A study of style and factors motivating their selection in The films of Judy Kibinge and Simiyu Barasa

Abstract

This study investigated style in selected Kenyan films namely, Dangerous Affair (2004) and Project Daddy (2002) by Judy Kibinge and Toto Millionaire (2010) by Simiyu Barasa. The objectives of this study were to: Establish the collaborative effects of aesthetic styles applied in the films and the intended messages; Examine the impact of collaborative technical style adopted in the films on communication of meaning and finally, Determine the factors that influenced the choices of film styles applied in selected films. To achieve the objectives, the study was supported by the following research questions: What is the effect of collaborated aesthetic style adopted in the selected Kenya films on communication of intended message? What are the effects of collaborated technical styles deployed in the selected Kenyan films on communication of intended messages? Which factors affected the choices of film styles adopted in selected films? The study relied on the formalism theory by Arnheim Rudolf and Sergei Eisenstein (1964) which emphasizes on the manipulation of aesthetic and technical styles in encoding and decoding meaning in film. This study applied qualitative research design approach where observation and interviews were used as primary data collection methods. Literature review from the internet, journals and books formed secondary data. Thematic analysis was employed to examine the functional deployment of style by watching, analysing and clustering the elements of style used in the selected films and their effect on creation of meaning. The study established that there was inadequate collaboration of both aesthetic and technical styles in the studied film which impacted on effective communication by the films in terms of mood creation, taste, beauty and characters status establishment. Further, the study reveals that, lack of technical training on the part of film directors, technical crew and financial constraint influenced the choice of film styles deployed in the production of the films. It concludes that, the films understudy fairly attempted to collaborated style into their films to communicate intended meaning. The study proposes that the government and private sector should support the growth of Kenyan film industry both technically and financially. Whereas training institutions should endeavour to employ qualified staff in film-making study and incorporate theory and practical lessons in their curriculum to equip aspiring filmmakers with relevant skills. This study suggests that future research should consider finding out the ability of the audience in reading and understand of both aesthetic and technical styles in film.