







































AMA: Journal of Theatre and Cultural Studies 

116 

 

VISUAL INTERPRETATIONS OF MAGICAL EFFECTS 

IN NOLLYWOOD HORROR FILMS: A CRITICAL STUDY 

OF ERNEST OBI’SIDEMILI 

 

Ajiwe, Uchechukwu Chimezie  
Department of Theatre & Film Studies, 

Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. 

Email: uc.ajiwe@unizik.edu.ng 

Bature-Uzor, Nkechi A. Asiegbu 
Department of Theatre & Film Studies, 

University of Port Harcourt 

Email: nkechi.bature-uzor@uniport.edu.ng 

Abstract 

This paper looks at the way magical effects are used in 

communicating African ideologies in Nollywood Horror genres. 

Even though there have been recent attempts in some Igbo-

Nollywood movies and a few Yoruba movies in which special 

effects and visual effects (CGI) were combined to enhance the 

narrative. There is still much left to be explored on the quality of 

visual effects, computer graphics (CGI), animation and special 

effects used in Nollywood. This paper, therefore, hinged Eco 

Umberto's semiotic theory and used Ernest Obi’s Idemili(2014) in 

pinpointing the meanings as culturally bound in Igbo cultural 

realities in Nollywood Horror genres. In the end, this paper 

submits that the application of visual effects in distorting images 

to create iconic horrific images communicates meanings that are 

easily understood by its audience. 

 

Visual effects, Computer Generated Images, Nollywood, Horror 

genre, Semiotics 

. 

 

Introduction 

mailto:nkechi.bature-uzor@uniport.edu.ng


Ajiwe & Asiegbu Bature-Uzor: Visual Interpretation of Magical effects in Nolly… 

117 

 

Nollywood narratives are believed to have come to the limelight 

with the debut of a horror movie titled Living in Bondage directed 

by Kenneth Nnebue. Much later, other horrific narratives that are 

categorized within the same genre were produced. There are other 

genres embedded with horrific images and sound effects, genres 

like ritual and some epic movies. However, these narratives were 

filled with some horrific images with it’s accompanied by eerie 

sound effects that elicit tension, and fear but x-rays the Igbo 

cultural ideologies. The images are manipulated through photo 

tricks, which is evident in the disappearing act of the ghost 

character of Merit. Recent Nollywood Horror Films such as 

KunlenAfonlayan’sAnikulapo, Rampson Noah’s Living in 

Bondage: Breaking Free(2019), Nneka the Pretty Serpent (2020), 

with some earlier 2014& 2015 movies such as Ernest 

Obi'sCalabash and Idemili which have elements of horrific effects 

in the films exhibited a much-enhanced technology in the 

application of visual effects and Computer generated images. 

          There is no doubt that Nollywood films are embedded with 

socio-cultural ideologies. Nollywood films have made a positive 

impact in promoting the image of Nigerian culture, and society at large 

to the world. Unfortunately, there are other elements such as the use of 

sophisticated special effects, visual effects and sound effects to enhance 

the efforts of the characters projected by the actors. Though there have 

been recent attempts in some Igbo-Nollywood movies and a few Yoruba 

movies in which special effects and visual effects (CGI) were combined 

to enhance the narrative. There is still much left to be explored on the 

quality of computer graphics (CGI), animation and special effects used 

in Nollywood.   

 Film’s visual language in recent times transcends filming of 

natural objects to communicate to the audience. Thus, critical 

accounts of filmic codes tend to differ in the ways they are broken 

down, or categorized for analysis, which is based on the film’s key 

communicative procedures. All film narratives hold simple objects 

that represent the ideas of their creators. These objects or marks 

stand for an idea or series of ideas. These objects are 



AMA: Journal of Theatre and Cultural Studies 

118 

 

representations of real-life images and scenarios. Roland Barthes 

emphasizes that film is not to reproduce reality; the reconstruction 

is not an attempt to imitate the concrete aspect of the original 

object, but a simulation, a product of technology. Of course, these 

objects are creatively imbedded in the creation of a film narrative 

which are signs of social and cultural values. These messages 

(basically anything from making a phone call, waving of hand or 

the clothes we wear) are based on codes and culturally defined 

systems of relationship. Barthes claimed that there is only one 

exception to the rule "no message without a code": the 

photographic image, because it shows us something reproduced 

without human intervention (using a mechanical-chemical 

process). This idea has been much criticized, particularly after the 

breakthrough of digital photography which seriously challenges 

photography's earlier ontological status.  Jia(2014)explains that the 

development of visual symbol language in modern times not only 

transcends the traditional drawing and design field but involves 

dynamic advertisement, film, television, and animations. The form 

and transmission of visual symbols with typical image features 

arguably have gone to the front and centre of human civilization 

landscape and the two elements play a more and more important 

role in information and cultural communication. 

 Film Semiotics has been defined as the production of 

meaning through composition, which is a representation of cultural 

realities. Eco Umberto widens the subject and role of semiotics in 

the exploration of reality of human existence when he writes that, 

“semiotics is concerned with everything that can be taken as a sign. 

A sign is everything which can be taken as significantly 

substituting for something else. This something else does not 

necessarily have to exist or to be somewhere at the moment in 

which a sign stands in for it” (Eco, 1976, p. 7). Moreover, it can be 

visualized as an approach to a wide variety of systems of 

signification and communication or it can be visualized as a 

description of those various systems focusing on their mutual 



Ajiwe & Asiegbu Bature-Uzor: Visual Interpretation of Magical effects in Nolly… 

119 

 

differences or their specific structural properties such as the 

transformation from verbal language to gestures or from visual 

images to body positions. It can investigate those various systems 

either at the elementary level of their sequential units such as 

words, colour spots, and sounds or at the more complex level of the 

texts which is, narrative structures or figures of speech (Eco, 1977). 

 Filmic codes are a form of technical code because filmic 

equipment is needed to create them, e.g. cameras, microphones, 

lighting, etc. In semiotics there are three basic types of signs and 

codes: 

• Iconic signs and codes are created to appear exactly like the 

thing they represent, e.g. an image of a Bird looks like – signifies 

– a bird. But… importantly, iconic codes always act to represent 

more than the thing itself, e.g. when we see an image of a cowboy, 

our culture associates ideas of toughness and action with this 

particular iconic code (which also acts to reinforce what 

masculinity ‘means’ in our culture – an ideological meaning). 

• Indexical signs are different. They are signs that are 

physically connected with the object. They have a logical, 

common-sense connection to the thing or idea they represent. Their 

interpretation takes a little longer than iconic signs since we learn 

them through our everyday experiences (Jacqueline, (1983, p.136). 

They act by indirectly “pointing” or suggesting what they mean by 

acting as ‘cues’ to existing knowledge, e.g. smoke signifies fire, 

sweating suggests hotness or exercise. These codes are a kind of 

media shorthand. They are very common and useful to media 

producers. Based on a phenomenological understanding of the 

semiotic term index, Jockenhövel furthermore agrees with Bazin’s 

understanding of “realism”, by dismissing the classical concept of 

the “representation of reality” and instead focusing on the results 

of experiencing a (possible) reality—an “illusion of reality.” 

• Symbolic codes act as signifiers of meaning disconnected 

from what they denote, e.g. a red heart shape acts only to symbolize 

love; a white dove symbolises peace; red symbolises danger, power 



AMA: Journal of Theatre and Cultural Studies 

120 

 

or sexuality, white symbolizes innocence, etc. Jacqueline 

(1983,p.136), states that “Symbolic signs stand for something 

through a process of consensus. They have no logical connection 

and so have to be taught. These signs are greatly influenced by 

social and cultural considerations symbols may be complex but 

once the meanings are learned, they are less subject to idiosyncratic 

interpretation.” As Lester (2000) puts it, symbolic signs usually 

evoke stronger emotional responses from viewers than the other 

types of signs because the symbols have deep roots in the culture 

of a particular group. In communication production and reception, 

the meaning of signs may shift from one type of sign to another as 

the communication act progresses. An important realization is that 

the meaning a code communicates is always culturally determined, 

i.e. we learn the meaning as we grow up in a particular group, 

society or culture, e.g. the national flag means much more than its 

denotation of a piece of coloured cloth; it also acts to connote 

patriotism and pride. An important filmic and media code is the 

enigma code which works by creating an intriguing ‘question’ that 

the media text will go on to answer. Cinema trailers and posters use 

enigma codes to tempt the viewers.  

 In the words of Siu See Mei, (2013)explained that some 

movies take us to an exhibition hall, and others take us through the 

corridors of the interconnected rooms. We can find access routes 

between different cities and villages in these movies, but we can 

see different spatial and temporal origin elements juxtaposed and 

interacting (p, 27). Thus, meaning comes out of an interaction 

between the message and its reader (viewer). While watching and 

studying a film text, one must consider not only its structural 

components but also the relation between those components, all the 

impression it has created and the techniques used for creating such 

impressions as well. When the images urge us to react, we are 

aware of their effect upon us, which is resulted from myths, 

ideologies and connotations embedded in the images. Thus it is 

through a detailed and critical semiotic analysis that the meaning 



Ajiwe & Asiegbu Bature-Uzor: Visual Interpretation of Magical effects in Nolly… 

121 

 

of a film narrative from the obvious ones could be derived. Film 

semiotics deconstructs the communicative message in a film 

narrative while attending to its meaning and ideology. 

 Nollywood through the film medium promotes African 

cultural traditions and develops authentically African film forms by 

creating mythical characters and objects that seem real but are a 

symbolic manifestation of the filmmakers' mind. As such, these 

mythical images are surrealistic. African film narratives are 

populated by the engagement of various film genres and mystical 

characterization beyond the realms of plausible human, animal and 

inanimate activities. These images are created with the use of CGI, 

such as animals depicted mystically which sometimes may be 

abstract, and often symbolic. They are characters such as humans 

with magical or supernatural powers like we see in the film Ijele as 

the protagonist possesses the power of the gods, inanimate objects 

with mythical abilities populate film narratives in Africa.  

The Nollywood film industry has undergone tremendous 

changes that reflect increasingly globalized issues which project 

African cultural values, thereby telling the history and cultural 

backgrounds of diverse cultures. To a great extent, Nollywood has 

been utilizing Nigerian cultural values in portraying their world 

views. In so doing, they tell their stories from their perceptions. 

Thus, the early epic, ritual, supernatural, and witchcraft films have 

exceedingly set a standard that till today is yet to be forgotten in 

films such as Igodo(1999), Ijele(1999), Evil Passion (2010), Evil 

Men (2015), Nneka the Pretty Serpent (1992), Battle of Musanga 

(1996), Egg of Life(2003)and several others. The later films which 

have been referred to by Charles Okwuowulu (2015) as New 

Nollywood, and some of these films include Idemili(2014), 

Calabash (2015), python Girl (2016), and several others, tend to 

show that there has been improvement in the use of CGI in 

Nollywood film narrative. In this regard, Enna, Idakwo & Akpovye 

(2015, p.177) submit that the contents of some of these films “are 

latched with magical stunts, ritual and witchcraft scenes, and 



AMA: Journal of Theatre and Cultural Studies 

122 

 

extreme belief in the supernatural, have the propensity to interpret 

Nigeria’s worldview externally. They are expressed through 

symbols and items like shrines, statues, drawings, clothes of special 

colours (red, black and white), and extra-mundane communication 

and dramatic actions like incantations and diabolism. The purpose 

for these may be good or evil, depending on who uses them.”  

In this respect, Ekwuazi (1991) sees these film images as a 

cultural index; cultural reflectors, a socializing agent and therefore 

the instrument of cultural dynamics” (as cited in Alawode, 

Uduakobong, 2013, p.22).Haynes(2011, p.82) in his write up 

African Cinema and Nollywood, states that; 

 

videos constantly address the problems of Nigerian society 

through a whole repertoire of genres and symbolic 

complexes. A deep and wide moralism is inextricably 

bound up with almost all its products—bound up 

intimately even with its constant displays of garish, 

meretricious wealth. This moralism is directed at 

individual and social behaviour and so, arguably, obstructs 

proper ideological thinking and hence is conservative 

(Adesokan, “Practicing ‘Democracy’ in Nigerian Films”). 

The myriad stories about money rituals, which have been 

a hallmark of Nollywood thematics since Living in 

Bondage, can be taken as a sign of superstitious 

backwardness; but they can also be seen as a powerful 

symbolic figure for and critique of Nigeria’s predatory 

ruling class, whose acquisition of unearned oil wealth 

through opaque politico-economic processes organized 

around murderous cartels is indeed occulted from public 

view, if not an occult phenomenon in a magical sense 

(Haynes, “Nnebue”). Such are the kinds of issues facing 

an interpreter of this film tradition. African cinema and its 

critics have not had difficulty understanding one another, 

for the most part; they have been partners in a joint project, 



Ajiwe & Asiegbu Bature-Uzor: Visual Interpretation of Magical effects in Nolly… 

123 

 

articulated in complementary dimensions. But there are 

deep differences between the purposes and mentalities of 

most of the video filmmakers and the academics writing 

about them, and therefore more necessary work of 

interpretation. 

In this regard, Alawodeand Uduakobong(2013, p.22) states that 

“Ekwuazi further explains that the film constitutes an industry 

whose production is directly ideological.”This implies that visual 

effects in the Nollywood video film narrative seek to portray 

images from the filmmaker’s perception of the Nigerian 

worldview. And as such, the film seeks to sell what it wants its 

audience to understand and what it wants its audience to imbibe. 

This is why it is pertinent to view the video as an image maker for 

Nigeria. Adenugba further opines that as “film is a popular culture 

and as expected, it must mirror, recreate and tell stories of the 

societies in which it subsists. The Nigerian film industry is no 

exception.” These images are not just seen as forms of 

entertainment, but as Ernest-Samuel (2012, p. 54) described; 

 

means of preservation, presentation, and promotion of 

indigenous arts and culture of the people. This perhaps, is 

very true of the video film, which is now believed to be the 

most popular of all arts in Africa. Until the development of 

the Nigerian video film industry, the more popular films 

from nations like America, India and China enjoyed great 

patronage in Nigeria. This explained and Bollywood actors 

and actresses were greatly loved and admired by Nigerians. 

On this note, Okwuowulu, C. (p.104) expresses that 

“Nollywood films have failed to harness both the dramatic and 

technical narrative forms of semiotics for effective 

communication. This gives rise to the stereotypical and archetypal 

interpretative nature of Nollywood films.” In this regard, Alamu 



AMA: Journal of Theatre and Cultural Studies 

124 

 

hinges Nollywood’s failure as described by Okwuowulu on the 

producers who provide the funds to procure good equipment for 

filming. Therefore, modest budgets have also led to the production 

of films lacking in special effects, CGI and digital visual effects. 

He thus advises that;  

 

Given that the esoteric world of the supernatural is a 

common theme in Nigerian films, filmmakers should create 

a unique way of presenting these phenomena to enhance 

their realism, perhaps by following the example of 

Hollywood films that deal with the same themes or with 

science fiction. Mastering high-level computer-generated 

images(CGI), which enables technicians to create 

characters, objects and settings that are composites of real 

images, can provide additional assistance. Nigerian 

filmmakers should look into the production of animated 

(cartoon) films, which have become a popular genre among 

children in many countries of the world. 

On the contrary, Akudinobi (2015, p.140) asserts that “in 

many respects, Nollywood practitioners have entered a phase of 

critical self-consciousness: redefining the scope of their creativity, 

adopting more pragmatic approaches, seeking to refine modes of 

production, and aiming at structural changes essential to the 

industry’s sustenance.”  As such, representations in Nollywood 

films are symbols that the audience resonate with. Uwah (2013, 

p.52) posits that Nollywood films “buttress the everydayness of 

Nigerians where their landscape, songs and proverbs, attires and 

rituals are unique indicators of ethnic cultural representation in 

them.” He further explained that “Nollywood films are encoded 

with the ideological frame of mind that reflects the proximate 

background of their makers within the Nigerian context and by 

watching them; an indigenous audience can easily decipher what 

is encoded and the meaning therein laid for their viewing pleasure; 



Ajiwe & Asiegbu Bature-Uzor: Visual Interpretation of Magical effects in Nolly… 

125 

 

whether the storylines are crafted on national themes or couched 

with ethnic symbols.”  In other words, Nollywood films are replete 

with images as symbols which underscore cultural implications. 

 

Visual Effects in Horror Films 

Horror movies are noted by heavy eerie sound effects 

coupled with gory-looking images infused to give the illusion of a 

monstrous being. Thus, visual effects are utilized to instil anxiety 

and fear in an audience viewing a horrific movie. In this regard, 

Xiangyi Fu (2016, p. 3) 

 

Fear is one of the most basic and important human 

emotions. At the very beginning of movie history in 1895, 

when the audience first saw the Lumieres Bothers’ The 

Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station on the big screen, 

almost the entire audience tried to escape from the theatre. 

The image of the approaching train caused fear. To 

intensify feelings of fear in the audience, film artists use 

sound, lighting, timing, motion and other stylistic devices. 

Among the wide range of film genres, especially horror 

movies aim to trigger a physiological and psychological 

response of fear in the audience. Within the genre, horror 

films differ widely from each other based on their period, 

sub-genre, and regional differences including religious and 

cultural motifs. 

Since horror films are meant to instil fear in the viewers, 

filmmakers create CG Images and sound effects to intensify 

feelings of fear in the audience, film artists use sound, lighting, 

timing, motion and other stylistic devices. Among the wide range 

of film genres, especially horror movies aim to trigger a 

physiological and psychological response of fear in the audience. 

When creating visual and sound effects for films, designers and 

editors do not generally concern themselves with the 



AMA: Journal of Theatre and Cultural Studies 

126 

 

verisimilitude or accuracy of the sounds they present. The 

designers are concerned about creating gory images and sound 

effects which give awful and eerie feelings bearing in mind that 

people are aware of how such a thing sounds and looks. In the 

same view, Chandler (2007, p. 60) reiterates that in horror films, 

the unification of ‘Film Language’ will form a message. The 

message is delivered through visual and auditory images to the 

audience’s brain and the audience will decipher the message to 

form a concept. This concept will create fearful feelings while 

watching a horror film (as cited by Bianus, Achin, Dawam, 

&Sareya, 2014, p. 1). Therefore, the believability of an image that 

is horrific is important. The job of designing the effect is mainly 

an issue of creating a conjectural visual image (either special or 

CGI images) and sound which feeds the audience’s expectations 

while still suspending disbelief. Christopher Boyer a sound 

designer who designed the sounds for Star Wars and worked with 

directors who were not just looking for powerful sound effects to 

attach to a structure, was playing with sound (and not just sound 

effects, but music and dialogue as well) all through production and 

post-productions. What directors like Francis Coppola, Walter 

Murch, George Lucas, and Ben Burtt, found is that sound began 

to shape the picture. Sometimes as much as the picture shaped the 

sound, the reception by the film sound community was unanimous 

in its praise, and to this day the sound job is regarded as the ne 

plus ultra in terms of creative use of the medium. The soundtrack 

of the movie, Apocalypse Now, was crafted in San Francisco by a 

large crew headed by Walter Murch, whose sound design credit 

was accorded billing block status on posters (Tom Kenny 1998). 

Generally, every film genre is determined by the cultural 

background of the narrative. In this regard, the Nollywood horror 

film genre is read within the cultural framework that surrounds the 

narrative. It could be argued that the elements of horror are found 

in the Nollywood ritual film genre. According to Uwah (2013, p. 

182) quoting Oha, films of this sort are read based on “construction 



Ajiwe & Asiegbu Bature-Uzor: Visual Interpretation of Magical effects in Nolly… 

127 

 

and or frameworks of beliefs which have originated from the 

people’s world view.” Uwah further explained that it “may be 

culturally relative and difficult for an ‘outsider’ to understand, but 

for the indigenes or insiders, it is an authentic way of explaining, 

comprehending and intervening….” This reaffirms Xiangyi Fu's 

view that horror film genres differ widely from each other based 

on their time, sub-genre, and regional differences including 

religious and cultural motifs. As such, in Nollywood video films, 

elements of horror are seen in ritual films. And the audience, 

according to Uwah (2013), elicits pleasure from the resonance they 

have therein. Bianus, Achin, Dawam, &Sareya (2014, p. 1) states 

that; 

It is undeniable that society nowadays is intrigued when it 

comes to a matter that is out of the box or beyond the edge. 

Hence came the idea to portray the existence of ghosts in 

various appearances to create a horror sense among the 

audience. Some reckoned that horror films that are made 

these days are pure entertainment. Hollywood has also 

produced similar film genres yet Western society has been 

doubting a mystical existence in their respective life and 

surely they can assume that those types of films are merely 

entertainment. This is contrary to local society nowadays 

because the belief in matters related to ghosts or the 

supernatural still exists. 

 

To create gory and eerie visual images in horror movies, 

film designers play with dark and light backgrounds. Xiangyi Fu 

(2016, p. 14) believes that horror movie viewers enjoy the movie-

viewing process. He thus states that “Enjoyment and fear, two 

opposite emotion responses, both arise when people sit in a theatre 

to watch a horror film. In Sigmund Freud’s essay “The Uncanny,” 

he argues that mystery and fear emerge from something with which 

we are familiar but have always been oppressed. Freud’s uncanny 

theory proved to be influential and inspired much theoretical 



AMA: Journal of Theatre and Cultural Studies 

128 

 

research on horror films.”In Herbert Zettl’s book Sight, Sound, 

Motion: Applied Media Aesthetics, (2013), as cited by Xiangyi Fu, 

(2016, p. 14) he points out the five basic elements of the media: 

light and colour, two-dimensional space, three-dimensional space, 

time and motion, and sound. Xiangyi Fu applied Zettle’s analysis 

and theory of these five basic elements to examine several classical 

and modern horror movies. Following Herbert’s standards, and 

using deductive abstraction methodology, Xiangyi Fu applied 

Herbert’s theory of these fundamental elements (light, colour, 

composition, time, and sound) to study how they are applied in 

horror movies and to understand how horror movie sub-genres use 

media aesthetics elements differently.  

 

Synopsis of Ernest Obi’sIdemili (2014) Season 1&2 

Ekema, a lady from a lineage of Osimini, an offspring of 

Idemili, has been betrothed to an honourable prince but on the eve 

of her engagement, while the virginity test was being carried out, 

something magical and fearful happened revealing she was from a 

lineage of the powerful diviners. She's on an adventurous and 

fearful journey to seek her foundation and during this quest 

realized how powerful and gifted she was. 

 

A Critical Reading Semiotics of CGI in Ernest Obi’s Idemili 

(2014) Season 1,2&4 

The narrative started with a prologue where Ekemma is 

seen running and stops to look around while breathing heavily. 

And the sound of a crow (in Igbo Okwa) is heard as she continues 

running. Then, in a long shot, she is seen running with the long 

raise of smoky dust trailing her. This dust is a visual effect to 

indicate the speed at which she is running for her dear life. Then 

three crows are seen already perched on the tree she stopped to rest 

while looking out in fear. Suddenly, birds fly down transforming 

into demonized women with wings, longhairs and elongated 

breasts. The transformation of the crows to demonized human form 



Ajiwe & Asiegbu Bature-Uzor: Visual Interpretation of Magical effects in Nolly… 

129 

 

is achieved with visual effect stimulation. Likewise, the dusty 

effects raised as they landed with a loud banging sound showing 

the weight and force at which they landed. And the synchronization 

of the dusty effect and the loud banging sound signifies the strength 

of the evil force after her. This also creates horrific effects which 

startles anyone who sees the scene. The scene is a typical 

representation of the filmmaker’s concept of witchcraft in Africa. 

This makes the audience experience and re-experiences their 

cultural worldview. 

 Moreover, in the scene where Ekemma and Okwadike are 

discussing in his house, the rays of light from the light used were 

readjusted with visual effect to give a focus on the two lovers who 

are prevented from getting married due to cultural rights. Again, in 

the scene in which Okwadike is preparing himself with charm to 

go to war and rescue Ekemma, the smoke effect is used to portray 

the Nigerian belief system of preparing oneself for bullet 

penetration or Knife penetration into the body. The reverse effect 

of the smoke effect back into the pot and his body signifies the 

potency of the charm. It also serves the purpose of covering up the 

nudity of Okwadike while he is performing the ritual process of 

fortification. As Ekemma steps into the threshold of the gods, her 

eyes start glowing white and her black iris becomes faint. This 

signifies that she has been possessed by the gods. A medium shot 

of dusty effect is used to cover the distance between her heels and 

any other person within the premises. This indicates the powers 

which she possesses, indicating that she is no ordinary person but 

of the gods. Immediately she enters the shrine of Osimiri, and an 

electronically enhanced splashing of water at each step she takes is 

seen. This indicates that she is spiritual with the goddess Osimiri. 

Later on, a masquerade is seen with the chief priest standing and 

chanting praises to it. It then starts hitting its head on a tree. The 

entire picture shakes as a thundering sound is produced from 

banging his head on that tree. The shaking of the entire vicinity 

symbolizes that the ground quakes once he hits his head on the tree. 



AMA: Journal of Theatre and Cultural Studies 

130 

 

After he had turned round and sat, the tree starts smoking from the 

trunk where he hit his head. Then it splits open and Ekemma jumps 

out from it as if she was pushed out. As she is coming out, she 

comes out as a claylike human and transforms into herself. Then 

she meets with the masquerade which raises its head and covers 

her with flashes of glowing bluish-white light. This signifies the 

acquiring of power from the Ezemmuo Masquerade. She then runs 

out as the masquerade follows suit.  

READINGS OF MEANINGS PRODUCED FROM 

HORRIFIC REPRESENTATIONS IN IDEMILI, Season 1, 2 

and 4 

 

 
 

Plate 1: Screenshot from the movie scene. Source: Film 

 
Visual Effect: 

 

 

Dust effect  

Animated bird fling Ekemma 

Sound Effect: 

 

 

The beaking of owl-like birds. Then, fast-paced beats 

in rhythm with Ekemma’s racing. 

 



Ajiwe & Asiegbu Bature-Uzor: Visual Interpretation of Magical effects in Nolly… 

131 

 

 
Plate 2: Screenshot from the movie scene. Source: Film 

 
Visual Effect: 

 

Animated birds 

Sound Effect: 

 

Whistling sounds of birds 

 

 
Plate 3: Sealing of Ekemma’s mouth. Source: Film 

 

Visual Effect: 

 

Sealing of Ekemma’s mouth as a result of witchcraft 

in her dream 

Sound Effect: 

 

No sound effect 

 



AMA: Journal of Theatre and Cultural Studies 

132 

 

 
Plate 4: Screenshot from the movie scene. Source: Film 

 
Visual Effect: 

 

The glowing effect of the newly crowned priestess's 

eyes 

Sound Effect: 

 

 

 

 
Plate 5: Screenshot from the movie scene. Source: Film 

 
Visual Effect: 

 

Smoke effect receding into Okwadike’s body 

signifying acquiring of protective power or charm. 

Sound Effect: 

 

Whistling effect 



Ajiwe & Asiegbu Bature-Uzor: Visual Interpretation of Magical effects in Nolly… 

133 

 

Plate 6: A screenshot from the movie scene. Source: Film 

 

Visual Effect: 

 

Ekemma, in her dreams, is seen appearing through an 

eruption of dust particles in a secret gathering. 

Sound Effect: 

 

The visual effect is accompanied by eerie and echoing 

sound effects mixed with cracking, rattling and 

splashing water sound effects which give a chilling 

and scary feeling. 

 

Plate 7: A screenshot from the movie scene. Source: Film 

 
Visual Effect: 

 

Ekemma appears amid the smoky dust effect 

Sound Effect: 

 

 



AMA: Journal of Theatre and Cultural Studies 

134 

 

 

Plate 8: A screenshot from the movie scene. Source: Film  

 
Visual Effect: 

 

A close-up shot of Ekemma’seyes being transformed, 

the camera zooms in into the blurred whitish iris 

Sound Effect: 

 

 

 

  
Plate 8: A screenshot from the movie scene. Source: Film  

 
Visual Effect: 

 

A closeup shot of when a river wave recedes and her 

eyes glow more with her fingers generating 

electrifying lightning effects. 



Ajiwe & Asiegbu Bature-Uzor: Visual Interpretation of Magical effects in Nolly… 

135 

 

At the end of this season, Okwadike and his men are seen 

intruding into the circle where the final procession is to be made, 

insisting on taking Ekemma. Immediately the chief priest strikes 

his staff on the ground and changes from her natural eyes to 

smoking brownish white. Okwadike sends one of his men to go 

carry her. As he stretches his hand towards Ekemma, a shielding 

splash of red and yellow rays of light prevents him by draining him 

and he turns to clay, after which, he breaks into pieces with his 

hand breaking off first and his head falling off as if it is being 

chopped off with a machete. Then Ekemma’s eyes go from 

brownish white to light green and then to her normal eyes. The 

smoking brownish-white colour symbolizes anger, as something 

too dangerous and hot to handle. Whereas the light green 

symbolizes calmness. love and fertility.   

 

Conclusion 

Based on the above discussion, film CGI effects elusively 

enhance visual image which eventually enhances the perception of 

the audience on the film story. Visual effects, therefore, is a kind 

of simulation which involves the mixing and matching of real 

images filmed separately or of real and artificially created images; 

(2) Visual effects are used to increase the realism of a scene and 

mode of perception of the audience of their real-world; (3) Visual 

effects are not used to represent the blurring of the distinction 

between reality and simulacrum. Simulation (special effects) is 

used to heighten the impression of realism; conversely, the 

simulation itself cannot be represented through simulation (special 

effects). Reality can be represented through simulation; however, 

simulation cannot be represented through simulation but only by 

realistic means of representation. This accounts for the lack of 

inappropriate application of CGI effects in some Nigerian films, 

even when the films deal with a supposed simulated reality of a 

Supernatural world. the overuse of visual effects in the 

representation of the Idemili, as regards reality, simulates the 



AMA: Journal of Theatre and Cultural Studies 

136 

 

simulacra nature of a typical African worldview: Thus CGI boosts 

the visual and aural representation of the Nollywood film 

narratives which allows the viewer to recognize the already 

established meanings of the codes used in film text. 

 

 

References 

 

Darley, A. (2004). Visual Digital Culture Surface play and 

spectacle in new media Genres, London: Routledge-

Talor&Francis group. 

Ajiwe, U. C. and Chukwu-Okoronkwo, S. O. (2015). “Perception 

of Sound: A Study of Selected Nollywood Video Films”. 

In Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities. Vol. 1., No. 

2: 48 – 58. 

Barthes, R. (1964). Elements of Semiology. Trans. L. Annette & 

C. Smith. New York: Hill and Wang.  

Barthes, R. (1972). Mythologies. Trans. L. Annette. New York: 

Hill and Wang.  

Bazin, A. (1967). What is cinema? Vol.1 Trans. H. Gray. 

California: University of California Press. 

Bellour, R. (1986). The Obvious and the Code. In P. Rosen (ed). 

Narrative, apparatus, ideology: A film theory reader. New 

York: Columbia UP, pp. 93-101. 

Buckland, W. (2000). The Cognitive Semiotics of Film. 

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 
 
 

Daniel, Chandler. (2014, 03 July) Semiotics for Beginners’ 

Modality and Representation.  

 

Eco, U. (1976).A theory of semiotics. Bloomington: Indiana 

University Press. 
 



Ajiwe & Asiegbu Bature-Uzor: Visual Interpretation of Magical effects in Nolly… 

137 

 

Eco, U. (1979). On the Contribution of Film to Semiotics. In G. 

Mast & M. Cohen Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory 

Readings 2nd Edition. New York: Oxford UP, 

Enna, Idakwo, E. P., &Akpovye, O.D., (2015). The Impact of the 

“Magic” In Nollywood: An Analysis. In American 

International Journal of Contemporary Research. Vol. 5, No. 5, 

USA: Center for Promoting Ideas. www.aijcrnet.com. Online. 

Eisenstein, S. (2009). Beyond the shot: Cinematographic principle 

and the ideogram. In L. Braudry& M. Cohen Film theory 

and criticism 7th edition. New York: Oxford UP,  

Eisenstein, S. Pudorkin, V. and Alexandra, G. (2004). Statement on 

sound. In Baudary, L. and Cohen, M. (Ed) Film Theory and 

Criticism. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 370 – 372 

Elsaesser, T. &Hagener, M. (2010). Film Theory: A Introduction 

Through the Senses. New  York: Routledge. 

Enna, Idakwo, E. P., &Akpovye, O.D., (2015). The Impact of the 

“Magic” In Nollywood: An Analysis. In American 

International Journal of Contemporary Research. Vol. 5, No. 5, 

USA: Center for Promoting Ideas. www.aijcrnet.com. Online. 
Ekinci (2015, Designing Research Questionnaires for Business 

and Management students. (Mastering Business Research 

Methods), SAGE Publications Ltd. 

Eklund, T. (2014, The use of Digital Visual Effects in 

contemporary TV- Serie: An Analysis of the use of digital 

visual effects as a narrative device in the television series 

Doctor Who, Defiance and Terra Nova. A Thesis 

Submitted to the Department for Studies of Social Change 

and Culture, Culture, Society and Media Production-KSM 

Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Linkoping University. 

Sweden: Linkoping University. 

Ekwuazi, H. 1991. Film in Nigeria, Jos: Nigerian Film 

Corporation. 
 

http://www.aijcrnet.com/
http://www.aijcrnet.com/


AMA: Journal of Theatre and Cultural Studies 

138 

 

…….. (1997). The Igbo video film is a glimpse into the cult of 

individual Nigerian video films. In Haynes, J (Ed) Jos: 

Nigerian Film Corporation. 

…….. (2007). Advertising on Television: The Television 

Commercial from premise, through concept and copy to 

storyboard and production. Ibadan: Stirling-Horden 

publishers. 

Ferdinand de Saussure1966. Course in General Linguistics, Bally 

C. &Sechehaye (ed), Translated by Wade Baskin, New 

York: McGraw-Hill books   

Haynes, J.(2007). Video Boom: Nigeria and Ghana. In 

Postcolonial Text, Vol 3, No 2. 
 

Hill, J. & Gibson, P.C (1998).The Oxford Guide to Film Studies. 

New York׃ Oxford University Press.   

Inger-LiseKalviknes, Bore (2012).Focus Group Research and TV 

Comedy Audiences. Participations Journal of Audience 

&Reception Studies. Volume 9, Issue 2 

Lincoln, Y. S.&Guba, E. G.(2000). Paradigmatic controversies, 

contradictions, and emerging confluences. In N.K. 

Denzin,& Y. S. Lincoln (Eds), The handbook of 

qualitative research(2nd ed., pp.1122), Thousand Oaks, 

CA: Sage Publications. 

Lowe, D. (1996). Emotion pictures. An examination of how history 

films emotionalize the past, with particular reference to 

Phar lap, Galli pili and Strike bound. un-published. 

http:wikipedia/Emotion pictures/Ozscreen// constructing 

Histories: Unit 6203. Retrieved on 14th Feb. 2011. 
 

Manovich, Lev., (2001).The Language of New Media. Cambridge, 

MA: MIT. 

Markus Spöhrer. The Aesthetic and Narrative Dimensions of 3D 

Film: New Perspectives on Stereoscopy. Farbe: Springer 



Ajiwe & Asiegbu Bature-Uzor: Visual Interpretation of Magical effects in Nolly… 

139 

 

Metz, C. (1976). On the notion of cinematographic language.  In 

B.  Nichols (ed.) Movies and methods Vol. 1. California: 

University of California Press, pp. 582-589. 
 

…….. (1986). Problem of denotation in fiction films. In P. Rosen 

(ed.) Narrative, apparatus, ideology: A film theory reader. 

New York: Columbia University Press, pp.35-65. 

Metz, Christian (2003): Essais sur la signification au cinéma, tomes 

I et II. Paris: Klincksieck. 
 

…….. (2004). Aural objects. In L. Baudryet al. (Ed). Film Theory 

and Criticism. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 

366-309.   

Kitzinger, J. The methodology of Focus Groups: the importance of 

interaction between research Participants. Sociology of 

Health & Illness Vol. 16 No. 1 1994 ISSN 0141-9889.UK: 

Blackwdl Publishers. UK 
 

Nwanya, A.N. (2010). Contemporary Nigeria Music Culture in the 

Wake of globalization. In Nereus, Y.T. et al; (Ed) Nigerian 

Literature, Structural Adjustment Policy and Globalization 

Proceedings of the international conference on Nigerian 

Literature. Gombe׃Gombe State University, pp.263 – 273.  
 

Okome, O. and Haynes, J. (1997). Cinema and social change in 

West Africa. Jos: Nigeria Film Corporation.  

Okwuowulu, C. Semiotic Discourse on Narrative Techniques in 

Nollywood. 

Olagoke, A.(2010). Narrative and Style In Nigerian (Nollywood) 

Films.African Study Monographs, 31(4): pp.163-171. 

Onuzulike, U. (2016). Audience Reactions to the Different 

Aspects of Nollywood Movies. 

Volume 5.2, U.S.A: University of Pittsburgh Press 

Rédei A.C. Towards a cognitive semiotic approach to cinema: 

semiotics vs. ‘semiology’ 



AMA: Journal of Theatre and Cultural Studies 

140 

 

Rose, G. (2007, An Introduction to the interpretation of visual 

Materials, second edition. SAGE Publications. 

Sebeok, Thomas A. 1994 Signs: An Introduction to Semiotics, 

Toronto: University of  Toronto Press. 

Shilo M., (2004). Silicon Spirit. The impact of Digital visual Effects 

on Story Craft in  Filmmaking.  A Ph.D. Thesis Submitted 

to the University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of 

Humanities and Social Sciences. Sydney: University of 

Technology Sydney 

Ukadike, N. F. (1994). Black African Cinema. California: 

University of California  

 

Filmography 

Title:  Idemili (2014) 
Screen Play: Ernest Obi 

D.O.P:  Tunde Possible 

Producer: Martins Onyemaobi 

Director:  Ernest Obi 

Starring: Pete Edochie, Patience Ozokwo, Ernest Obi, Nse 

Etim  

Company: Onye-Eze Production Ltd 

 
 


