By Cherisse M. Sutton-Jeffers
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - MANY have seen his work but should one see the camera with which he does it, one would find it hard to believe that that little device could get the job done. However, according to Nigel Lewis, better known as Capo, editing is what really makes the work sell.
The 22-year old of Newtown is the mastermind behind a video production company called Tru Capo. He is a triple threat in the business, as he not only directs videos but also functions as editor and producer. He also stated that his alias – Tru Capo – means true boss, and that is who he is.
Lewis said he got his first camera in December 2008 and it was at that time he started fooling around and videotaping events just for the fun of it. He however noted that it was during that period the idea to start a homegrown video was birthed.
While toying with the idea, he realised that many locals did not have music videos and that is when it became a reality. His first video shoot was of local artiste Jungles and his song ‘Burn Borderline’.
Lewis said although he was not sure how the production would have looked and sounded, “I tried a thing and, to my surprise, I received lots of positive feedback.” .jpg)
He declared that from those responses, he made a second video for ‘I Stay Fresh’ by SMI for which he received mad props. He then moved on to two other videos - ‘Just Your Luck’ by Rinch and TV and ‘21 Gun Salute’ by Infamus, one of the local artiste’s most talk about songs.
Since then, there has been no stopping of Lewis who recently joined the SKNVibes PEP family as a video editor. Many of the local artistes have seen his work and want to get in on the action. He said he is currently working on a number of projects for C-money, HiLight, JahFire, Dagah and Burgers, among others.
Although he has so far only done videos for local artistes, he has been getting much positive feedback from people as far as Spain, the US and the Caribbean who have viewed his work on YouTube and other internet sources.
Lewis said he normally sends all of his work to TEMPO, but so far he has not seen any of them aired on that music channel. He was however told by a friend that TEMPO had aired the video he did for Jungles.
The self-taught entrepreneur said he is planning on going to school to learn more and be certified in one of the three areas of his profession, but claimed his mind is geared towards Editing because that is what generates income.
Lewis explained that his past productions were done with the aim of establishing himself to the general public in the Federation in order to enhance his financial status. He also stated that his productions are of a very high standard and quality.
“I am trying to build a standard. All of my videos are done in high definition and I aim for high quality, clean videos and exotic locations that many people do not know about. One example of this is in Infamus’ new video, ‘Feel Like Crying’, which would be coming soon,” he said.
Lewis said that he and MKJ, another local aspiring director based overseas, sometimes work together and share ideas. He explained that his line of business is not just about producing videos but mainly highlighting quality lyrics of the song, because one cannot make a good video with a bad song. “That would just be a waste of time,” he added.
Lewis also noted that he normally spends an entire day listening to a song before arriving at a video concept.
