly don’t script Trailers I create.

Subjectively, when I am creating a Trailer, I sort of zone out of rationality and just let the process flow, even if it feels weird. Objectively, I watch the movie first, as a member of the audience. [The second time], I watch it again critically. I watch it again [a third time] just in case I missed out on anything. Then, I watch it again [the fourth time] as a form of one-for-the-road. Then I sit and close my eyes like I am meditating, and run my mind through an infinite library of possible sonic choices that I could use to create the sound design for the Trailer. Once my mind stops on sounds that could possibly work, I begin my search online for such sounds. Then I also try to imagine visuals that work best with my sonic choices.

Nowadays I have Trailer music creators I work with. Before, I usually spent long hours online searching for possible sounds that fit what I want. It’s a really tasking process but I enjoy doing it every time.

Who is the trailer music creator you work with, and how do you communicate your vision to him?

Emmanuel Obiejemba, a Trailer music creator based in Jos. We only began working together very recently. The main Trailer Music creator I have worked with over the years is a guy who prefers to be anonymous. To communicate my vision, I use mostly references and cues from my very basic knowledge of music terminology, to describe what I want.

Where do you see this particular niche of professional trailer editing in the next 5 years?

In the next five years, I see this professional Trailer creation niche getting even bigger. I see the reach of Starmark Studios—which is the brand name I’ve given to the Trailer creation company that I run now—spreading its tentacles beyond Africa as a whole. I see us creating Trailers that will stand out as equal to the best anywhere in the world. I also hope to see other young creative minds coming into the space. That’s what makes an industry; the coming of people into a space and bringing their own unique take on things. I really see that happening; It’s only a matter of time.

Five years ago, sometime in 2019, when I started out officially as a trailer creator, people didn’t really welcome me with open arms. A lot of people were doubting if this was actually going to work in Nollywood. But today, I’ve ended up doing jobs for brands like British Council, Unilever Nigeria, United Nations, and a handful of big filmmakers.

It just gets to show you that in the next five years, it’s only going to get bigger and better. I’d also like to do a lot of work with other African filmmakers. However, my sights are not just set on Pan-Africa, but also on a global scale. I know filmmakers from the Middle-East, Sydney, Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong, have their own guys but being able to get clients from those spaces will not be bad at all. I am geared towards scaling this business of Trailer creation to the highest possible level it can get to.

What mistakes did you make that you would advise someone who is just starting out in this field to avoid?

One of the mistakes I made when starting out as a trailer creator was that I didn’t put myself out there enough to let people know what I was doing. I wouldn’t say I was shy, but I was worried about what the reception would be like. A part of me just knew that people might not really receive this whole idea of having a niche for trailers. They don’t even pay the average editor that well, talk less of paying separately for trailers. In the industry, we don’t really have big studios that can actually afford that. These are the things that made me hold back a bit for a while.

In this piece, written by Fancy Goodman, One advice I would give any other person coming into this space is that they don’t hold back. They should put themselves out there, have a social presence, and a social life. Don’t be focused on just the craft alone, but try to put yourself out there. Also, don’t be worried about competition. I was worried about competition as well, because I thought people who were already established film editors might immediately want to switch and start competing with me. And it might just become a case of a bigger corporation swallowing up a smaller corporation. However, I eventually understood that healthy competition is good for the growth of an industry. So I had all those fears, doubts and worries, including impostor syndrome, but I managed to minimize their effects on me.