Sameer Chanda, renowned Production Designer and Art Director conducted a guest lecture on Production Design in Cinema at Digital Academy

Renowned Production Designer & Art Director, Mr. Samir Chanda has worked on movies like Ghajini, Omkara, Rang De Basanti, Makdee etc. This trained painter from Calcutta Art College has also done the Production Design for films like Delhi-6, Welcome to Sajjanpur, Guru, Dil Se and more. He has been associated with the Film Making and Advertising industry for over 25 years now. Under the leadership & guidance of the renowned Production Designer Mr. Nitish Roy, he was given an insight into the exciting & creative world of Production Designing. He was, very soon accepted by the great masters of Indian Cinema like Mrinal Sen, Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalani, Kalpana Lajmi and young Film Makers like Samir Karnik and Vishal Bharadwaj.

He is the winner of numerous State, National & International Awards. He has been instrumental in developing the Post- Graduate Diploma in Production Design & Art Direction at the Film & Television Institute of India, Pune

On being asked by the students to explain what Production Design is Mr. Chanda said, “The Production Designer is a creative artist who visualizes a story, accentuates it’s meaning & renders its concepts into realities for the moving images… it encompasses all form of narrative design…” Putting it in plain words he stated that Production Designing not only involves creative expression but a lot of implementation of ideas.

Giving the students exquisite details about his process he described the Production Design book that he creates using the script before the start of any film, wherein he sets the basic design elements: progression of colors, composition and locations, with respect to the scenes, along with photographs and mood boards that compile the visual journey of the film. The book ultimately helps him to communicate lucidly with the director and creates a tangible document that allows for further discussion and change.

Recounting his course of action he said, “The space comes in my head first as I read a script… then I interpret the physical movements & view the script as if I were in a theatre…” He described a simple scene, wherein a mother walks into a room where the daughter cries about something & then they leave; he then described how he breaks the scene down into spaces:

a) Mother comes into the room, so there will be a door b) Daughter is sitting somewhere, so there can be a bed or a dining table c) Depending on what the Director’s context, he chooses the room as a bedroom or dining room d) According to the script’s description of the girl & her mother, he fills up the space with props that communicate social strata and tastes e) He creates windows of a specific style to allow for adequate & enhanced lighting f) Designs a set that allows for wide coverage encompassing all the action, even if the Director comes in later & cuts down the area of the set.

However, he felt that at the final stage all their preparations didn’t matter as the locations, lights & scenarios are ever changing, hence spontaneity and flexibility are key qualities in the job. Decisively he said, “How you perceive that particular scene and how you want to go about it…is what is most important…” He advised the students to try and never say ‘No’ to their clients and to try their best to find solutions for the problems occurring. He illustrated this with the work he did in the film ‘Rudaali’ by Kalpana Lajmi. It was a low budget film, which almost couldn’t afford any sets, but as a Production Designer Mr. Chanda created beautiful compositional elements with black and red sarees. Emphasizing this he said, “As a Production Designer, one should always strive to achieve an aesthetic unity with his director, crew & technicians… A good film set does justice to the script without wasting money…”

Another important aspect that a Production Designer must look into is the contextual logic of their choices. Presenting the example of the film ‘Kaminay’ by Vishal Bharadwaj, where a character named Charlie calls an old train bogey his home, he stated how the facts suggest that the Indian Railway, officially abandons a train bogey only after it has been condemned for nearly forty years, hence the choice of making the bogey look that way. He then described his experiences of working with different Directors and their different methods and approaches to locations and sets, suggesting the need for a Production Designer to be receptive, adaptive & intelligent.

After describing his process, he navigated towards the sea that provided nourishment to his thoughts. He suggested that for the ideas to come when reading a script and to keep ones visualizations varied and crisp one must be observant and constantly study his/her environment. Highlighting this he said, “For the sets to look real one has to understand reality… and then only can one go beyond it. The thrilling part of being a Production Designer is that one can create a concrete jungle a la New York as well as a Rajasthan Desert or snowy mountains of the Alps to remote villages of Bengal...”

When asked about the methods of choosing locations and how one goes about location recces, he suggested that one use the director’s briefs, the context of the script and logically choose a direction, geographically and then set out to find the exact place depending on the various necessities of the scene. He also recommended that the students start sketching out the places and locations they find in their imagination. Urging them to develop a photographic memory he said, “You have to remember the colors, the light, the look and the feel… especially if you have to shift locations…” He said that when one is on a location hunt, if all the logical and factual aspects of the script are in tandem with the places one is scanning, then what one must truly look for is the exhilaration that a particular location brings, which most of the time is the decisive factor on location hunts. Speaking from his experiences he said that sometimes one overlooks the location that is just in one’s backyard.

However, discussing the status of the Art Director in the Film Industry he said, “The Art Directors in India are still treated as glorified carpenters; hence I decided to evolve myself as a Production Designer… It was a struggle to achieve the respect we deserve… But today I can smell a location & I enjoy what I do…”

He advised the students to concentrate on what they want to do and do it, while constantly re-inventing and rediscovering themselves with every new project. He also said that the combination of the correct time, correct location and correct season is a surefire method to make a scene stand out. He concluded by saying, “Doing Production Design is a challenge…Its very important to give the director what he wants, the largeness of the set is irrelevant…so go on exploring locations and take pride and joy in doing it…”

Digital Academy offers courses in Screenplay Writing, Film & Television Direction, Cinematography, Film & Television Editing, Sound Recording & Engineering, Production Design, Producers Course, Film Making, Acting and Animation & FX.

For more information contact:

E-mail: response@dafilmschool.com

Visit: www.dafilmschool.com

Tel. no.: +91-22-28257009/+91-22-28257008

RENOWNED WRITER & DIRECTOR OF THE FILM ‘BAABARR’, MR. ASHU TRIKHA, CONDUCTS A GUEST LECTURE ON SPECIAL EFFECTS & FILMMAKING FOR STUDENTS

Mr. Ashu Trikha has directed films like "Baarbar" ‘Deewanapan’, ‘Alag: He Is Different...He Is Alone...’ & ‘Sheesha’. He has done Special Effects in movies like ‘Chal Mere Bhai’, ‘Tera Jadoo Chal Gaya’, ‘Hawa’, ‘Chote Miya, Bade Miya’ & more.

Mr. Ashu Trikha began the lecture with the trailer of his film ‘Baabarr.’ He showed many versions of the trailer, each revealing a different facet of the film. Discussing the use of the songs in his film, he said, “Songs are a very effective tool to make the narrative progress and popularize the film… it creates valuable recall…” The students asked him why he had chosen to use an item number in his film; in response he recounted the experience of being in Lucknow where he witnessed stage shows of the kind that had been picturized in his film. Acknowledging what the students were thinking he said that the song was a necessary part of his film because without it a large chunk of the movie would get usurped leaving the movie unfinished and incomplete.

Speaking from the experiences of his thirty one years in the industry, which spans across animation, television work and corporate films, he said, “The key to succeed in the industry is to be flexible… the process of Filmmaking is all about adapting…” He emphasized the importance of a ready & complete script before shoot, by saying, “If people write a script on the shoot or post shoot then they are digging a grave for themselves....” He said that in the film ‘Tera Jadoo Chal Gaya’, a song sequence had been added that came after the scripting and even the shooting process, resulting in making the scene look inconsistent, emphasizing this he said, “Fitting something into a script makes it lose the seamlessness…”

Elaborating on the process of story writing he said that many times it is easy to narrate a story within twenty minutes but once an attempt is made to write it in seventy scenes, the narrative becomes evident and clear. Highlighting this he said, “On the scripting stage you don’t interfere with the taking of the film…at that stage you are only looking to see what you are saying through the film…” He advised the students to move onto the shots and visualization of the story after the writing process is complete, after which they should extensively brainstorm to breakdown the script. He said that when it comes to casting it is essential to look for faces that can add a charismatic nuance to the film but warmed them against choosing someone who might overpower the character. He discussed the various stereotyped characters that exist and suggested an efficient tool for writing characters, he said that the most important attribute of a character should be a flaw as that makes him human and audiences can relate to him.

On being asked about the role of audiences in the making of a film he said, “It’s absolutely unpredictable…almost impossible to know what will work for the audience…but I’m still a student, albeit a senior one and I have spent more time communicating with the audiences…so I can adapt intuitively”. He said that the success of a film depends on many things and said, “The only thing that is not in your hand is the success of the film…what you have to do is make a great film…something you are proud of…” Since there is no real formula for success, he felt that as Filmmakers one must constantly reinvent and rediscover oneself, elaborating this he said, “If the passion is not there, then don’t get into this profession…it involves a lot of hard work and rejection… if you do stick with this then it is very important that you try new things relentlessly… otherwise there will be no drive to make films…the greatest thing about Filmmaking is that you can never go wrong, it can only be more effective or less effective…”

He discussed the ‘spoon sequence’ in his film ‘Alag: He is Alone…He is Different’ from a Special Effects point of view- describing in detail, the intricate process by which the sequence was shot. The sequence required an upright spoon to attract spoons from all over the cafeteria where the sequence was shot. He described in detail how a magnet was used from below the spoon to move it and how it was hung with fish wire to keep it upright. Conversing about the techniques involved in chroma key he said, “If I put a blue screen behind me and a 1000 watt Tungsten light in front of me then you will have a spot on the screen…now video doesn’t understand color, it only understands the corresponding digit, so in an unevenly lit background, some parts will be keyed out and some not…”

In an industry where Producers are more interested in the stars involved in the film than the story telling, he spoke out about Industry procedures & about the difficulty of producing Art, which is always at odds with Commerce. He also stated that corporate production houses have increased the amount of transparency in the Film Industry. He concluded by saying, “In spite of working with the medium for twenty two years, I’m still learning…still trying… so don’t stop…there is a lifetime of film studies for you all…”

Digital Academy offers courses in Screenplay Writing, Film & Television Direction, Cinematography, Film & Television Editing, Sound Recording & Engineering, Production Design, Producers Course, Film Making, Animation & FX.

For more information contact:

E-mail: response@dafilmschool.com

Visit: www.dafilmschool.com

Tel. no.: +91-22-28257009/+91-22-28257008

RENOWNED FILM ACTOR BOMAN IRANI CONDUCTS A GUEST LECTURE ON ACTING AT DIGITAL ACADEMY-THE FILM SCHOOL

Renowned Film & Theatre Actor Mr. Boman Irani conducted a guest lecture on Acting at Digital Academy-The Film School.

Boman Irani started his career in the entertainment industry as a photographer, but soon expanded to theatre with a cameo in Alyque Padamsee's play ‘Roshni’ and a double role opposite Pearl Padamsee in Raell Padamsee's play ‘Family Ties’. In 1996 Rahul Da Cunha was looking for an actor for his adaptation of ‘I'm not Rappoport’ and the 34-year-old Boman Irani was cast as a 75-year-old man for the play ‘I’m not Bajirao’. He then portrayed Mahatma Gandhi in the Feroz Abbas Khan play ‘Mahatma vs. Gandhi’. This play explored Gandhi's troubled relationship with his eldest son Harilal Gandhi.

He went on to do TV commercials for numerous products, such as Fanta, CEAT tyres, Smyle cough syrup, Parle Krackjack biscuits and more.

He made his Bollywood film debut in the 2000 film Josh. Since then, he has appeared in many Bollywood films playing a variety of character and supporting roles, ranging from comic roles in films such as ‘Main Hoon Na’, ‘Waqt: The Race Against Time’ and ‘Khosla Ka Ghosla’; to serious dramatic roles in ‘Lakshya’, ‘Veer-Zaara’, ‘Don - The Chase Begins Again’ and the English language film ‘Being Cyrus’. His first notable success came with his role as the eccentric Dr. J.C. Ashtana in the 2003 hit comedy film ‘Munnabhai M.B.B.S.’. He also appeared in the 2006 sequel ‘Lage Raho Munna Bhai’ as a different character, ‘Lucky Singh’. Another recent noteworthy performance was in the 2006 film ‘Khosla Ka Ghosla’, where he played a comic negative character, Kishen Khurana.

At the lecture, Mr. Irani began by throwing a host of questions at the students. He said, “What makes a good performance? How can we judge a good performance? Why do we need to analyze a good performance? We are no longer laymen, it is our duty as students of cinema to find out why a performance worked…or if it was appreciated for the wrong reasons or if it was sensationalized…” The responses from the students suggested that acting was perhaps about holding the audiences attention, being realistic, connecting to an audience, living the character on screen, believability etc. But Mr. Irani challenged them by asking if holding one’s attention, even through gimmicks & tricks could be construed as good acting. Cinema being such a complex medium, he felt that good acting cannot be defined rigidly, “To me Acting is lying…we are playing someone we are not...it is the most legalized form of lying in the world and it is about how well you lie, but in the process the only way you can do it and do it well is to do it with truth!” Reminiscing about one of his earliest plays, ‘I’m not Bajirao’, he described the sense of power he had felt & enjoyed, while playing the character of a 70-year-old man in the two-person play. He attributed that sense of power to the concept of the actor’s mask, a necessary tool to hide the truth about one’s real identity.

After traversing the philosophical territory of the Acting process, he moved towards the preparatory aspect, wherein the actor must think in great detail about how he/she will pitch their performance, their body language, speech patterns etc. but with respect to the ‘script’ of the film. He felt that the best way to understand the character is to understand the screenplay and that the director’s vision coupled with the actor’s physical interpretation results in determining the way a character is shaped.

Citing the example of his character ‘Lucky Singh’ in the film “Lage Raho Munnabhai” , he explained what he thought should be the basis of preparing for an acting role, i.e. what the Director is trying to say with the film, “Only when one understands what the director wants to say can an actor figure out the role of the character in the film…then if you want the script to work, the character must be the outcome of design & deliberation…” He dissected ‘Lucky Singh’ into the elements that form his character, using questions like a) What was the need to portray him as a corrupt builder, b) Was he created for the sake of it, c) Why was a Sikh required to play the role of a villain in the film, d) What happens to him in the end. Answering these eventually, he said, “It is very important for the antagonist to change through the course of a film. If he doesn’t learn a lesson then nobody learns a lesson, the film doesn’t progress, the situation doesn’t find resolution & everything stays incomplete.” When asked about how much research had gone into the character of ‘Lucky Singh’, he said, “Playing a Sikh was scary for me…after all I am a Parsi from South Mumbai…” He narrated his conversations with Sikh truck drivers whom he had befriended, along with cozy sessions of real camaraderie with them that brought him closer to the essence of being a Sardar. Along with this, the director & Mr. Irani worked together to create an image of the character, involving the characters body language, his clothes, language, idiosyncrasies etc.

His role in ‘Lets Talk’ dealt with marital issues whereas the role in ‘Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.’ was that of a single parent, both roles demanded a certain subtlety and sensitivity for portraying them. Mr. Irani felt that to achieve that kind of sensitivity towards a role one has to listen to people in general and listen with care.

In the film ‘Eklavya’, his process for reaching the final outcome was not through moustaches and costumes, but rather from incisively analyzing the script and the characters relationship with the script. By understanding the symbology of the character’s part & the layers in the script, he was able to create a ‘King’, who was to be portrayed as effeminate to suggest impotence or barrenness and as a masked personality to imply a closeted homosexuality.

A volunteer was called upfront to answer a volley of questions aimed at discovering her persona. Mr. Irani asked her general things like her name to personal questions like what her ambitions were, what kind of temper she had, the nature of her relationships, her likes, dislikes etc, thus almost painting of her a picture for the audience to see. With this he innovatively illustrated the nature of the questionnaire that he puts him self through to fully understand the part he is playing and assume the identity of that person. After what he termed as moderate probing of the volunteer, he said, “You must ask about the script and outside the script…You must try to achieve the knowledge of the character as much as you know yourself…”

On the subject of big roles and screen time he quoted Sir Lawrence Olivier, one of the most famous and revered actors of the twentieth century, “ There are no small parts, only small actors” and proceeded to explain how the character of ‘Kishen Khurana’ in ‘Khosla Ka Ghosla’, although onscreen for a mere 15 minutes, was a thoroughly well-developed character and so left a lasting impression on the viewer, with a decisive impact especially as the antagonist. He cited the film ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ by Roman Polanski where the actor’s role was almost nullified by excellent writing.

On current trends in the acting world, he commented that, “If you are being driven by star power then you are only riding a wave, which will eventually loose its power & die out…so its very important that actors don’t lose touch with reality…” Pointing out the difference between Hollywood and Bollywood he said that acting like cinema also reflects the culture of the place. But due to the complex nature of acting as a profession, he felt that there were some basic things any actor should be conscientious about, “If you walk into a shot, you should know where the light is, where the camera is, where the frame lies…all your senses must work together to create a moment that gets archived in history…” He said that the eloquence required to put in a nuanced performance could only come if the actors were thorough with basic things like knowing the lines and the actor’s marks etc. Emphasizing this he said, “In your sleep, your waking moments, your eating time, you should be able to say your lines and know the entire scene inside out…it should be second nature to you…”

On being asked about the process that should be applied when a character is completely fictional he said that he considered such situations to be a blessing in disguise as it lets you build the character from scratch and use your creativity. He felt that in such situations one should invest not just in educating oneself but also in understanding one’s instinctive nature. Stressing the significance of instinct, he said, “Nothing will ever educate you enough…cinema is all encompassing…we have to aspire to learn a little bit about Art, Lighting, Drama, Literature and more…but even knowledge of the theory of all these things is redundant if you don’t know yourself well…”

He ended the lecture by advising the students to watch a lot of films, even the ones they don’t understand and to constantly make an attempt to fill up the gaps in their knowledge. He concluded by saying, “You have to be really convinced about what you are doing…then everything works out eventually…”

Digital Academy offers courses in Screenplay Writing, Film & Television Direction, Cinematography, Film & Television Editing, Sound Recording & Engineering, Production Design, Producers Course, Film Making, Acting and Animation & FX.

For more information contact:

E-mail: response@dafilmschool.com

Visit: www.dafilmschool.com

Tel. no.: +91-22-28257009/+91-22-28257008

MANISH GUPTA, ACCLAIMED WRITER & DIRECTOR, CONDUCTED A GUEST LECTURE ON FILMMAKING & CINEMA AT DIGITAL ACADEMY- THE FILM SCHOOL, MUMBAI

Manish Gupta, renowned Writer & Director conducted a guest lecture on filmmaking & cinema at Digital Academy- The Film School, Mumbai.

Manish Gupta has had a curious career graph he graduated in Mechanical Engineering and after giving six years of his life to the field, found his calling and decided to join an Ad agency as copywriter and began writing TV & radio commercials. After getting mesmerized by the film ‘Company’ by filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, he gave up a lucrative career in advertising and began writing for Cinema.

He has written the screenplay for movies like D, Sarkar, James and Darna Zaroori Hai. His directorial debut was Darna Zaroori Hai, a montage of six different stories. He followed this up with ‘The Stoneman Murders’, which was inspired by a real life story about a serial killer who terrorized Mumbai.

He started the lecture with a tongue in cheek statement saying, “I don’t believe in lectures…there is no point in it! ...But I believe there is always a possibility of being a better filmmaker…so here I am!” Armed with the script of his film ‘Sarkar’, he approached the subject of ‘Screenplay Writing’. He asked the students if any of them had written a story, after which he illustrated some of the common errors that beginners made while writing their scripts: like treating the story similar to a screenplay or deciding how to shoot the scenes before completing the story outline etc. Citing the example of the film ‘Sholay’, he extracted the simple story that forms it’s skeletal structure and laid it bare for everyone to see, exemplifying its importance he said, “The skeleton of the film…that is the story outline may not be entertaining, but stronger the story is, stronger will be the screenplay & stronger will be the film… the element of surprise and all the ‘what happens next’ plot points, are what you wrap the skeleton with, to finally form your screenplay”

He acknowledged that when writing a screenplay it is common for the writer to experience a block and advocated that the solution is as simple as going for a walk or even taking a bath, as the idea is simply to disconnect from the process and then re-enter it freshly. He believes that to never encounter a block one must write only about what one is truly passionate about, “Make films, write films & see films only if you are passionate about them…not for the sake of money, success or fame…but for the sheer pleasure of waking up in the morning and thinking solely of your film and everything that surrounds it…”

Recounting the experience of writing ‘Sarkar’, he spoke about the copious amount of research he did to form many of the characters in the film, which were inspired by ‘real life’ characters. On being asked about the difficulty of conceiving a truly original character he said, “It is very difficult to conceive a completely fictional character…your writing will always be derived by something from your experiences or from somewhere in your life… even Batman’s character was conceived by Bob Kane after being inspired by the character of Zorro!”

Elaborating on the process of story writing he said, “There is no hard & fast rule for story writing…you can start with a story, then as better situations come along the story evolves & moves into better territories…but for that you must have the story-structure in place…” He described the process of story writing as being organic & felt that it is not a rigid logic that governs it, thus making it a very difficult medium to master. He recommended the book ‘Story’ by Robert Mckee to all who were interested in honing their skills as story writers and even as filmmakers. He also felt that what one can learn from practical knowledge one can never learn simply through theory and suggested that the students go through the screenplay of his film and then watch the film to increase their understanding of the entire process. Moving into the real world constraints of story writing he described the conflicts that arise between a directors point of view and that of the writer.

On the subject of Screenplay writing he said, “Once you know what you want to express (story) then we come to the most crucial aspect of filmmaking, the screenplay…but writing an original screenplay is a very difficult task… to achieve even a satisfactory level one has to write at least five drafts of the same script….” He felt that the screenplay is where the film truly finds itself coming to life as it is an all-encompassing document that amalgamates sounds, visuals, emotions & actions, that prepare for the birth of the film on celluloid. He deems the process of taking each step from the story outline & converting them into scenes full of impact as the true method to create a screenplay.

‘Screencraft’ by Sid Field & ‘Making Movies’ by Sidney Lumet, were two books that he recommended, although he cautioned the students that these books can only function as guides, since writing for a screenplay cannot be taught.

He appealed to the students to pay attention to the important aspects of a screenplay such as dialogues, sequence descriptions, scenarios, visualization, gestures of the actors etc. He said that as writers one has to write in such a way that the transitions are smooth and each scene flows into the other, without resorting to clichés or formulas. He emphasized the importance of this by describing a scene from acclaimed Director Shekhar Kapur’s film ‘Paani’ where the character staring into a pool of water sees the reflection of an airplane flying above, and the scene immediately transitions into his past with the airplane as the common motif, thus avoiding a clichéd flashback dissolve by using an intelligent visual ploy. However, he felt that one must be careful to not get into exhaustive detailing as that can result in a boring screenplay that lacks the progression necessary for the medium of film. He compared ‘writing for the novel’ with ‘writing for cinema’ to exhume the true essence of writing for a time-based medium by saying, “A novel is read at leisure whereas a film is constrained in time…in a novel the writer has to transport the viewer into the location…but in a film the location is to be viewed, so the details of the location, gestures, clothes, props etc. are more representative than descriptive in the screenplay…”

Entering into the nuances of screenplay writing he spoke about the three act structure, i.e. Set-up, confrontation & resolution or start, middle & end along with the tricky role of sub-plots. He felt that comic relief must be interwoven into the screenplay and that using regional language genuinely can add flavor & authenticity.

Talking about writing as a profession he said, “As a writer your mind is like a loose cannon, your imagination wanders into all the places that thrill you…its one of the things that cant be taught…if you do not have the instinct to write then don’t attempt it…” He clarified that being a bad writer does not mean one cannot be a good filmmaker, since a good relationship between a writer & director always yields a superior film.

He bemoaned the attitude of producers who like to include song & dance routines in their films simply for the sake of publicity & profit, emphatically stating that he preferred films not within the song & dance category.

Concluding the session with a clip from his directorial venture ‘The Stoneman Murders’, he elaborated on his directorial experience, speaking about the instinctive components of direction & filmmaking. He finally advised the students about approaching their career in filmmaking with seriousness and said, “Work only with directors whose work you like… otherwise you’ll get frustrated. Work with different kinds of directors, expand your vision, but make sure you work under someone you respect…”

Digital Academy offers courses in Screenplay Writing, Film & Television Direction, Cinematography, Film & Television Editing, Sound Recording & Engineering, Production Design, Producers Course, Film Making, Acting and Animation & FX.

For more information contact:

E-mail: response@dafilmschool.com

Visit: http://www.dafilmschool.com/

Tel. no.: +91-22-28257009/+91-22-28257008

PIYUSH JHA, RENOWNED WRITER & DIRECTOR OF THE FILM ‘SIKANDAR’, HOLDS A GUEST LECTURE ON FILM MAKING AT DIGITAL ACADEMY

Piyush Jha, acclaimed Writer & Director of the film ‘Sikandar’ held a guest lecture on the topic of Filmmaking for the students of Digital Academy- The Film School, Mumbai.

Mr. Jha started his career with ‘Chalo America’, a small budget film, which had a lighthearted take on the fascination that millions of youngsters have for America. He followed it up with a satire on Bollywood called ‘King of Bollywood’, which was about an aging evergreen hero who refused to face reality and call it a day in showbiz. His latest film ‘Sikandar’ is an intense story about a young boy set against the backdrop of terror in Kashmir.

At the lecture he began by asking the students why they were in a Film School and said, “Anyone here because you want to be a Filmmaker? Do you have anything to say to the world? ...To be a Filmmaker you need to have something to say…otherwise what makes you different?” He stated that in the attempt to be a Filmmaker one has to be able to focus on a thought or a concept which is intrinsically one’s own, since what shines through in a film eventually is the ‘vision’. Talking about his previous films, he said, “I keep challenging myself & looking for something new to say…I’m not going to talk to you about the technicalities of Filmmaking now…that can be found anywhere…I’m here to challenge your sensibilities into thinking about why you want to make a film…”

To arrive at a general consensus he discussed with the students about what kind of films they liked, it yielded categories like ‘cult films’, ‘historical films’, ‘thrillers’, ‘socially relevant films’ etc. The discussion also brought out a general bias that exists against films that are considered socially relevant. Reflecting on the situation, he questioned the need for a social message in films and said, “I don’t think it’s about a social message for the sake of it and social themes don’t necessarily have to be dull either, we should see if it’s capable of questioning us & moving us out of our lethargy of thought or even action…”

He spoke about how the movie watching experience becoming expensive, has resulted in the audience choosing a more lighthearted kind of cinema that fully justifies the expense. In turn capsizing the existence of other kinds of cinema and leading to filmmakers creating films that only satisfy the market. He felt that to let the moneymaking aspect dominate is the wrong way of going about it. He believes that the most important thing to be a filmmaker is to really love cinema - all kinds of cinema. However, he advised the students to take in all the aspects of filmmaking and rise above the problems.

On being asked what an amateur artist should take to a producer for him to consider investing a big chunk of money in that project, he said, “We have to make films that are able to make money…but we must understand our culture & history and make films that we believe in, that come from an internal instinct or thoughts that mesh with yourself…and in that come as close to commercial success as possible…” Though he firmly believes that today our cinema needs to strive, to move beyond what he terms: ‘the fascism of the cliché’ and develop a kind of cinema that originates from indigenous soil but with new thoughts, inspirations & contemporary ideas especially since the audiences have changed & are far more adventurous in their tastes.

According to him, another important subject was the ubiquitous nature of the star system in the industry, which hinders the genuineness of films sometimes. Addressing that, he said, “In India one thing you will face is the star system…you will be bombarded by it and everything will be about it…but you shouldn’t reject it…try to work it into your work…as it will benefit you eventually…” He concluded the lecture by saying, “There is no formula for success…one thing is for certain, if you want to make a film then do it any way you can…just be resolute about what you want…” He suggested to all the students that they should watch a lot of films but warned them against the perils of being ‘DVD directors’, eventually stating that the best teacher for a Filmmaker is reality itself.

Digital Academy offers courses in Screenplay Writing, Film & Television Direction, Cinematography, Film & Television Editing, Sound Recording & Engineering, Production Design, Producers Course, Film Making, Acting and Animation & FX.

For more information contact:

E-mail: response@digitalacademy.info

Visit: www.dafilmschool.com

Tel. no.: +91-22-28257009/+91-22-28257008

Vinay Shukla is a renowned Indian Film Writer and Director. He made the Hindi film Godmother, which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi in 1999 along with five more National Awards and one Filmfare Award. He has written films like ‘Viraasat’, ‘Hum Paanch’, ‘Ram Jaane’, ‘Raat, Shikaari’, ‘Thanedaar’, ‘Parinay’ and more. Along with ‘Godmother’ he has directed ‘Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe’, ‘Mirch’ (currently in post-production), ‘Sameera’ and acted in the film ‘Maqbool’. He has been instrumental in designing the script-writing course at the FTII (Film & Television Institute of India) .

Mr. Shukla commenced the lecture with a brief overview of the History of Cinema in our country- to enliven the magic that came with its onset and to explain through it the unique traits of Indian cinema. He described the Christmas day in the year 1910, when a gentleman from the city of Nashik, Mr. D G Phalke saw the film ‘Life of Christ’ at the America-India Theatre and went home to tell his wife of his ambitions to make similar films but with Indian mythology at its centre, kick starting the era of the ‘Indian’ Motion Pictures.

By incorporating Indian mythology Mr. D G Phalke created an indigenous expression of the medium, which the people could relate to & hence accept.

With the advent of technology, came the first Indian talkies- the period drama ‘Alam Ara’, which had been adapted from a Parsi play. It popularized the song & dance routine, which eventually became a unique trait of Indian Cinema. The burgeoning of studios like Bombay Talkies, Prabhat Studios etc. around the 30s & 40s, brought with it the studio system, bringing many European technicians to Indian shores, who would work with regional filmmakers in Hindi films, resulting in the need for translators; eventually paving the way for specialized dialogue writers in the industry.

Summarizing the uniqueness of Indian Cinema, he said, “Our cinema aspires to tell epics…which is basically the conflict of high moral values…broadly a conflict between good & evil…”

According to him an epic tale cannot be told without elements like: a) Melodrama, which like poetry captures a large depth of emotion & if done well, doesn’t become unreasonable, b) Rhetoric, which is when feelings & words are woven into each other within the constraint of logic at a high emotional scale, c) Song & Dance, which allows one to express what can’t be expressed solely through dialogue & also advances narrative by compressing or elongating the concept of time in the film, d) Action, which brings a sense of immediate justice and e) Comedy, where the role of the comedian is often to play the fool yet be the wisest. Dispelling any skepticism about rhetoric or melodrama he said, “I wonder if a tale about conflicting values can even be made without melodrama… what is required for it to work is the truth of the ground work…most of the filmmakers today source their stories from other films they have seen, not from their own lives…which makes their films lack depth & emotion…”

He felt that a formula film uses the features of drama repetitively & as stand-alone concepts that are not integral to the film whereas a film like Lagaan uses it judiciously and not with the intention of ‘luring’ the audiences, which in turn makes it beautiful. He then elaborated on a conversation with his young daughter wherein he was trying to cull out the aesthetics that the new generation desires in Films; it yielded a few keywords such as short, subtle, not over-dramatic, grey, contemporary etc. that Mr. Shukla believed were universal and needed urgent attention by the new generation of filmmakers. He cited films like Dil Chahta Hai, Jab We Met, Rang De Basanti etc., which lie within the framework of urban values & contemporary sensibilities. Speaking about today’s audiences he said, “Today’s audience likes genre specific films…take any kind of story and there is already an example…” When asked about Producers and choosing topics for Producers he replied, “Do not be derivative in your work…you need to be smart enough to choose something a Producer would like, but something that is integrally yours…”

He also felt that it is necessary to estimate the basic theme that one is dealing with in a story; knowing what one is working on in a story helps to create necessary plot points and orchestrate the right resonances from the topic. Addressing the importance of the appeal of the topic he said, “Only do the things that excite you or move you! Creative people should never make something they are not interested in…you will be lucky if you come out of it…no work of creative satisfaction can happen if the creator is not excited…but one should never be disheartened when one comes across the blocks…perseverance is key, you should never give up…”

On being asked about whether he writes, thinking about specific actors for the roles, he said, “I don’t write keeping an actor in mind, some might do it…I don’t know if it is advisable. Mahatma Gandhi said that when a person truly gives, he gives a part of himself…in the same way when a writer writes, he gives a part of himself/herself…the character mirrors the writer.” He felt that the focus should be on what satisfies one’s sensibilities rather than pandering to alien forms & values as the answers can come only from within oneself; books, friends, films can only facilitate the questions. Conversing about his National Award winning film ‘Godmother’, he said, “The values you follow will come back to you as a mirror image…whatever path you follow the question comes back to you about whether you are right or wrong…I believe that films do impart values, if only subtly to society…so at some level it is important to be a good human being to be a filmmaker…there is that responsibility…”

His concluding advice about what it takes to be a good director was that one needs to raise one’s level of understanding, awareness & constantly evolve until one reaches a higher level of consciousness without which no creative artist can create a real work of Art.

Digital Academy offers courses in Screenplay Writing, Film & Television Direction, Cinematography, Film & Television Editing, Sound Recording & Engineering, Production Design, Producers Course, Film Making, Acting and Animation & FX.

For more information contact:
E-mail: response@digitalacademy.info

Visit: www.dafilmschool.com
Tel.no.:+91-22-28257009/+91-22-28257008

SANJAY F. GUPTA, RENOWNED CINEMATOGRAPHER CONDUCTS A GUEST LECTURE ON CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR STUDENTS OF DIGITAL ACADEMY-THE FILM SCHOOL.

Sanjay F Gupta, the renowned Cinematographer of films like ‘Singh is King’, ‘Mujhse Shaadi Karoge’, ‘Qayamat’, held a workshop for the students of Digital Academy – The Film School, Mumbai (Bombay) India.

Sanjay F Gupta is also the managing director of Grey Partridge (P) LTD with over 20 years of experience in commercials, features and music videos. He has a degree in Cinema from Columbia College, Los Angeles.

Mr. Gupta started a discussion about the roles of a DOP (Director of Photography); Talking about an industry, where very few Directors can discern the role of a DOP, he spoke of how frustrating it can be to work with a crew that didn’t understand photography. Expounding that, he said, “Now when you are looking into the viewfinder & your fingers reach for the record button…being a little idealistic, I think its starting to make History…its going to be on a negative, then it will become digital and finally permanent…hopefully we are creating Art of some sort…lets hope so…”.

He clarified that although the conditions today are not favorable to Cinematography as an Art form, it is extremely important that the students clearly understand & appreciate the role it plays in a film. He emphasized that one needs to know all that a Director of Photography should do to make the film look its best, for example, how many windows are present in a set, angle of light, position of the sun etc. He encouraged the students to break down cinematography into its many elements: Framing, Lensing, Lighting, Camera Movement, Exposure, Focus, Film Stock, Filters and discussed them in detail.

Talking about Framing he said, “The Frame has to be dedicated to what it is trying to communicate...it’s not just about beauty…” Then he recounted an incident on a shoot with renowned International Director Shekhar Kapur who made ‘Elizabeth’ & ‘Bandit Queen’, wherein he had framed the shot of a horse running in the sunset according to the one third rule, keeping the horse on the edge of the frame; but on Kapur’s odd request he decided to keep the horse at the other edge revealing behind it a trail of beautifully backlit dust, which transformed the shot, making it look magnificent. And so he advised that it is not necessary to follow the one-third rule of framing dogmatically, but rather let it guide you into discovering things.

Another important responsibility of the DOP according to him was to know about how the light will follow through in the course of the day and understanding the area along with the light sources & shadows etc. with a digital camera if possible. But knowing the way Producers work, he said that most of the time it is not easy to do recces of this kind due to constraints. However he said, “You have to outsmart your producer. If you love your Art then you will do that, maybe send an assistant to check the area out beforehand…”

Certain fundamental things that he believes need to be sorted out at such recces are:

For outdoor locations check the position of the sun, shoot the wide & master shots first, do close-ups last (because they are easiest to do in bad light conditions) and match the shots through out (the biggest challenge)

For indoor locations check the number of practical lamps and the number of halogen lights, check if chandeliers, bulbs, lampshades & all other lights are on dimmers, whether identical lights are on the same dimmer and if tube lights are flicker-free (i.e. Kinos). If some bulbs are burning out in the frame then use an orange or yellow gel with the correct degree (1CTO, ½ CTO etc.)

He added that knowledge of things like ‘which filter is used when’, comes with experience & ‘home-work’, “Do your homework, because no one else will…the more homework you do the better your work will look. Also the use of story boarding is very essential as it helps to communicate to the crew-members and sometimes even understand the shot yourself…”

Stressing on the fact that the ultimate idea is the mood of the image- He broached the topic of Depth of Field, which is affected by three factors: a) The kind of lens used, b) The f-stop (aperture) & c) The distance between the camera & subject. A shallow depth of field generally produces an interesting effect, directing attention sharply it can add a certain drama to the image. Video has a larger depth of field, which makes its image quality very crisp & clean eluding the traditional feel of film. In spite of this he added, “Better learn to work with video…it is the future…”

One of the other things that can change the mood of a shot without changing much else is the exposure. With exposure one can over-expose, under-expose or expose selectively with surprising effects. According to him correct exposure is subjective and can be achieved in many different ways, “You have to be very selective & very careful with what you expose for…don’t be dogmatic, look around for the options to create the right mood…”

Divulging one of his many tricks of the trade he said that choosing a particular f-stop and lighting around it can make things a lot easier. In lighting for proper chroma key, he suggested that the green screen be evenly lit, with a slight over-exposure of half a stop & the subject kept at least 10 to 15 feet away from the green screen, so as to not allow any green to bounce onto the subject.

On the subject of lighting he spoke about the two fundamental types of lighting: hard light & soft light. He described their attributes as hard light having a) more intensity, b) sharp shadows, c) better details and soft light having a) less intensity, b) very soft shadows, c) more spread (creating an overall pleasant look). He gave examples of how the monthly Indian magazine ‘Femina’ shot its pictures with everything in soft light, which could get boring, whereas a magazine like ‘Vogue’ used hard light very innovatively & beautifully. However, he summarized by simply stating that when one is in doubt, one should resort to soft light. Soft light needs a large light source, which can be done using bounces or using diffusion material in front of the light.

He felt that as a DOP another one of his tasks is to be an effective communicator with the Director, the crew & the cast.

In his message to the Direction students he said, “As a Director, you need to know a little more than everybody else, you need to know little bit of everything…how are you going to do that? By reading a lot & going to as many shoots as you can…” He also suggested that visualizing the entire look of the film beforehand was a good idea because it helps greatly to supplement the script & communicate one’s vision.

Speaking about Digital Academy- The Film School and their students, he said, “It was a delight…these guys are really enthusiastic & really want to learn…it’s a great school. It seems very intimate. Seems like everybody is personally supervising everything…like its being taken care of from the heart, which is very obvious…”

Digital Academy offers courses in Screenplay Writing, Film & Television Direction, Cinematography, Film & Television Editing, Sound Recording & Engineering, Production Design, Producers Course, Film Making, Acting and Animation & FX.

For more information contact:

E-mail: response@dafilmschool.com

Visit: - www.dafilmschool.com

Tel. no.: +91-22-28257009/+91-22-28257008