At the Moment II

                                                              one of the blood wounds I experimented

A lot of people read the story 'At the Moment' 2 weeks ago and showered me with encouraging and inspiring words, for this I just want to say thank you! While on the 'battlefield' the thought that I had people who believed in me kept me going, its all incomplete without you all, thank you so much.

So, to continue the gist as I have gotten a lot of demand for it, day 3 till the final day was unbelievable on the set. You know, it’s easy to say:

Believe in yourself!

 Nothing is impossible!

"Whenever opportunities come,  even if you can’t handle it yet, say yes first and then go learn how to do it".

All these motivational quotes are quite easy to say but truth be told, its a whole different ball game when you get to the fore front, when it comes to practicing what you preach like really doing all these things we hear and say, its the ultimate test.

               

If you all remember clearly, the story was about how I suddenly got a call to be the official makeup artist on the set of a soap opera, ( oya  read “At the Moment” among previous posts for the full gist). Well, day 3 to the last day on set was simply put, a wild experience! Everyday was characterised with sleepless nights, being on my feet and always at alert for the word ‘dab’. ‘Dab’ is the word used to call the makeup artist to come wipe off sweat or oil from the face of the actor on set. Almost all the work clothes I took with me were stained with blood as I had to prepare my blood mixture a lot of times. At some point in between, I saw myself asking, “Ife Alonge, are you sure you can do this”?

                                           one time when I actually dabbed when they screamed 'dab' instead of

                                              running to the set with the face wipe and powder they needed

There were times when my makeup wasn’t good enough and the director or producer had to call me to order. There were times when I was queried for being absent at a time when I was supposed to be on ground. There were even times when I slept off during some night shoots and my director got angry at me. I remember when Producer had to teach me how to prepare stage sweat. In my 'jjc' mind, I had assumed all I needed to make someone look like they were sweating was just to spray on some water, but then I discovered the water dried up almost immediately. I got confused I didn’t know what to do and then she graciously came to my rescue and taught me just how to go about it; not without querying my competence though. But then again, there were times when the cast just couldn’t recover from the beauty of how my makeup came out. There were times when the director made statements like “Wow, this makeup artist keeps blowing my mind”. I remember when it was Bella Okojie’s scenes and I did her makeup, we had to beg her to wash it off at the end of the day and she just wouldn’t stop taking pictures. What of the time Jude Orhorha and Alex Osifo came around and told me of how impressed they were with my work. Then my producer herself never stopped singing of how envious she was at the way my box remained clean and organised all through the shoot.

                              Bella Okojie and us sharing some laughs when she wouldn't stop snapping her makeup

Deep down, I knew I was just a learner. Okay, let me deviate a little, I just have to say this here. A very interesting ‘somebody’ I met on set named Dapo Jubril (the exceptional set designer on the production set) stumbled on my blog and read my last post. No one on that set was supposed to know that it was my first job ever; that was supposed to be a secret between you guys and I. Anyway, he discovered my secret that I was actually a ‘jjc’ on the job and threatened me throughout my stay that I will be exposed. Of course he didn’t expose me eventually, he in fact told me of how impressed and inspired he was at my boldness. but then Dapo, stop being so nosy! lol.

                                  Jude Orhorha cracks me up every single time I try to do his makeup

Now back to the matter! Truth be told and again I say absolute truth be told, it’s not easy following your dreams. That experience sure wasn’t easy for me, it was a first and it was a challenging first; but here is the thing, it was a beautiful challenge.  All through the process, both in the good and bad times I realised I was never frustrated. It’s like finally getting to clean up your own room; the process of cleaning might have been stressful but then its my room at the end of the day, I'm the one who gets to enjoy it. Working on that set felt like home, I was working and I was enjoying it. The queries, corrections and shouts didn’t make me feel bad at all instead, I felt glad receiving them. I tell you guys, I'm trying so hard to explain the feeling, but I’m not sure I'm doing such a great job, you need to feel it for yourself. They say doing what you love is good, I say doing what you love is AWESOME!!! You should try it.

                                                            I told y'all I was feeling myself... winks.

In all, the past 2 weeks has been expository for me. I have learnt a lot about myself and movie production in total. I have challenged and released myself to God for Him to bless the works of my hands and He has done beyond my expectations. Today, I am grateful. For the chance I got to explore and experiment and still get paid while doing so. By the way, yea, I got paid, maybe not so hugely but oh well, I got paid for having fun. Plus, I enjoyed 3 square meals every day, transportation and accommodation was covered, there was someone on ground to serve our meals and then do the dishes and then someone else on ground to wash our clothes, common guys I was powerfully lounging. Lol.

                                    We had worked all day and were still on our feet by midnight, yet...

 

Try, you just try it. Like I always say, you don’t have to leave your job before you can try doing what you love to do, you can just try doing more with that talent, gift or hobby of yours than you are currently doing, just try!

                    This wonderful 'daddy' wouldn't stop encouraging and advising us all through when he was around..

 

 

Forgive my too many pictures guys, remember I said I would ‘famz’ the stars that were on set, oh well I was able to steal some time off to take funny shots with some of them and just had to share some. Thanks guys, see you next Tuesday!