Movie lovers who have seen Jagun Jagun, the Nigerian action thriller made by Femi Adebayo Salami, may not know that some structures in the movie are unreal. One of them that warrants a significant mention is Ogundiji’s mansion, a computer-generated CGI image, caught up with Davies David Enioluwa, the artist who did the work.
He told the story of how the mansion and other artificial additions to the movie were created using CGI and animations.
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He told the interviewer that he has always loved the creative arts since childhood. Davies said his career choice as an artist was influenced by his father, who is also an artist.
He stated: “I hail from Ibadan, Oyo State. I come from a family of four, which includes a younger sibling. My introspective nature has been a part of me since childhood. I’ve always been more of an observer and thinker than a talker. This disposition has shaped me into someone who values observation over constant speech. Interestingly, my father’s background as a visual artist greatly influenced my career path as a CG Artist.”
How Davies David became a artist Initially, Davies set out to study law at the University of Lagos, but later changed his mind. He told his parents he would like to switch to fine and creative arts, earning him three years of idleness at home. He refused to proceed to school to study law until he was allowed to enrol for fine arts.
He said : “My educational journey has taken me through several schools. During my upbringing, I attended three different primary schools and three secondary schools, which adds a bit of a humorous touch to my experiences. After completing my secondary education, I initially aspired to become a lawyer. I prepared for exams, including JAMB, and had commendable results. However, there was a moment when I was scheduled for an interview at UNILAG. Close to that day, I told my parents: “I don’t want to study law; I want to do fine art and become an artist.” Those were my exact words. Although this choice led to three additional years at home, I was resolute in my decision and willing to endure the delay to follow my passion. Ultimately, I secured admission to study fine arts and design at the Polytechnic Ibadan. I am immensely grateful for this opportunity, as it has led me to where I am today. Without this crucial step, I wouldn’t have realized my true potential and passion for art.”
Davies gets the opportunity to work on Jagun Jagun For Davies to have worked on the post-production of a big movie like Jagun Jagun was something he would never forget. He said he had always known that one day he would make his impact felt in a big movie. Davies told Legit.ng: “For me, working on a movie like Jagun Jagun was an experience that I have always imagined to happen. It felt like a manifestation of a long imagined experience. Although my work was post-production based, which means that I didn’t need to go on the set because what I do is majorly behind the screens (Computer). I have always wanted to be a part of projects like this, where I get to interpret someone’s idea and bring it to life, and I am glad I got to do that on Jagun Jagun.”
Challenges Davies faced while working on Jagun Jagun Of course, creating art for Jagun Jagun came with its own challenges. Davies said he embarked on extensive research to create what people could believe was real. He said: “First of all, every work of art in production has its challenges. Jagun Jagun is a big project and it also came with its own challenges, especially in my department. On this project, I worked hand in hand with the VFX team at Anthill Studios, which was led by Mr Niyi Akinmolayan, where I had to create most of the CG assets that were used in the film. Creating Ogundiji’s mansion was a lot of work because it wasn’t an ordinary one, nor was it common in that era. So I had to create something that was believable enough to make people think and agree that a mansion like that could have existed in that era.