Our Independent Cinema
How does one define independent cinema in our country? What budget limit would make a film indie? How does one control the budget to make it viable? What are the avenues available to sell the film, after it is made? How can we make more people aware of the meaningful films being made here and make them reach? Questions like these have been popping out for sometime now. Here is my abstract take on them.. It off course does not promise a certain solution…
Most often or not the process of starting a project would start, with a director running after the producers carrying a story he believes in and is desperate to tell. The foremost thing Mr. P would be interested is the star cast. Now seeing the recent past, one can see so many examples of films having so called A grade stars bombing at the box office. There is hardly any stars left in the industry, who can carry the film entirely on their shoulders..The so called A graders need good 2 to 4 months of publicity bombardments to drag people into the theatres…but the viewers have been fooled once too often…now they wait and see…even these stars do not guarantee the initials..so whats the point of paying them amounts in which it is possible to make 10 pathbreaking films without them, when they can not even guarantee 10 tickets..if a film works it coz of its quality for which the creative team is far responsible, but they are able to grab the credit shamelessly. The poor script writer whose has put his soul and years of hard work is left stranded…the director is overshadowed by the star power..
Now there are smaller stars, who want to do meaningful films or what we term as indie films…but even their fees alone is worth at least one additional film budget…even they can not guarantee a sale of 10 tickets! Once they are casted in a niche film…the budget is bound to go beyond the recoverable limits…so the film is a set back to the indie scene even before it takes off.
The solution would be to make non star cast films, or make indie stars work for sensible amounts, which will make the film viable …but again the producer should have balls to go for non star cast films or the stars should realize the scope of the film…We again get into vicious circle.
The making of the film is an issue too…the key technicians often used in such films are already established, their charges increases the burden on the film further…why can’t we judge new comers, and give them breaks…there is a lot of talent out there, waiting to be explored..why do we need multiple trucks of lighting or multiple generators in some cases in indie films?…why do we need a Digital intermediate (DI) process for indie films?…If you are doing the DI, why not use super 16 format instead of 35mm in the case of the subjects, which are more suitable to the smaller formats, which would cut the prime cost of film stock by 1/4th?…why do we need a unit of 100 people or so in indie films?..why cant we be sure of the shot division in the pre-production stage so that we do not waste the film stock?
After all the pains, when a film is made, the task of selling the film starts, which is a tricky one.. The recoverable budget, can not be clearly defined..It would depend a lot on the ties of the producer with the distributors, satellite channels, dvd companies etc, which would give him a fair idea of minimum returns. If the producer is a new comer and does not have his distribution lined up he is likely to get in trouble…the distributors wait for the kill..they want the film to be released on commission, which never gets producer his money, but he might get the bills for publicity /exhibition costs..the maker has to run for dvd rights, satellite rights…
May be a body of indie film makers should create a network, with various members bringing their distribution contacts on table..so that an indie film maker does not have to re-invent the wheel everytime..The body should present the film, with its stamp on the publicity material…also should deal with the distributors directly on producers behalf…that would make us more powerful force to be dealt with..Just imagine if we could manage one release every Friday, with Indie logo on it, we would be bigger than all the commercial producers/studios put together..It might sound hypothetical but who knows.
The other step would be to increase the avenues for selling the film…For eg. if we could get just the connection to sell the DVD rights to say blockbuster/Hollywood video, who have more than 8000 stores each in the USA, it would be good enough to recover major cost of the film…on top of that you have satellite rights of international channels say like HBO or others, who would pay far more than the Indian counterparts… Off course ever film might not get the blockbuster/HBO deal, but at least they could try the option…similarly indie film distribution overseas is much wider than the desi distribution, which mainly consist of shitty theatres, only in the big cities. Also majority of our overseas desi population are the most illiterate film goers, who would only watch star studded films…Most of the mature crowds work in small towns or are too smart to shell out the theatre money and wait for two dollar VHS tapes to arrive in the local Indian grocery shops. An indie distribution deal would penetrate a wider audience, in smaller cities, giving more screens to people who love quality cinema irrespective of the language. So far we have only realized the market of urban youth in the Indian metros, who are really tortured if they have to watch a regular commercial films..thats an encouraging sign, but we need to increase our boundaries.
The indie body, could also form a pool of talented actors, technicians, who are ready to work for the cause for smaller amounts..
The body would also attract people, who chase established film makers with suitcases full of surplus money and end up getting looted by the bollywood baddies.
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Good piece of coherent thoughts….helpful insight into Indie films. Good post.
well- you can try paying a part of everybodays income (who fall above a certain level) based on the fate of the film at the box-office. *-:)
But that would bring in many other complicated issues, I assume.
yeah..sounds good….
How will it get materialized is the real question?…
@Manjit Babu,
Nice post at interesting time. There is a need for forming a body. NFDC was such a body and in the past people had formed a team hence Shyam Benegal could made films in 70s, his cinematographer Govind Nihalani became independent Director and made some very good films.
Any film should be indie film where non-creative Producer does not interfere in the creative area, stories are not changed to give extra footage to certain star and even if changes are done in the story then only to enhance the impact of the story and not to promote a certain star.
Naseeruddin Shah had helped Rajat Kapoor while he was making Raghu Romeo. Thats promoting small and indie film.
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But this whole Indie concept can be a bubble also and can be a Facade just to have a platform else many filmmakers might have united to support each other. when they are unable to take first step and waiting that film makers of big films should bring change and should give place to small film makers then somewhere concept does not go ahead with good health.
Any actor working in small films, if dream that in one year he should reside in a palace like house like SRK lives, or Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan live then starting is not based on reality.
First necessity is to expose people to small but appealing films and for that these should be made and released. There is no point in shouting why Subhash Ghai is not promoting small films, or YRF is not promoting or Karan Johar is not making films with realistic looks. They will make once they see that people are liking these small films which are made by sincere efforts.If these small films provide alternative in entertainment area then only they will get some place and later they may be major contributor and once in a while people will get to see some big films.
Change take time and it will not come over night.
Indian audience had made cue outside the cinema halls where Rekha starrer Umrao Jaan was screened. Govt also had supported the film by declairing it as tax free film. But audience did not make cue for much expensive new Umrao Jaan.
Old Umrao Jaan had no advertisement before its release and new had months of propaganda before it was released.
But if small film makers will fight that their film should be given preference over big SRK starrer or SLB’s big budget film then they will lose the ground. They have to be realistic about profit and initial start of the film.
If cost is recovered from all sources (Theatrical release, music rights, TV rights, DVD etc) then its time to make another film. Change will come slowly.
If there is restriction on entering some places then its time to create new places and its useless to fight to get right to enter in to old place. when new place will be energised then members of old place will also feel to visit new place.
welcome post Manjeet.
“Just imagine if we could manage one release every Friday, with Indie logo on it, we would be bigger than all the commercial producers/studios put together..It might sound hypothetical but who knows.” - i love this idea. Even a release a month would augur very well for our Indie Cinema.
Manjeet, I see a refrain in your part to go the whole mile when you are proposing options- as if you think this is part utopian.
You my friend, has laid a framework for anybody with the right focus to go ahead, tweak it and do it.
did i hear someone say this aint easy? well noone said it was easy. it will be hard, but then there’s a possibility here to think off.
(and for most parts there are people doing similar stuff, but not many.)
Hello Manjeet,
Your post is very impressive.
I am curious to know, if you want to make an indie soon.
I have recently finished the first draft for a feature. And i want to shoot it in New Delhi sometime Q2 / Q3 next year. Let me know, if you be interested to collaborate.
I don’t have any producer on board, but if i don’t find one i will shoot in HD and in a gureilla style.
Hemant.
manjeet, i liked your post minus this comment..
“Also majority of our overseas desi population are the most illiterate film goers, who would only watch star studded films”
there are just as many “literate” cine-goers in the overseas markets as there are in india. let’s talk about why om shanti om will be a superhit in india and abroad, and we all know the reason. let’s talk about why manorama will do poor business both at home and overseas, and we all know the reason yet again. don’t forget that many times, the NRI audience doesn’t even get the quality movies released to them, thereby limiting their options. let’s also not forget the marketing for these movies overseas. how is aam junta supposed to know about johnny gaddaar (which in my honest opinion, the most intelligent movie to come out this year) when they barely see any promos for the movie on TV?
i don’t think you can label majority of NRIs as “illiterate film goers” when the majority of indians in india are the very same. things will and should change, and it’s not just about domestic and overseas. it’s about an even ground for good exposure to all films, regardless of the studio, or lack thereof, behind it.
Striker, you definitely fall in the minority group overseas:) I made this statement of what I have experienced overseas. People do not even want to rent a VHS tape without star cast:) Go to the theatre in Jackson heights and watch the films been screened, you will notice the diff in presence between Manorama and big star cast film ..Manorama ran for 4 weeks in Mumbai don’t know if it did the same else where. The major chunk of the money Om Shanti Om is gonna make is in the overseas, same might not be true from non star cast films..on here in Mumbai you will find people waiting more than 2 hours in line to watch a film in french film festival…
My point is we should not depend upon desi audiences alone and expand the viewership to foreingers, who want to watch quality films..I remember Navdeep mentioning similar thing about getting indie distribution abroad..
Hemant, like your spirit bro..honored by ur offer! don’t know how capable I am to collabrate:) finding producer is the biggest problem any film maker faces:) Would suggest looking into 16mm option it might work out better than digital..my 2 cents
Dpac, just wrote what I felt:) you never know kind of thing..
Thani, if our indie film makers work together it would be impossible to ignore the fresh ideas coming out. Hopefully things are going in right direction.
RK sir, The change has already started…there is an independent film makers body…stars are doing meaningful films..so the future is bright for the right kind of cinema and it is definitely not a buble.
Sourav good to know you liked it!
SS:What you are mentioning does happen as this is a industry with no fix pay structure for anybody.
Siva as I said not sure, just expressed the ideas that kept coming.
haan yaar, i see your point.. but the same is the case with our domestic audience too.. the 2hr lines you’ll find here too.. at film festivals and other places. but when my cousin, who lives in kolkata, tells me that tickets for bhool bhulaiyya are sold out for the next 2 weeks, what can i respond with? he’s here on vacation, and i’ve already told him i won’t take him to watch bhool bhulaiyya but i’ll drag him to “no smoking” instead. he hasn’t even heard of the movie! and he’s about as average as the average movie-goer gets.
as for expanding viewership to foreigners.. how do you reel them in? you can market a jet li movie in mandarin in mainstream as well as artsy theaters bc jet li has an action hero brandname behind him.. so you put subtitles, and the people will come. sometimes a tarantino comes along and puts his stamp on these films, which gets even more crowd into the theaters. the same goes for a jackie chan movie. that the japanese, chinese, and koreans can make kickass action and horror flicks is no news. that their technical expertise in movies is way beyond ours is no news either. can india ever make something like “the host” which got mainstream releases in the US? how will indian filmmakers brand themselves? with songs, dances, opulence and grandeur a la “devdas” and bansali films? why should the average foreign viewer watch an indian film that doesn’t have songs and dances? i think that’s the question we need to target.
Striker, I am not talking about going main stream for indie films in the USA..Its releasing them in Indie theatres, which have dedicated crowds..for eg screening the film in the indie theatre at leferets blvd in queens rather than a desi theatre in Jackson heights..than publicize the film in local desi newspapers you get in temples, gurudwaras n grocery stores..so you know have the desis who want to watch the film as well as the foreigners, who believe in good cinema, who would not go to watch bollywood flicks in jackson heights..
something like the host is difficult to make in indie fashion thats where the big players/studios come in..people already are trying to work out big projects on those lines, but its not indie category
It is a strange Catch-22 Indian filmmakers find themselves in. For years people were crying hoarse that there is a bias against Indian films in the West, the naach-gaana format does not work but in the last 10 years some sort of Indian film “genre” has been carved out that people recognize. This is ofcourse the quintessesntial bollywood romance film with all the opulence that goes with it.
Now it seems the West has been conditioned to expect Moulin Rouge/Lagaan/Monsoon-Guava Orchard-Water musicals and we want them to recognize the movies that are made outside of this format.
It helps to take a look at the China syndrome. They are in the same predicament as us although they have technically “crossed over.” It was Crouching Sher, Chippta Chipkali and all the Chinese/Hongkong movies that followed with mainstream releases were Wu-Xia costume and kungfu epics. There has not been a single contemporary Chinese or HK movie with a mainstream release (Kungfu Hustle does not count because it was a spoof of Wu-Xia movies). The HK action splatters of the 90s had a cult following but none of them had a wide release. Sure it got John Woo his Hollywood break, Jackie Chan some stupid slapstick and Jet Li some roles but remember that they had to remake Infernal Affairs as The Departed and didn’t release it wide with subtitles. The above mentioned stars were co-opted into the Hollywood machine with movies like Romeo Must Die, and every ridiculous movie that Chan has made till Hollywood discovered the formula of matching him with someone from a different race in a buddy action comedy.
It really comes down to what we want to achieve. Let’s say tomorrow we make an action-romance (we are Indian so there must be ROMAAANCE…as in the famous song, Daaaance with the mujik, romaaance with the mujik) with some very well choreographed action sequences (hire some good Hollywood stunt directors) and great choreographed music numbers (by Farah ofcourse) starring Hrithik Roshan and a good story. I’m gonna call this movie Speed meets Moulin Rouge without it being too campy.
This movie titled “Hum Aise He Hain Bhaiya,” directed by Shekhar Kapoor gets raves in the festival circuit and Weinstein and Will Smith are all salivating over the money this is going to make because it has been made for $20MM. They buy it and Tartan and Lions Gate go into a bidding war over the wide release of this film. All ends well.
What happens next? Shekhar Kapoor gets prestige film projects and makes a mark for himself as the go to guy for big budget romance spectacles. Hrithik Roshan gets a couple of action-comedy roles with some upcoming star like the Transformers kid or a foggie ol’ wash up like Gere. But what to do about his Indianess? Maybe they’ll reach some sort of compromise like Banderas and he will have a good run for a few years if he has a good publicist and Gwen Stefani takes a fancy to him. The heroine of the movie will get those “we-need-brown-boobies” roles.
What does this do to the state of Indian cinema? Everyone will want to make the next big budget action-romance spectacle where chicks and dicks wearing designer shades blow up shit while dancing to a rahman tune perfectly synchronized, with a star that has crossover appeal, and the media will have a field day self-fellating amidst proclamations of “we have arrived.”
The small guy making a thriller will still get crushed in India, at least initially. But there will definitely be positive exposure. Earnest film fans will watch the cross-over films and seek out other Indian movies and a variety of Indian movies will play regularly at art house theaters. Producers will realize that they can market small well made films that easily fit a genre that they are used to. Genre is one of the most important marketing tools in the Hollywood machine. When buyers watch a movie at Toronto, they are thinking about their audience. Horror movies are the easiest. That demographic visits cinemas regularly and parts with their money easily. International cross over Comedies are rare and difficult because comedy tends to be more cultural. Thrillers are too wide a range but can be done. I see no reason why a Speed or Die Hard or Phone Booth or even Red Eye made in India could not be pitched at a mainstream audience. Dramas are the hardest sell even for Hollywood movies. You better bring your A-game. SFX spectacles, I don’t think we are going to get there any time soon unless there is a revolution in the industry in India.
Keep in mind that the SFX and creature design for The Host was done in San Francisco using an American company, although the design was Korean.
This may result in some sort of interesting split where Mumbai filmmakers realize that DVD chori doesn’t pay that well and out of sheer desperation they may actually create something.
I am therefore I dream.
p.s. Why does it rankle our collective consciousness so much when people do DVD chori? The majority of the people that watch those movies have not seen the original anyway right? If I told you that the Godfather was inspired by some Swahili movie, would it bother you? Is it the frightening regularity with which they do it or is it the jalan that comes from someone earning more than they deserve. There was a study done with monkeys where they were assigned and trained to do a task and rewarded with a grape. They found that when some monkeys were trained to do more and given more grapes, the others accepted it. But when some monkeys were given extra grapes for the same effort, the rest of them quickly turned on those monkeys and a melee ensued.
Man is the missing link and not the other way as is popularly believed.
Hi Manish
Good post and a very good idea. I have a couple of questions and would really appreciate responses from you as well as others. Is it possible to shoot entirely in digital and then transfer it to film? If so what are the merits and demerits?
The rising cost of shooting in film and its ancillary costs make it virtually impossible for small time people to make films. I have seen people who have had all the other ends(actors, marketing plan, etc) tied up but the cost of stock becomesa killer. Is it possible to shoot in digital and show it around and then once something comes along, transfer it to film?
Thanks
Abhra
I think every culture of cinema has had its indie revolution at one point and this is the time for the indie movement in India to emerge. A time for the collective consciousness of indie filmmakers to manifest itself through indian film festivals in India.
I have a question about the indie scene in India.
QUESTION
Is there a specific forum or club or indie meetup or private screening space or some kind of informal/formal platform where indie filmmakers hang out or go to for educational, critiquing, networking purposes?
If so, where(meeting places/addresses) are these forums/platforms/groups that we can meet and discuss and also educate ourselves?
Specifically in these cities - Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore.
Thanks Manjeet.
Will reply to your email.
Hi Manjeet
Good to read ur post…Preety thoughtful..Well said ..
Keep the brain storming discussion going.
Saw ur pics ..The silent intellectual
Kuka
Some random thoughts on things written here…
First, you cannot expect the mainstream audience to convert to independent film watchers. Two different types of people with different expectations. You can convert some of them, but most indie releases in most countries (including here in the US) have a limited audience except for the breakthrough films.
I feel that there were three films from India this year with crossover appeal (that could have appealed to an American audience), Cheeni Kum, Chak De, Manorama SFU. Maybe Johnny Gaddar, too. None of these movies went on the film festival circuit. How can anyone expect wide exposure for a film without showing at festivals? Even independent films here in the US generally do the rounds before getting picked up for distribution. How can anyone in India call foul while not taking advantage of the established avenues for film exposure (both big and independent), even the basic ones like foreign marketing and advertising?
Black Friday is in a class of its own. But, that is a completely different comment about movies that are totally ignored by their distributors…
I am probably not the average foreign film watcher that Striker mentioned. But, while the naatch gaana of Indian films makes them unaccessible to many non-Indians, the fact is that I among legions of Bollywood fans. We fell in love with the beautiful, and our craving for more led us deeper into the possibilities of what exists in this other sub-continent.
So, how does the independent filmmaker reach those who have no interest in Bollywood, but have an interest in quality world cinema? I would say better marketing and distribution. I don’t think the issue here is with the audience, they are a consumer waiting for a product. It is up to the marketers to find that audience and educate them that the product exists, and that it is world class…
i just did along with the id did’nt ge posted.how can i have it back so i can resend
hey,grt insight into the common problem every struggling director faces when making a film for the 1st time.i have just finshed writing a script for a 10 minute movie and have so much to say and show through the medium of expression we call cinema.i recently watch 3 great movies,ingmar bergman’s wild strawberries,michelangelo antonioni’s the night(la notte) &ousmane sembene mandabi(money order)These were screened at the y.b.chawan hall in mumbai for free.I was really not expect such a poor response i witnessed for such world class cintema. cinema which is an inspiration to most of the bollywood movies which we see.in all the glamour and glitz the pure and simple form of story telling is lost.well seems like a difficult task but maybe together we can create an awakening for good cinema small budget or not.
Although its really good article, i have problem with ur basic defination of ‘indie’.
Isnt ‘Dil Chahata Hai’, ‘Lagaan’, for tht matter any KJo or SLB movie, a indie film? I mean they make movies they believe in. Just that they have major stars believing in them too, they dont cease to be indie.
parth, the films you mentioned r clearly not indie for one big reasons, they had surplus resources..these type of films would have jimmy jib and cameras lying without being used..the amount paid to the star cast definitely is not indie…but again how do u define indie in our country we do not have a fix criteria as such..may be working with minimum resources in gureila form, with a small crew would be the starting limit..the upper limit is very tricky…a big budget film without star cast might want to call itself indie or a small budget film, which is able to rope in a star might also call itself indie:)
luvely, the people are not aware of such screenings..I myself would have loved to watch them if I had known
like your spirit…yeah we need some good films indie or no indie..no complaints if we get more Chak des!
t! its not about converting the mainstream audiences into indie…its about reaching the art film lovers with our meaningful films as explained in the earlier comment#16
RJ, the revolution has already been started by our film makers…our featured authors figure prominently in the movement..unfortunately not ware of such meetings.
Abhra:digital medium has limitations in colours, depth of field, progressive imaging and few others…it is possible to make a 35mm print from the digital files…the local lingo used in Bollywood is ‘RT’, which stands for reverse telecine, which is incorrect term to use the right term is digital film recording…the best bargain could get your job done for around 5 lakhs rs I believe…
Dabba, your comment is a article in itself:) what issue should I address
Kuka, good to know the post made you think :d
whatever you feel upto…or perhaps another post?
SUPER 16 POSSIBILITIES:- Surya’s short film 0:00pm can be taken as a eg. for a very basic, indie, guriella film making..He made a 15 min short film on super 16 and blew it to a 35mm print..the total budget came out to be 80,000 rs!
But he was very resourceful in getting the cinematographer, editor, actors, location for free…but it took lot of efforts and time on his part to be able to do so…He got a can of stock from Kodak and shot the film in 3 cans..that gives a ratio of 1:2…and shot the film in 2 days..he did have to pay the lightman, sound recordist and other techies involved..
Going by that calculation you could make a 60 min feature for 2.4 lakhs or 90 min feature for 4 lakhs, which might sound too optimistic but its all about your resources and time you can put in.
The basic cost of film making say film stock and camera, lab charges, editing and sound design..
Film stock: 400 ft can, gives 10 mins of shoot time..so 30 cans would give you more than 1:3 shooting ratio for a 90 min feature.
one can cost=6000rs
30 cans cost=180,000rs
SR2 camera with trolley,nagra, attendants etc will cost 10,000 rs/day, depending on how many day ur shooting it comes to: 2 to 3 lakhs
Lab cost should be around 2000 rs for developing n telecine (not sure abt this #, somewhere in ball park could be little lower too:) )
dont know how much is the charge to blow up to 35mm…it is a significant cost …not too sure abt the number..my guess would be 1.5 to 2 lakhs..
that makes it 60,000rs..
editing again depends on your resources if you have a laptop with avid or fcp and an editor who can do it for less cost..
say a cost of lakh in editing…
sound cost again depends how resourceful you are may be possible around 1 lakh.
Plus you need to pay for actors, transportation, food, location, etc…
Hi Manjeet. Interesting post. Few thoughts.
Firstly, the other option to 16mm is 35mm 3 perf which saves you roughly 25% of your stock cost from regular 4 perf stock.
Secondly, Little Terrorist (shooting budget) was Rs. 10 lacs. I spent another 10 lacs in post production but that was over 2 years and most of it after the Oscar nomination, basically as and when I needed to. We shot 35mm I did telecine onto mini-dv and cut the film on my apple laptop. Everyone worked for free, and foreign crew flew to India at their own cost as well, so I got international standards at no cost. I did dubbing in my bathroom with towels on the ceiling and floor to cut echo, the mix was done in London at a top facility totally free of cost. Even then the cost of making the movie was 10 lacs. I am sure the same film could have been done on 16mm for less and even less on digital. I don’t think the story would have changed but the look and quality of production would certainly have been different.
Thirdly, I think the agency or body you are hoping and wishing existed in India is called a sales agent. They take your film and represent it to distributors. We don’t have sales agents in India but I know that one or two are thinking of getting into this space.
But all other very good points. Take care.
Ashvin.
Ashvin, yup the 3 pref does save u 25% stock,comparatively super 16 saves you 75% of the stock..
Thank you for sharing the experiences and the facts of your prestigious short! No doubt 35mm would give 4 times better quality as compared to 16mm…but it could be used to give good results…for eg. the last king of Scotland was purposely shot on super 16 to get the grainy effect which would go with the dark look of the film…so 35mm is not necessarily the correct format for all the films thats one point..and secondly the truth of the saying ” a beggar can’t be a chooser”:)
the sales agent you talked about, would just be one of the important roles the body could perform…Moreover it could be a focal point for all the people connected with the industry may it be actors, directors, producers, distributors, financers, technicians, etc…it would form a symbol of trust, where anybody won’t think twice before using the services…a body which would be accesible,transparent and trustworthy to everybody inside and outside the film industry, which is not possible in case of an individual
Thanks Manjeet for putting this cost break up.
Will help to plan better.
Thanks again.
To the best of my knowledge, ‘Indie’ is independent! Tht is the director has full freedom to express his own belief without any studio/producer pressure.
Wot YRF makes is definately NOT indie.
hi manjeet,
by any chance did you participate in filmaka for mistaken identity this month and made a film called ‘the deal’?
Adesh, you found me:) the film you mentioned is very special to me, coz it happens to be the very first shot of my life! It was shot quite some time back when I was 4 days old in the film making fraternity…it happened to suit last month’s topic…The response was’nt too bad:)…some of the comments were flattering! for eg:-
A film student saying “U played with the Shadow mannn… Remind me Of GURU DUTT” He promised me the dvds of Guru Dutt..on whom he had done a research project..
A film maker saying “somewat a lumiere brother’s film…” IMBDed to find who Lumiere brothers were and was amazed to find out they shot the films back in 1895!
It was shot using 2-3halogens lights, and 30-40 year old Arri 16 S..used two 100 ft rolls of 16mm..it costed around 80 usd.
Learning cinema never ends..came across the term ‘noir’ very recently…can call it a noir
Parth, still coming to terms with the term Indie..thanks for letting me know..but how can there be a yardstick to know, if the film’s director had full freedom for a particular film…may be independent resources would be a better yardstick?
thats what I meant how do you really call a film indie?
Hello Manjeet,
There is a Red One camera in the market. Dont know whether it is in India or not. But it is a great option as it can cut film costs and is said to give great visual output as well.
More in these links:
http://www.red.com/
http://www.reduser.net/forum/index.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RED_Digital_Camera_Company
http://www.hdvisionstudio.com/blog/2007/09/05/the-red-one-camera-is-now-shipping/
best.
I forgot to mention that Soderbergh is very impressed with this camera.
More here:
http://www.hdforindies.com/2007/07/steven-soderbergh-calls-red-one-camera.html
best.
Pankaj: Actually have promoted RED Camera here on PFC sometime back check out:-
http://passionforcinema.com/a-promising-new-hope-for-independent-film-makers-digital-cinema-by-red-camera/
Pankaj: Started a thread on RED forum, which attracted a lot of people from indie scene. One of the future owner of RED offered me to play with it, when he gets it JAN!! If it happens it would be awesome!!! Here is the link!
http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2340&page=6
its amazing how we find people!
I didnt know that was your first film.
For a first outing i think it was not bad at all. I remember the first film i made was so horrible that i still dont show it to anyone, not that my recent efforts are good enough.
Nice post, by the way!
Hey Manjeet, great to know of this. If you happen to use this camera - you might be the first one in India.
Do your best.
thanks very much manjeet/ashwin for putting up the cost break-up (responses 34-36)and other details. cud u pls give a similar break-up for 35mm especially the 3-perf one. (also pls tell me what 3-perf exactly means)..
another thing..cud u pls tell me if it is possible to rent a 35mm camera in delhi? are there any equipment suppliers in delhi who rent it? if yes, cud u pls tell me where i can find their contact addresses.
i am based in delhi and am trying to see if can put together a small film on 35mm at minimum budget.
thanks a ton
shalini
Shalini: 3 perforations on the side of film stock makes 3 pref..A normal frame has 4 perforations, while this is a sort of advance option to shoot in 3 pref, thereby saving 25% of the stock..it does save stock, but the post prod. like editing and printing gets little complicated as the system is used to conventional 4 pref..
I have very little idea of delhi..you can check out the production houses in noida..sorry can’t be of much help..
thanks very much manjeet…your advice was very required. if possible, pls tell me in that case what would be the break-up of costs for (4-perf) 35mm… [[similar to the one you have given (in response no.34) for 16mm (eg for 35mm how much is the cost of one can and how much shoot time it gives, and what are the other charges)]]
thanks a lot.
shalini
Shalini: u r most welcome
the equipment cost difference is not much..the basic Arri 3 with lenses ,operators n video assist should be around 10,000rs/day, but the film stock is much costly…
A 400 ft can, will give u around 4 mins of footage and cost you around 10,000 rs, the other costs of lab, editing,sound etc remain same.
thanks so much manjeet..all the best!
manjeet: when u say 400 ft will give 4 mins of footage,(no.51) have u already included the shooting ratio or do we get 4 minutes per se?
shalini: there is hardly any worthwile place for renting 35mm cameras in Delhi: have been looking for myself for a long time..i am based out of Chandigarh..if ever find one wil let u know surelly