Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Monday, June 16, 2008
Kashmir location reccee - "11 Weeks"
Kashmir Diary
Driving to Srinagar is an exhilarating experience. Provided you are ready to face the minor hardships Indian road-trips impose upon you. To enter the valley of Kashmir one has to scale the rugged mountains which encircle the valley from all sides. The Banihal pass is an engineering marvel built by the British. It is a long tunnel and unlike the modern day tunnels on Mumbai-Pune expressway which are spacious and well lit, this one makes you feel claustrophobic. As you reach the end of the tunnel, the eyes which have quickly accustomed to the long drive through the darkness suddenly find the light at the end of the tunnel bright and dazzling. In a metaphorical way I can say the light is divine as it ushers you in the valley – the paradise on earth.
Within minutes we scale down the mountains are speeding along the plains of Kashmir. Vast rice fields lie on either side of the highway 1A. Their expanse is checked by the mountains on the horizon. Crowned with snow caps, they stand as nature’s sentinels guarding the valley.
As evening approached, I saw the most wonderful twilight of my life. We stopped the vehicle near a roadside village to have tea and take few pictures. Vast stretches of fields checkered with interesting patterns of greens and browns caught my eye. The village folks were sowing the fields. As twilight approached the scene became more intense – a dull bluish grey light engulfed the surrounding and there were small fires in many fields. Their smoke hung low in the air like a parasol. I took a seat on a milestone and watched for few minutes. There was something strange about this twilight – it just refused to go away and hung with me like a companion.
We entered Sringar in the night and drove through heavily barricaded streets to our hotel. At eight in the night most of the pedestrian traffic had moved to the safe confines of their homes. Sumo taxis and mini buses zipped past to their final destination before night became any darker than this twilight. Armoured carriers parked at important junctions and road arteries. Bunkers and sand bags marked the beginning and end of the lanes and streets. Soldiers peeped through tiny openings keeping a strong vigil. They looked cheerful which was a subtle hint of tranquility reigning in the valley. The amber light of the sodium street lamps fell on dusty asphalt roads occasionally lighting a taxi speeding by.
Sunrise is early and it ushers in a feeling of safety in the hearts of people of Sringar. When I came out of the hotel I was surprised to see the flurry – cars, taxis, I mean more taxis carrying tourists; bikes and minibuses filled the streets. The dust that had settled down on the roads the night previous now rose and hung imperviously as if forcing to be counted among what comprised the elements of daily life. It was a visual contrast.
The Director, producer, and self were scouting for an bungalow or a villa which would suit the character of the script. Well, there was no dearth of it. The heavily guarded city has many self contained old bungalows with kashmiri architecture and English styled villas meant as summer homes for the local elites. They are in shambles today.
Most of the houses we saw were locked and brooded in darkness. Creepers, unchecked, made their way up the walls. Broken window panes provided access to pigeons as they flitted in and out with ease. The garden unkempt as tall grass concealed the pretty roses.
Over a period of week we saw many such houses in Srinagar. Each house that we saw was as once majestic as the other. Their owners had either moved to Delhi and waited for the militancy to die down before returning to valley, or completely lost hope - migrated lock, stock and barrel to US or Canada.
In most cases the caretakers assured us that they foresee no problem in a film crew coming for a shoot and put the director and producer through to their owner by phone. Initially, it would look very hunky dory but within a few days the stance would change and our request would not be entertained any further. Reasons cited for refusal were many. What I perceived was their fear of attracting militancy on their doorstep.
To be continued -
Driving to Srinagar is an exhilarating experience. Provided you are ready to face the minor hardships Indian road-trips impose upon you. To enter the valley of Kashmir one has to scale the rugged mountains which encircle the valley from all sides. The Banihal pass is an engineering marvel built by the British. It is a long tunnel and unlike the modern day tunnels on Mumbai-Pune expressway which are spacious and well lit, this one makes you feel claustrophobic. As you reach the end of the tunnel, the eyes which have quickly accustomed to the long drive through the darkness suddenly find the light at the end of the tunnel bright and dazzling. In a metaphorical way I can say the light is divine as it ushers you in the valley – the paradise on earth.
Within minutes we scale down the mountains are speeding along the plains of Kashmir. Vast rice fields lie on either side of the highway 1A. Their expanse is checked by the mountains on the horizon. Crowned with snow caps, they stand as nature’s sentinels guarding the valley.
As evening approached, I saw the most wonderful twilight of my life. We stopped the vehicle near a roadside village to have tea and take few pictures. Vast stretches of fields checkered with interesting patterns of greens and browns caught my eye. The village folks were sowing the fields. As twilight approached the scene became more intense – a dull bluish grey light engulfed the surrounding and there were small fires in many fields. Their smoke hung low in the air like a parasol. I took a seat on a milestone and watched for few minutes. There was something strange about this twilight – it just refused to go away and hung with me like a companion.
We entered Sringar in the night and drove through heavily barricaded streets to our hotel. At eight in the night most of the pedestrian traffic had moved to the safe confines of their homes. Sumo taxis and mini buses zipped past to their final destination before night became any darker than this twilight. Armoured carriers parked at important junctions and road arteries. Bunkers and sand bags marked the beginning and end of the lanes and streets. Soldiers peeped through tiny openings keeping a strong vigil. They looked cheerful which was a subtle hint of tranquility reigning in the valley. The amber light of the sodium street lamps fell on dusty asphalt roads occasionally lighting a taxi speeding by.
Sunrise is early and it ushers in a feeling of safety in the hearts of people of Sringar. When I came out of the hotel I was surprised to see the flurry – cars, taxis, I mean more taxis carrying tourists; bikes and minibuses filled the streets. The dust that had settled down on the roads the night previous now rose and hung imperviously as if forcing to be counted among what comprised the elements of daily life. It was a visual contrast.
The Director, producer, and self were scouting for an bungalow or a villa which would suit the character of the script. Well, there was no dearth of it. The heavily guarded city has many self contained old bungalows with kashmiri architecture and English styled villas meant as summer homes for the local elites. They are in shambles today.
Most of the houses we saw were locked and brooded in darkness. Creepers, unchecked, made their way up the walls. Broken window panes provided access to pigeons as they flitted in and out with ease. The garden unkempt as tall grass concealed the pretty roses.
Over a period of week we saw many such houses in Srinagar. Each house that we saw was as once majestic as the other. Their owners had either moved to Delhi and waited for the militancy to die down before returning to valley, or completely lost hope - migrated lock, stock and barrel to US or Canada.
In most cases the caretakers assured us that they foresee no problem in a film crew coming for a shoot and put the director and producer through to their owner by phone. Initially, it would look very hunky dory but within a few days the stance would change and our request would not be entertained any further. Reasons cited for refusal were many. What I perceived was their fear of attracting militancy on their doorstep.
To be continued -
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Cinematographers & visual aesthetics - 1
Cinematographers & Visual AestheticsMay 15, 2008
Cinematographers & Visual Aesthetics
Cin•e•ma•tog•ra•phy (sin’c.mc.tog’rc.fē) n. The art and process of making motion pictures.
Moving images are inspiring narrative, sometimes powerful, sometimes emotive, sometimes still and sometimes drab, colourful and pleasing, grey and sober. They convey umpteen emotions rapidly changing and altering its form and carrying the audience with it to the desired destination or conclusion. It is a medium replete with challenges and numerous permutations and combinations to portray the images to convey the story. It is complex and there is no foolproof laid out operating procedures which says that for this situation, light and move the camera in a way to get the result. It may simply not show what one had desired for. The examples of failures are many and they have been inspired by those successful films which have been critiqued and written a million times over. Yet films fail. It could be for many reasons – poor narrative, bad performances, tackily shot, bad film grammar, inappropriate visualization. I am going to dwell on the last factor.
Motion pictures have always been considered a Director’s medium because he is telling a visual story which is performed by actors, recorded by the cinematographer, the shot fragmented and put into a cohesive narration by the editor, and the overall narrative supplemented with background score to augment the performance or underline key moments by a music composer. Not to mention the significant contribution done by production designer, who in tandem with the cinematographer and the director helps to create the right ambience and mood, the numerous production executives who slog to get the film going in the right way, make up artists, Visual effects supervisors, the technicians at the lab who carefully handle the sensitive photochemical process. The team a director leads is becoming huge as the technology brings in new facets of filmmaking.
A director could be a titular head relying on his well chosen team to deliver while he concentrates on stage and performance or he could be a control freak taking over the role of every department. Whichever way he chooses to function he is responsible for the success and failure of the film because it his visualization that has to come out on screen with the help of his team.
The person who comes closest in delivering what the director wishes to is the cinematographer. It is the visualization that must be understood lucidly by the cinematographer with no room for doubts. And that is possible only when these two individuals collaborate on a project shredding the script down; page by page, line by line, as to how the story should unfold, in terms of looks, co lour, texture, emotional or action moments accentuated by camera moves or lack of it. The tempo of the film to a large extent can be pre-decided because that eases shot formulation and breakdowns. Viewpoints held by director and cinematographer over a particular scene’s or shot’s picturisation have to be exchanged and discussed as to which one is appropriate and the other not. Reasoning in short has to be the mother behind every take. That doesn’t mean someone is questioning a director’s or a cinematographer’s vision but that’s how it is often perceived by people not so adept in the field of collaborative art form. In brief the duo should click together to function in unison lest there be problems.
In my view I hold the cinematographer equally responsible for the visualization aspect of the film as much as the director is. What a cinematographer lights, sets the exposure, chooses the emulsion, lenses, location and movements is not just by experience gained from repetitive exercises – it is often intuitive and driven by the subconscious. It is therefore imperative for a director to know the background and the persona a cinematographer brings with himself on the set. It will certainly contribute towards the imagery.
Who could be a cinematographer? Ideally, anybody with a good visual sense. Who has a good visual sense? How do you know the person will be able to execute and replicate reality onto negatives or capture metaphorical hints with dreamy looks. Contrast or variety, stems from the Cinematographer’s past. What all he has been exposed to in life? Because it is always the past experiences in life that help us build the scenes to be shot. A cinematographer with a staid or uninteresting lifestyle will definitely affect the film as well.
You can copy cinematographers, slick camera movements, glossy lighting, noirish looks, with some effort execute shots in cinema verite style. These things are not styles any more as they have been done so often that they have become some kind of alphabets for the cinematographers. The question is how can you combine these alphabets to make a new word and subsequently a new sentence. It depends upon the quantum of enterprise and novelty a cinematographer brings with himself to contribute to the film.
Cinematographers & Visual Aesthetics
Cin•e•ma•tog•ra•phy (sin’c.mc.tog’rc.fē) n. The art and process of making motion pictures.
Moving images are inspiring narrative, sometimes powerful, sometimes emotive, sometimes still and sometimes drab, colourful and pleasing, grey and sober. They convey umpteen emotions rapidly changing and altering its form and carrying the audience with it to the desired destination or conclusion. It is a medium replete with challenges and numerous permutations and combinations to portray the images to convey the story. It is complex and there is no foolproof laid out operating procedures which says that for this situation, light and move the camera in a way to get the result. It may simply not show what one had desired for. The examples of failures are many and they have been inspired by those successful films which have been critiqued and written a million times over. Yet films fail. It could be for many reasons – poor narrative, bad performances, tackily shot, bad film grammar, inappropriate visualization. I am going to dwell on the last factor.
Motion pictures have always been considered a Director’s medium because he is telling a visual story which is performed by actors, recorded by the cinematographer, the shot fragmented and put into a cohesive narration by the editor, and the overall narrative supplemented with background score to augment the performance or underline key moments by a music composer. Not to mention the significant contribution done by production designer, who in tandem with the cinematographer and the director helps to create the right ambience and mood, the numerous production executives who slog to get the film going in the right way, make up artists, Visual effects supervisors, the technicians at the lab who carefully handle the sensitive photochemical process. The team a director leads is becoming huge as the technology brings in new facets of filmmaking.
A director could be a titular head relying on his well chosen team to deliver while he concentrates on stage and performance or he could be a control freak taking over the role of every department. Whichever way he chooses to function he is responsible for the success and failure of the film because it his visualization that has to come out on screen with the help of his team.
The person who comes closest in delivering what the director wishes to is the cinematographer. It is the visualization that must be understood lucidly by the cinematographer with no room for doubts. And that is possible only when these two individuals collaborate on a project shredding the script down; page by page, line by line, as to how the story should unfold, in terms of looks, co lour, texture, emotional or action moments accentuated by camera moves or lack of it. The tempo of the film to a large extent can be pre-decided because that eases shot formulation and breakdowns. Viewpoints held by director and cinematographer over a particular scene’s or shot’s picturisation have to be exchanged and discussed as to which one is appropriate and the other not. Reasoning in short has to be the mother behind every take. That doesn’t mean someone is questioning a director’s or a cinematographer’s vision but that’s how it is often perceived by people not so adept in the field of collaborative art form. In brief the duo should click together to function in unison lest there be problems.
In my view I hold the cinematographer equally responsible for the visualization aspect of the film as much as the director is. What a cinematographer lights, sets the exposure, chooses the emulsion, lenses, location and movements is not just by experience gained from repetitive exercises – it is often intuitive and driven by the subconscious. It is therefore imperative for a director to know the background and the persona a cinematographer brings with himself on the set. It will certainly contribute towards the imagery.
Who could be a cinematographer? Ideally, anybody with a good visual sense. Who has a good visual sense? How do you know the person will be able to execute and replicate reality onto negatives or capture metaphorical hints with dreamy looks. Contrast or variety, stems from the Cinematographer’s past. What all he has been exposed to in life? Because it is always the past experiences in life that help us build the scenes to be shot. A cinematographer with a staid or uninteresting lifestyle will definitely affect the film as well.
You can copy cinematographers, slick camera movements, glossy lighting, noirish looks, with some effort execute shots in cinema verite style. These things are not styles any more as they have been done so often that they have become some kind of alphabets for the cinematographers. The question is how can you combine these alphabets to make a new word and subsequently a new sentence. It depends upon the quantum of enterprise and novelty a cinematographer brings with himself to contribute to the film.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
commercial shoot.
ahem, she looks great through the viewfinder.
the little Vagator beach
that's the right exposure i guess!
with Kittu - the director.Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Commercial shoot
“Commercial shoot – Thomex.com”
It was around 1030 when my phone rang. I was in a deep stupor, courtesy my awkward working regimen. Ideally, I just reach out for the phone and put the ringer to silence. And this is done with ample dexterity by gently pressing the ‘red’ hang-up icon so as to put the ringer off but not to reject the call as the caller might get offended and offence pertaining to hurt egos are often not pardonable in the entertainment industry, especially so if it is committed by a fledgling ‘cameraman’ (general parlance for cinematographer/s). This is the extent to which my reflexes have been tutored to prevent any unwanted professional hazards.
I wonder if I was at the fag end of R.E.M. sleep or something, I chose to answer the phone. It was Darshan, the production guy. He asked me if I was free at the weekend for a commercial shoot. I said yes and was game. I went back to sleep. I woke up an hour later and I tried recollecting the conversation in my full senses. It is an ad-shoot, wonderful!
I met Kittu, the seasoned commercial director, the next day. He saw my show reel and nodded. I was on. The commercial has to be shot in Goa in the coming weekend. He mailed me a script.
Just a week prior this, I was in Goa with wife on vacation and the weather had played a great spoiler – it began to rain when we were jetskiing at Baga. Resigned to the bad weather we played water polo with friends in the hotel’s pool. I began to wonder if the bad weather would continue this weekend.
Goa, was bright and hot. We all were booked at Leoni resort near little Vagator – a quiet secluded place. The location was the little Vagator beach – surrounded by rocky hills from three sides it is a nightmare for a production unit to get all the gear to the beach. It was then I realized why I have been called to shoot this ad.
I had shot a feature a year back at palolem with bare minimum gear – just reflectors and all. Darshan was aware of this fact. Few months later he called me to shoot a very strange short film – just one cut 8 minute film, completely hand held to be shot in a moving bus. There was no scope of putting any kind of lighting as the camera panned 360 degrees. I shot with natural light – sunlight filtering through the foliage and windows. The result, except for purists who believe in zone-system, was unlikely to have found any supporters. Low key cinematography has very few takers here.
Back to the commercial shoot. I was again in the same predicament. Somehow I have gotten a moniker – Mr. No Lights. Darshan remarked with a smile – “again sir you have to do without lights”. Given an opportunity every cinematographer likes to have the right array of equipments to record good images. I asked him what I can get in terms of lights.
“Can I have a battery powered joker?” I asked out of desperation.
“Not possible” Darshan remarked with his usual smile. I had every reason to get annoyed now.
We did a reccee of the beach and then sat in the shack and discussed the shots to be taken next day over beer. The clients were also present.
Later in the evening, Kittu took us out for a nice Italian meal. While the clients and Kittu were savouring on the wine and delicious Italian cuisine, I was racking my brains over what can I do with two 4x4 tea and mud stained silk frames and two bent reflectors for a glamour commercial.
I woke up at four-thirty in the morning. At six I was at the beach with my crew. And with first light I was ready to roll. Since a tropical beach like Goa gets hot very early, say by ten thirty and remains so till four thirty in the evening and since most of the shots would be canned in this harsh light, I waited for the nice early morning light to pass to maintain continuity of light in terms of harshness!!
As the sun kicked off later we began shooting. I saw the north sky was a brilliant blue, very hot, must be around 15000k. Seems that last weeks rain has washed off everything that hangs up there and gives the cinematographer a night mare – haze! Haze is more apparent at the confluence of land and water. Today there was no such thing. Visibility extended to miles and the sky crystal clear. I slid a linear pola (no circular pola) and framed most of the medium and wide shots in North, North West Direction. In the viewfinder it looked good.
There was one more beautiful element in front of the camera that enhanced the frame’s aesthetics – kingfisher model Deepti in a bikini.\
We moved at good speed and by four we were almost done except for some stock shots and misc. cover shots. We wrapped much before sunset and quickly moved back to the hotel. Everyone was sun burnt by the intense UV rays. Clear skies are good for the negative but not for the skin!
I was dead tired so I turned down the offer to go pub hopping instead I sat at the pool side sipping old monk rum with cola.
Back in Mumbai, I was down with mild fever. The phone rang in the morning; I was in deep stupor. My reflexes turned off the ringer. 30 seconds later it rang again. I answered. It was Kittu, “you have to come and see the telecine” I wondered if something was amiss.
At four in the evening I went to the edit. Kittu was ecstatic when he played the rushes. The gamble seems to have paid off.
It was around 1030 when my phone rang. I was in a deep stupor, courtesy my awkward working regimen. Ideally, I just reach out for the phone and put the ringer to silence. And this is done with ample dexterity by gently pressing the ‘red’ hang-up icon so as to put the ringer off but not to reject the call as the caller might get offended and offence pertaining to hurt egos are often not pardonable in the entertainment industry, especially so if it is committed by a fledgling ‘cameraman’ (general parlance for cinematographer/s). This is the extent to which my reflexes have been tutored to prevent any unwanted professional hazards.
I wonder if I was at the fag end of R.E.M. sleep or something, I chose to answer the phone. It was Darshan, the production guy. He asked me if I was free at the weekend for a commercial shoot. I said yes and was game. I went back to sleep. I woke up an hour later and I tried recollecting the conversation in my full senses. It is an ad-shoot, wonderful!
I met Kittu, the seasoned commercial director, the next day. He saw my show reel and nodded. I was on. The commercial has to be shot in Goa in the coming weekend. He mailed me a script.
Just a week prior this, I was in Goa with wife on vacation and the weather had played a great spoiler – it began to rain when we were jetskiing at Baga. Resigned to the bad weather we played water polo with friends in the hotel’s pool. I began to wonder if the bad weather would continue this weekend.
Goa, was bright and hot. We all were booked at Leoni resort near little Vagator – a quiet secluded place. The location was the little Vagator beach – surrounded by rocky hills from three sides it is a nightmare for a production unit to get all the gear to the beach. It was then I realized why I have been called to shoot this ad.
I had shot a feature a year back at palolem with bare minimum gear – just reflectors and all. Darshan was aware of this fact. Few months later he called me to shoot a very strange short film – just one cut 8 minute film, completely hand held to be shot in a moving bus. There was no scope of putting any kind of lighting as the camera panned 360 degrees. I shot with natural light – sunlight filtering through the foliage and windows. The result, except for purists who believe in zone-system, was unlikely to have found any supporters. Low key cinematography has very few takers here.
Back to the commercial shoot. I was again in the same predicament. Somehow I have gotten a moniker – Mr. No Lights. Darshan remarked with a smile – “again sir you have to do without lights”. Given an opportunity every cinematographer likes to have the right array of equipments to record good images. I asked him what I can get in terms of lights.
“Can I have a battery powered joker?” I asked out of desperation.
“Not possible” Darshan remarked with his usual smile. I had every reason to get annoyed now.
We did a reccee of the beach and then sat in the shack and discussed the shots to be taken next day over beer. The clients were also present.
Later in the evening, Kittu took us out for a nice Italian meal. While the clients and Kittu were savouring on the wine and delicious Italian cuisine, I was racking my brains over what can I do with two 4x4 tea and mud stained silk frames and two bent reflectors for a glamour commercial.
I woke up at four-thirty in the morning. At six I was at the beach with my crew. And with first light I was ready to roll. Since a tropical beach like Goa gets hot very early, say by ten thirty and remains so till four thirty in the evening and since most of the shots would be canned in this harsh light, I waited for the nice early morning light to pass to maintain continuity of light in terms of harshness!!
As the sun kicked off later we began shooting. I saw the north sky was a brilliant blue, very hot, must be around 15000k. Seems that last weeks rain has washed off everything that hangs up there and gives the cinematographer a night mare – haze! Haze is more apparent at the confluence of land and water. Today there was no such thing. Visibility extended to miles and the sky crystal clear. I slid a linear pola (no circular pola) and framed most of the medium and wide shots in North, North West Direction. In the viewfinder it looked good.
There was one more beautiful element in front of the camera that enhanced the frame’s aesthetics – kingfisher model Deepti in a bikini.\
We moved at good speed and by four we were almost done except for some stock shots and misc. cover shots. We wrapped much before sunset and quickly moved back to the hotel. Everyone was sun burnt by the intense UV rays. Clear skies are good for the negative but not for the skin!
I was dead tired so I turned down the offer to go pub hopping instead I sat at the pool side sipping old monk rum with cola.
Back in Mumbai, I was down with mild fever. The phone rang in the morning; I was in deep stupor. My reflexes turned off the ringer. 30 seconds later it rang again. I answered. It was Kittu, “you have to come and see the telecine” I wondered if something was amiss.
At four in the evening I went to the edit. Kittu was ecstatic when he played the rushes. The gamble seems to have paid off.
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