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Coming up with a concept for “No Be Money”?

I think it was relatively easy coming up with the concept. "No Be Money" is a very catchy, mellow pop song that lent itself well to the idea of a cute, animated story. All we had to do was figure out what random events occurred to a girl walking down the street singing about how material things are not that important to her. As we listened to the song, the scenario just kind of laid itself out.

How many days, hours and cups of coffee?

We-ell…several. There were unexpected bumps on the road. It's our first animated music video so we were learning as we went along. Luckily for us, we started pretty early and even then we still almost didn't make it! Hehe! It's a good thing we have some pretty stubborn individuals working here!

Who were the key players in the team?

The script and art direction came from Bibi Ukpo (Yellow Dog Creative Director) and character design and all animation was handled by Nsikak "Paps" Ifet. For the Live action sequences the credits are: Art Direction: Yellow Dog, DP: Dayo Oyedele, Post Production: Tunde Anjorin

What's your take on animated videos in Nigeria at the moment?

There's room for more. Animation is a marginalized art form which is a shame because it's a great medium that allows us to express things that live action is simply too constrained to capture.

There are actually some amazing Nigerian animators. I really hope more of their work will come to light soon.

Please give us a little breakdown of the process?

 I think different outfits probably have different processes but here's how ours worked:

We already knew that the client wanted a Power Puff Girl style of art and so we started with character design. We used the artist and members of her production crew as our cast and designed a series of characters based on them in that art style.

Next we put together a script based on the song content and length keeping in mind the animation style we were using. We then went into storyboarding to see if the script worked. The script was modified a bit more and additional characters were designed. Once we were satisfied it was doable, the animation process began which involved its own process of background and object design, motion cycles etc.

Things kept changing as we went along so we had to stay fluid and open-minded. For us, the important thing was a coherent and holistic end product that would leave people with a sort of light, cheerful feeling. I’d like to think we were able to do that.

Who came up with the characters and what was the reaction when presented?

It was a music video starring the artist so her character was no real surprise.

Team members of Knighthouse Entertainment may have been surprised to see their cameos when we presented the concept to them. Lol! They accepted them wholeheartedly and were very supportive. They've always been a visible presence in her videos anyway and we didn't see why that should stop with the animation. All other characters including the Simpson St girls, Chief Commander (her boyfriend) and the alien were figments of our imagination! 

Advice for anyone who knocks your doors requesting for an animated video . . .

One major piece of advice: Lead-time! Animation is a very painstaking process that can't and shouldn't be knocked out in a few days. The best ones take time so always come several months ahead of your release date for the best results.

Who or what is Yellow Dog?

Yellow Dog is the hive mind behind alternative and occasionally subversive creative content that has been cropping up on the Nigerian scene since 2005. We made the Mo'Cheddah "No Be Money" Video and other cool things that you should check out. www.yellowdognigeria.com

Any last words?

Viva El Perro. (Long Live the Dog).