Back in the day, local music and real life stories would only be heard on radios and the images of those singing and narrating would remain a mystery. Gone are those days when all local music would only be heard on radio, leaving singers and narrators to our imagination.

In Rwanda, a large number of upcoming artists and actors are seeking promotion. However, getting their songs and plays on air is one of the greatest challenges they face.

This can only be achieved through music videos, documentaries or adverts, a thing that gives rise to the importance of the firsthand man behind the scenes who makes the video, the cinematographer.

Yakobo Ibrahim, a.k.a Yaks, is a professional cinematographer and photographer currently working at Simpro SARL, whose passion is video shooting.

"I realised this dream when I was in my senior four vacation in Uganda, that I would make a good cinematographer. So with the help of my brother, I worked it out successfully,” says Ibrahim.  He has worked with different media houses like Simpro SARL, Alpha Media and Mnet’s Studio 53.

In the year 2004, he started shooting professional videos. This further charted him to work with Mnet Africa in the shooting of Studio 53, a show about African places and culture.

"Shooting and producing documentaries, music videos, wedding videos as well as company adverts, have become part of my lifestyle,” he said.

Young Dreams and Casanovas ‘Ishotagi’, a local Rwandan hip-hop song as well as Armani Martin’s ‘Humura’, are just a few of his most recent creations.

When asked what lies behind his success as a cinematographer, Ibrahim said it was not only a one man’s show, but also teamwork.

"You have to be a team player in order to produce quality. While you are shooting a scene, there must be other people who are dealing with the reflectors, lights, costumes, make-up, scene arrangement and a lot more,” the cinematographer explained. As a result for the great love he has for his job, Ibrahim will do whatever he can to produce better quality videos.

"You learn new creative skills every time you shoot a different scene,” he said. Other than shooting videos, Ibrahim is a photographer who is down to earth and loves cracking jokes with his friends.

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