MANY MANY CLIENTS
The success of a song is frequently measured by how relatable it is, especially when the music video complements the song so well. MANY MANY CLIENTS by Esojay Luciano is one such song for me, with a catchy chorus and a well-complemented music video directed by Justin Caspar. They met through a mutual friend and have been making magic together ever since, with about 4 visual projects completed in a year and more to come.
I first heard MANY MANY CLIENTS while watching its music video, and by the end of it, I was filled with so many positives, such as how the theme of the video and song matched, the swagger and mannerism of the Esojay Luciano in interpreting the lyrics, and so on.
All of this compelled me to contact Esojay and Justin in order to provide an exposé of both creatives, as well as some of the challenges encountered while creating the music video, how they dealt with it, and so on.
Esojay described his music as aspirational, encouraging his listeners to work hard in order to achieve a certain level of social prestige and material success, and his song MANY MANY CLIENTS perfectly fits this description. It is important to note that Esojay’s musical style is defined, and as such, he is aware of the type of audience he is attempting to reach and attract, and this makes it easier to work with Esojay Luciano.
Justin Caspar is a film director and a storyteller, who is consistently looking to work with emerging musicians and creatives with unique stories to tell. Justin had this to say about Esojay below;
For me, I think his music is very relatable, especially at this time when everyone is hustling. He does hustle music. Working with Esojay is interesting because he’s aware of what he wants so it’s easy for him to decide fast and that’s important.
Justin Caspar went on to describe ESOJAY as a prolific musician who is hardworking, pays attention to detail, and enjoys his wordplay on songs. When asked about his directorial style and his source of inspiration, Justin had this to say
I draw my inspiration from things that excite me; my style is noir/lifestyle film. Most of the scenes I create are inspired from crime drama movies that I grew up watching. I try to tell stories in the way I see it, not (the) common view. It’s almost metaphorical but the meaning can be interpreted in different ways. I believe art is subjective to the person absorbing it.
Esojay described a unique challenge during the music video shoot in the form of poor technical know-how in handling some of the equipment (a RED camera) for the shoot. This resulted in a poor and slow first day of the shoot. Justin went on to say that about halfway through the shoot while filming the fire explosion scene, some government officials arrived to shut down the scene and the video shoot.
They were able to handle these challenges…
- By keeping their shoot schedule flexible (rather than rigid). They added two days to their original schedule to account for the time spent figuring out how to use the equipment they had.
- Rather than spending more time learning how to use the RED Camera, they chose to work with a less expensive Sony camera with which they were already familiar.
- To avoid being shut down again, they had to pay for a written police grant as well as a police officer stationed at the shooting location.
Justin went on to say that shutting down the music video shoot would have happened anywhere, regardless of location, as long as the authorities were not informed, because that’s how the system works in Nigeria. Despite the challenges, they were able to complete 70% of the music video treatment.
To Justin Caspar, challenges and experiences like these serve as motivation, which supports his claim that he draws his motivation as a film director from his country Nigeria, specifically how Nigeria fits into the global scene. In the near future, he hopes to be able to tell local stories in fresh and exciting ways that highlight Nigeria’s strengths.
To work with Justin Caspar, a standard music video will cost you about ₦3.5M, which includes television and online promotions. Once payments have been confirmed, and the video treatment ready, it will take 3 weeks for the final release of the music video.
At BOREDHOUSE, we love music, especially music created by musicians and creatives or enjoyed by Nigerians, Africans, and the African diaspora. You can watch the music video for MANY MANY CLIENTS here, and keep an eye out for Esojay Luciano new single, which will be released next month, featuring MOJO, a top emerging musician out of Nigeria, Africa.
