Edrine Paul has revealed the two music videos that came with the biggest budgets of his directing career — and both belong to major Ugandan female stars.
The video director named Sheebah’s “Somebody” and Spice Diana’s “Omulembe” as the most expensive productions he has worked on, although he stopped short of revealing exactly how much was spent.
Speaking to a YouTuber, Edrine explained that he prefers not to disclose the figures because the money invested in the productions largely went toward paying the Ugandans involved in bringing the videos to life.
“One was for Sheebah and the other was for Spice Diana. Sheebah’s ‘Somebody’ and ‘Omulembe’ for Spice Diana. I can’t tell you the amounts because when this money comes, we take it back to the Ugandans.”
Edrine used Spice Diana’s “Omulembe” as an example of the scale of the production.
According to the director, more than 100 Ugandans participated in the video, with those involved compensated for their work.
The size of the production meant the budget was not simply going toward cameras, locations and other technical aspects of filmmaking. A significant portion was also directed toward the people working behind and in front of the camera.
Edrine said a similar approach was taken with Sheebah’s “Somebody,” which also required a large number of people to bring the project together.
“They were big budgets because they go back to the people, so I won’t mention the figures because the money doesn’t go directly to my pockets.”
The director’s comments offer a glimpse into the financial scale behind some of Uganda’s more ambitious music-video productions, while also highlighting the number of people who can benefit from a major visual project.
Although Edrine did not put a price tag on either production, he made it clear that “Somebody” and “Omulembe” stand apart from the rest of his catalogue when it comes to production budgets.
For him, the significance of those budgets is not simply how much was spent — but how much of that money circulated among the Ugandans who helped make the videos happen.