By Jose Carrillo

Since my goal is to work as a Creative in an advertising agency, I’ve been allowed to tag along on production shoots learning from the “Head of Production” and “Art Director” on set. Every week (so far) there has been a shoot and every shoot has gone past closing time at the office. I’m not complaining about the time, since these shoots tend to be the moments I learn the most from seeing “Art Directors” work in person, and all the intricate details that are at times needed to be included within the final collection of work. A major plus is the accommodation of food and drinks. For these production days, I’ve driven to Osu and Jamestown (my first week here) and was most recently given the pleasure of attending a shoot in the Medina markets.

“Crowded” doesn’t even begin to describe the aura in Medina. The air was filled with different scents. Fish, chicken, fruit. Anything you could think of. The sidewalks were filled with makeshift carts selling food, or people walking around balancing tubs of drinks on their heads or holding boards filled with accessories. While it was somewhat overwhelming, spending the entire day in these markets helped me get even more used to the way of life here in Accra. I loved that I was able to see Accrans maneuver their daily life. However, the best part? Watching the production team interact with the people in the market in order to have them participate in the shoot. The process was really intriguing to watch. Seeing the casual, meaningful connection being made between two people was
beautiful. Once the merchants or customers agreed, seeing a swift transition to professionalism while keeping it light hearted to keep them comfortable for the photos was honestly a sight to see.