ABSTRACT
Technology has played and continues to play a key role in the development of the video film industry in Nigeria. ‘Advances in digital video technology’ (McCall, 2007) made it possible to begin non-celluloid film-making while the ‘relatively cheap digital technology’ (Seymour, 2010) facilitated the entry of hundreds of amateurs into film-making, leading to a prolific output. The same technology enabled the spread of the films through what Larkin (2002) referred to as the ‘infrastructure of piracy.’ The current growth of the industry appears still to be dependent on technology – in this case, the online platforms that aid secure distribution. On the surface, the major role that technology has played in the establishment and growth of the present-day Nigerian film industry appears to substantiate the assumptions of technological determinism, which attributes an autonomous role to technology in its ability to change society. However, from the media economy perspective, this chapter seeks to show that although technology has played a most important role in the establishment and growth of the Nigerian film industry, it cannot be considered as the sole defining factor. Technology is just one variable among various others. Due cognisance must be given to other political, social and economic factors. The chapter will thus consist of the identification and analysis of these variables using the industrial organisation theory.
