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Aaron Elton is a 22 year old Vancouver videographer and photographer who returned from his first trip from Africa, Uganda in particular, earlier this year. He was invited there by Silas a.k.a Babaluku of the Bataka Squad. Together with Babaluku and the Bavubuka Foundation, an organization dedicated to social development in Uganda, they are building a record label, and a production company in Kampala, both of which will provide services to artists who carry positive messages in the hopes that the youth of their time will be effected in ways that will encourage positive change in their lives. 
UGPulse Promo
Born in February of 1983, Elton was raised in a family with two older brothers and two loving parents on a tiny little island off the coast of Vancouver, Canada called Bowen Island. The island has a population of about 3,500.
Elton was given a camera at the age of five, and it was at that tender age that he discovered a love for filming. It was during his teenage years that he became familiar and fluent with the video camera and concept of motion pictures; including how to tell a story with them. For the first two years of college, Elton studied the basics of criminology, psychology, anthropology, sociology, philosophy, improve acting and voice acting. By his third year, he thought about the possibility of being a film director, so he took Cinematography to learn the technical aspects of making good motion pictures.
Aaron Elton
Through that year Elton's skills and knowledge of film production were increased and he had learned so much about the industry, that he was ready to become an independent producer. It would take him another two years after college to attain that. Elton is at heart an independent type of film maker who wants to do all types of films but is now focusing on music videos, documentaries, and shorts. He also does comedy. He is the host of an internet show called the Flow "Hip Hop Culture" and is also doing corporate videos for his father's company in Vancouver. Elton believes that hip-hop can be a powerful tool to effect change, by fostering a positive attitude among the youth, especially those who have been given few chances in life, and recently he had his video the New Hope Squad, which he collaborated with Babluku on, recently aired on Channel M-Multivision Television in Vancouver. He will be returning back to Uganda at the end of the year.
Jane: What incited your interest in photography?
Aaron: My interest in photography is the same as in all things visual. I have never censored my visual range beyond the typical shielding of the eyes from semi-automatic defense reaction, such as having a pine cone or ball of ice thrown full force at your face from short range. Taking photographs accomplishes so many human like qualities it often feels like you are working with another thinking entity to expose the film. The capturing and imprinting of the reflected light from the physical world we live in is a process we undertake every waking moment of our lives (those with sight), between blinks. The, nearly, exact reproduction of these processes for others to see is an extension of the human ability of sight, one we alone cannot accomplish (yet), so naturally it is a great pleasure to explore the extension of abilities given to ones life through the camera.
Aaron Elton
As far as the progression of my life into photography I would first of all say that it's the pleasure I gain from pure observation through sight. As a child I was fascinated with light, having not understood its principles I can remember a time when I would play with my own eye balls to move the images I saw and at the time it seemed as though the whole world was moving. Of course these thoughts were moved into the "storage for wrong info" quickly as I learnt that it was only what I was seeing that was changing shape, not the actual physical world I was looking at. Ever since I have had a strong fascination for seeing things in various ways. One of the first experiments I can remember doing with light was setting up multiple shards of a mirror I had broken and assorted to reflect a ray of light from a bulb in the basement of our house all the way up through the second floor and into the third floor and down the hall into my bedroom, nicely illuminating a spot where I could read my books at night. This was before I was given my first prism when I found that light was more than one color! Asides from the life story behind my interest in photography I started with a video camera when I was five and in grade eleven at West Vancouver secondary I decided to take a course in photography.
I would say that, simply, my "interest" incited my interest in photography. Things are in constant motion in this existence and all that we see with our eyes we only see once; photographs to me are a time machine, enabling the visual depiction of (nearly) exactly what once was for a brief time. This combined with the infinite range of possibilities and growth the art represents makes it quite the worth while Endeavour. I suggest it to anyone.
What do your parents think about all your endeavors?
They support me with everything they have. They have given me a free life with all the support that anyone would need to accomplish their desires. Their influence and incurred work load from raising me have made me the person I am today, capable and confident. What more could someone want from parental units?
My father of course sees himself in me and my two older brothers. My mother wished I was a girl when I was born. What third born son was not wished to have been a girl by the mother eh? I think I have been a challenge for them at times in the past but often complimented for not asking for much from them, perhaps I was saving up till now... (Laughs)
I can accurately say that both my parents are an absolute model for good parenting methods. They support me 100%.
Aaron Elton with Silas aka Babaluku
Where did your interest in Uganda start?
Silas. I had truthfully not known about Uganda until I met Silas. I have always been behind with geography; I was never a big fan of learning about names of places. As most people on our side of the world grow up, we see very little of what Africa and its countries actually are. Giraffes, monkeys, elephants and tigers... oh don't forget the lions and hyenas, the gazelles and hippopotamuses, the baboons and the ever black and white zebras; these animals coupled with the image of indigenous tribes people are what constitute the majority of American visualization, when the mention of Africa is presented. The vast majority of people in America, I would say, are incredibly ignorant on the various topics and actualities that the continent of Africa represents, as far as social and political views are concerned (which I must say should be the main focus of attention).
I was shocked at how little I knew about Africa when I looked into the place, indeed the biology magazines and animal documentaries where all true but not in the slightest representing Africa for what it is socially. Since then, I have been noticing some huge flaws in the distribution of information through out the globe. Mostly I find that the truth and reality of Africa is simply squeezed out by the corporate communities here. There's no time to think about Africa when you haven't used our NEW conditioner yet! (Laughs) Conversely many of the African political structures, I believe, want to hide many of their downfalls, I may be wrong, but I have a strong feeling there are difficulties on both sides of the paper on this one.
It was after meeting Silas that I first took a keen eye to the country. I would read about it online but soon found that Silas himself was the best source of information on the place. It was amazing to arrive there and have the amount of background knowledge through Silas' stories and descriptions; he was bang on with every last word! Of course I had to go there to find this out.
What did you think of the country when you were there?
Beautiful. This is going to be a bit lengthy... My experiences in Uganda were amazing; from the moment I got off the plane to the moment I got back on. This was my first trip off my continent, aside from going to Hawaii when I was younger, which is part of the United States. Uganda was the friendliest place I have been and the food was "blast off" good! Can you say organic! My health and life style by the end of the second week were honestly the most pleasurable I have ever experienced! I was very happy and excited to be traveling in such a far from home place! I must say I ♥ UG! (He added the heart)
I was traveling with a purpose of course and had a keen eye on things all the time. I can remember the transitions of knowledge I went through when I was there; from the bug-eyed Muzungu in the left front seat of the car coming from the airport, to the strange goofy Muzungu hosting hip hop nights at Sabrinas. Even still as I look through the footage I have when I was there, I am still coming to new levels of understanding of the culture and people. They live on a different vibe over there and I can honestly say I prefer the vibe in Uganda compared to anywhere else I've been. It's comparable to being part of one long continuous song.
Largely I can make many polar parallels between Vancouver and Kampala. It became a rather interesting thing to do: find seemingly exact opposites in the two places.
The first is that the ratio of black people to white people is almost perfectly flipped, where you would see two black people walking five blocks in Vancouver you would conversely see, perhaps, two Muzungu's walking the same distance in Kampala, unless you stroll by the Rouge on a busy night. The infrastructure in Kampala is in a sorry state. It's interesting to be the subject of such interest to children. The young babies especially have quite a profound reaction when they see me. The children are brilliant and all in all I must say Ugandans are a very clever group of individuals, from the sense of humor to the innovative preservation of goods I was constantly amazed by the culture. I can hardly wait till I gain control of Luganda, oh man... jokes will be made! (Laughs)
Of course there are a number of fairly negative observations I have made in my experience, but none of which are a direct cause of the people living there. The apparent poor distribution of wealth and the lack of strong and competent government organizational control seem to be a major difficulty affecting everyone there. I note here that I have very little insight into the matter of politics of the country and should not speak to poorly of something I do not fully understand. Lets just say it seems like a lot of change needs to happen in the government, and ultimately the mindset of everyone for the country to progress in a positive direction. People have to stand up against injustices on all levels. Money is nothing if you cannot live freely.
What were the things that you liked best about Uganda?
The people. I have never met so many genuinely kind people as I did when I was in Uganda. Many people believe there is a general high resentment towards white people in Africa and I experienced very little while I was in Uganda. One time I was the subject of prejudice: it happened when I was hugging my girl friend Miriam outside the national theater;
a few passing guys told me to "leave their girls alone" referring to Miriam (and all other black girls) as an object of their possession. That didn't sit well with me but I let it slide pretty quick due to the absolute ignorance of it. But why am I talking about this, I liked too much to describe in this interview. The energy, the people, the food, and the parties! Can't wait to get back there!
So what do you feel that you as a Vancouver native can offer a country like Uganda?
Outside influence. Ideas.
I feel I will be challenging the current standards of video production in the country when my projects begin getting air time. Silas and I have an inexhaustible number of innovative ideas we will be executing over the course of our lives. The Bavubuka Foundation and Bavubuka All*Starz being our primary focus on our current return trip, we are going to take the entertainment sector to new levels, particularly through the progression of hip-hop. We plan on building an independent arts school outside of Kampala when the opportunity arises from our endeavors. We are planning on setting up community centers to give street kids a safe place to eat and play and learn. Our foundation will be setting up various youth volunteer programs benefiting the community, its amazing what can be accomplished when people work together.
This is actually a rather hard question to answer.
I know that it's still in its infancy, but what did you think of the cinematic scene there?
I found it interesting. Infancy yes... nothing out of the ordinary, the progression of productions in Uganda will take a natural course of progression over the upcoming years, an exponential one at that! With the continued time spent in a politically stable atmosphere the arts in all categories will experience a very big rush of development. I believe Kampala (for I have not seen the rest of the country) is going to experience large growths in the music and entertainment industries. Pretty soon it's not going to be "ok" to lip sync on stage anymore. Even since I was there I was seeing better and better productions coming out. I'm excited to see all the different stuff that Uganda will bring to the table in motion pictures. As far as the current level of production you can notice the obvious early stages of production levels. I have a few things to say to anyone doing pictures in Uganda: pay close attention to the sound you are recording, and stay original. If you try too hard to replicate something, you will loose the creative energy within yourself to make a truly great picture (video).
One thing you can look into is the Amakula Kampala International Film Festival. I know for a fact that there are plenty of Ugandans with great film ideas. I know you are just starting out, but once you are established, is this a market that you would be willing to tap into?
 I think there is a massive potential for a motion picture industry in Uganda and will actively be producing pictures in the support of that. I'm looking forward to setting up my projector in a large space and screening my own movies and shows, and soccer (football) games, when I go back to Uganda.
I am very willing to "tap into" the market. Though I'm not sure that's the right terminology. I think more I will be adding to the market and helping to build the market. There are plans in motion for the creation of a production company when I return and we are very much looking forward to jumping into production on a large number of projects over the next year. Immediately on my return, the company will be providing advertisement services for NGOs trying to aid various initiatives in East Africa as well as music videos and one or possibly two television shows. I will be hiring the majority of my crews from within Kampala and am happy to be bringing a close friend of mine to provide professional editing services for the company. So all in all I'm going to have my work cut out for me when I get back but I can't wait. I'm looking forward to teaching videography as well; I plan on hosting classes when the appropriate resources are met.
On a side note I have participated in the Amakula Kampala International Film Festival with a video called "Africa Unite" which was accompanied by commentary and performance by Silas and Krazy Native.
What about the Ugandan music scene?
I have lots to say here. Actually yes there is one, but I will try and compress the dialogue a bit. Lip-syncing, in short, displays the lowest state of affairs in the Ugandan music scene, but it is a phenomenon that will phase out as more "real" musicians take the stage. I've never been to a place that accepted fake singers as a norm, I saw it more than often when I was in Uganda and we would get some good laughs from it. It's just not real so why the person should be doing it at all is beyond me. I attribute it to the defeatist attitude I found that generally dominated the psyche of some Ugandan musicians. Like you are not good enough to "be good" so you have to emulate someone who is... point in fact, we all have the potential to be "good" at what we want to. If you truly want to be something then you have to believe that you can do it and not worry about what other people are thinking, as long as you stick at something and it makes you truly happy to be doing it then you will reach your goals. This whole defeatist attitude thing I'm speaking of will disappear as Uganda wakes up to its potential. Talk to Silas about this; he's the one who has the most to say about it. I'd much rather hear a musician sing and see that they are progressing with real talent, than a person who is just going through the motions of someone else's song. Even if you are performing someone else's song you should still be singing the lyrics yourself!
I'm going to have to spend a lot more time in Kampala to have a better response to this question but right now I can say that there is going to be some huge advances and changes in the music scene over the next few years. The standards of production and also the need for more "real" music will drive out all the fake people who are in it for the wrong reasons, this will be side by side with the cultural growth and awakening that will come to Uganda and Africa in the near future.
How did you meet Silas?
Members of Bavubuka All*Starz: Silas(center) and Tshila(right)
I met Silas on a music video shoot that I was camera-operating for in Vancouver at a friends night club/lounge. He was sitting in a booth and I was taking a break, leaning up against the booth and we looked at each other and introduced ourselves. At the time I wanted to be doing a music video of my own and he told me he wanted to do one for himself, his appearance and general demeanor intrigued me and I told him to come over to my house the next day. We found out we were living three blocks away from each other and we shot his first music video within two days, ever since we have been chillen and grillen.
What kind of films do you want to make?
Good ones. I have a desire to do every kind of film and I believe I have the life experience and imagination to pull off any kind of film. I want to make more music videos because they are fun to do and give me chances to try crazy and strange styles.
On the scale of large budget films I would say my crowning achievements will be in war films and comedies. A strange mix but justified by my history with video games and foolishness. I have an extreme desire to show the world how war films should be made and I'm quietly waiting for my chance with the big bucks to make it happen. I also have a few ideas for animations that I would like to direct as well as a few fantasy epics and mystery suspense action stories that I would like to one day see on the screen through my efforts.
Is making it in Hollywood (or Hollywood north-Toronto and Vancouver) your dream?
No. I don't care about the Hollywood scene, though I would be lying if I said I wouldn't mind being well known in their community. I simply don't think about it much. Personally, I decided in college that I was going to carve my own path in motion picture history and make my own rules. That's one of the biggest things for me coming to Uganda, and that is that as a director, the freedom I will have when producing my projects will be amazing. I'm confident in my abilities to create great pictures and one day I will get the recognition I deserve. Till that time comes I'm going to just keep making as many projects as I can and build my own surplus of cash flow to use. I'm independent because I don't want to worry about what someone else has to say about my work. I make my own films my own way with my own resources, when the time comes I will be the one giving money away to people to make theirs as well, something I look forward to in a major way!
Tell me more about your record label which you are founding...
BAVUBUKA ALL*STARZ
The BAVUBUKA ALL*STARZ!!! It's like a global clique more than it is a record label. Though we will be doing all the regular record label business we run on the mandate that artists with positive messages in their music have a massive ability to create positive change and raise awareness in places that need changes and attention. We are Youth focused and we want to invite everyone all around the world to join in our cause. Every youth in the world is a Bavubuka All Star. That's the message behind what we are doing. Every kid in the world represents a potentially amazing and powerful individual. We are going to do everything we can to show them that potential within themselves. The artists and performers that the record label undertakes will all be helping with these goals in their own way. Our production and marketing, through various musicians around the world, will have profound effects on the youth who the label reaches out to. The label will be based in Kampala, UG.
Tell me more about your internet show called the Flow "Hip-Hop Culture"
It's another one of the ideas that come to life through the combined thoughts of Silas and me. It's a show designed to give the appropriate exposure to the global hip hop community around the world. As of now the amount of hip hop related entertainment that is on the air is not accurately representing the culture for what it actually is. The site and show are yet to hit the net for your viewing pleasure, but look out because it's coming soon. I will let you know as soon as the site is up.
You are a pretty ambitious guy, do you fancy yourself one day being in the league of Spike Lee, Atom Egoyan, Martin Scorcese, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Mira Nair, and David Cronenberg?
I don't know. If I live long enough and my body stays in good health then I will hopefully be making flicks along the same level. Definitely I believe one day I will have a very interesting biography to read and collected works to watch.
I understand you also do comedy.
Do you?
Yes. It's something I'm looking forward to doing more of when I have reached a more advanced status with the bank.
What projects are you working on right now?
Too many! But the most important on the list right now include: a documentary about our first trip to Uganda in 2005 called "And so we went to Africa...", the FLOW SHOW – hip hop culture, the NEW HOPE SQUAD music video "its never too late to fight AIDS.", the BAVUBUKA FOUNDATION presentation – look out for the DVD, the BATAKA SQUAD 2005 documentary, and I'm also doing various corporate videos through my fathers company on a weekly basis, you can check out that at www.imambo.com. Those are a few of the video projects worth mentioning here that are underway. Other projects include the BAVUBUKA FOUNDATION itself, there's lots of planning and scheduling and networking being done on a continual basis and we are looking forward to our next ghetto youth concert coming up in September 2006! Anyone wanting to get involved, give us an email at aaronelton@hotmail.com or Babaluku@hotmail.com.
What's next for you?
Well, I'm going to enjoy the summer here and finish up all these projects in Vancouver and then move to Uganda in September. We will be getting our own place and putting together our recording studio and the production company will be operating almost immediately on my return, so we are looking forward to continued success in our endeavors and a bright future for everyone around us. It's going to be a blast.
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Also go to:www.bavubuka.com
Aaron Elton at Owiino market in Kampala
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