Posts Tagged ‘Teaching Film-making’

  • Night Falls – An elegy for my hero
    About 2/3rds into the execrable LADY IN THE WATER, there’s a scene where two characters speak outside the building in a medium shot, exit the scene, followed by a pan of the camera to the building door. The framing now is almost a wide shot. The reason why I am describing shot sizes is to put in perspective some basic rules of horror grammar (itself a modification...
    by dabba at February 9th, 2008 at 04:02 pm
  • Time, Quality, Money…You can pick 2!
    Time, Quality, Money…You can pick 2! That is the thumb rule in Animation Production By Hari Varma, Chief Creative officer – Toonz India Anurag’s (AK’s) mention in his article on his film Return of Hanuman about me as the real hero of the film prompted me to write this note. In fact in Animation, there are no single individuals. It is all the work of...
    by PROJEKT iVIEW at January 1st, 2008 at 08:01 am
  • Gimme some sugar, I am your Reader
    iView Author: Dabba (New York, USA) Email : withheld Gimme some sugar, I am your Reader Yeh to hona hi tha. The deliciousness of the irony of it all has not been lost on me. I hated to read growing up, and would twiddle my thumbs or sometimes stick it up my arse since it was more fun than listening to my friends discuss Wodehouse or Forsyth or some other nonsense that...
    by PROJEKT iVIEW at November 18th, 2007 at 02:11 pm
  • Film Schools : Collective opinions
    Recently Srinivas approach PFC authors with a question. One of his friends wanted to attend a film school for direction and was confused which one to enroll in. Since the objective was to enroll in a film school outside India (because of Srinivas’s friend’s personal situation), PFC authors who have attended Film schools came in with their advice. The information...
    by oz at November 12th, 2007 at 04:11 pm
  • The Oscar reaction
    The Oscars elicit two broad reactions from the media and film industry in India. The media mourns our annual failure at achieving the acme of global cinema recognition, our film industry says bugger off, its no crowning glory we have our own vibrant industry and we don’t need em. In my opinion both are equally shrill and misplaced reactions. First off, the Oscars...
    by Ashvin Kumar at October 24th, 2007 at 11:10 pm
  • Little Terrorist – Oscar
    This little film has done so much for me that now as its fantiastic run continues in festivals around the world, its high time it was made available to whoever wants to see it for free. To read more about the film and its making please become a member of the facebook group associated with the movie. Little Terrorist: Jamal, a 12 year old Muslim Pakistani mistakenly crosses...
    by Ashvin Kumar at October 7th, 2007 at 06:10 am
  • Thoughts on writing / editing / acting / directing
    It can get pretty lonely out there, on a set – particularly the first time. On my first film which involved taking a bunch of very dedicated, professional yet raw foreigners to the wilderness of ladakh on a hopeless budget and a very guerrilla experience, in which I their ‘leader’ had really no filmmaking experience to rub together, it was baptism by...
    by Ashvin Kumar at October 5th, 2007 at 09:10 am
  • Movie Budgets for Dummies!
    iView Author: Srinivas N (Bangalore, India) EMAIL: Withheld We have recently seen some posts on PFC about how typical film budgets are. As everyone knows, there is nothing “typical” in any film budget and it all depends on how much you want to spend. Of course, there are some fixed costs as in the equipment rental, lab charges, negative prices etc but again,...
    by PROJEKT iVIEW at September 18th, 2007 at 09:09 am
  • abe KK, mazaak mazaak mein jeet gaye!
    Two days after we shot the first phase of Kartiks film, I called KK and asked him…yaar mujhe thoda orgasmic sound chahiye tha, tere paas koi desi porn ki cd hai kya…And KK said, sir aapne bahut sahi aadmi ko phone kiya hai. Aisi cheezein PFC mein do aadmiyon ke paas hi milengi, Bombay mein mere paas aur US mein oz ke paas. I told my funny thought about this...
    by Ashish Shukla at September 11th, 2007 at 02:09 am
  • Myths about crime that nontheless appear in films
    In my research into screenplay writing, the crime drama fascinated me particularly the ones that tended to portray the use of psychologists to solve crimes. I met with police officers in the UK and discussed the public perception of criminal investigations. People have unrealistic expectations of the abilities of police to solve crimes – these are fuelled by television...
    by PROJEKT iVIEW at August 7th, 2007 at 03:08 pm
  • Pyassa ( 1957 ) : Remembering Guru Dutt’s classic in its golden jubilee year !
    Pyassa is the result of sheer acumen of Director Guru Dutt. Right from the first scene where Vijay is lying in a garden and a flower falls on him and his mind is resounded with poetical words, film goes ahead with perfect grip of director on the subject. Each frame is well defined. When Vijay finds that source of his poetry is crushed by a careless human being, his poetry...
    by Rk at July 20th, 2007 at 06:07 am
  • first principals of screen acting
    this is an article i have written for my research paper and i would like to share it with PFC readers for comments. FIRST PRINCIPALS These are things that every one who is associated with the medium knows but still there is a need to drive it across again and again. These are guiding principals and common place wisdom by the gurus which I have read across many books and...
    by PROJEKT iVIEW at July 14th, 2007 at 09:07 pm
  • kaun hain yeh deewane darshak?
    main PATNA mein hoon. last friday ke pahle se pareshan tha ki is baar review kaise likhoonga.maloom nahi friday ki teenon filmen PATNA mein release hongi ki nahi.aajkal PATNA ke jyadatar cinemagharon mein BHOJPURI filmen hi dikhayi jaati hain.main TIMES OF INDIA dekhta hoon.usmein kisi bhi film ki koi jaankari nahi hai.shayad angrezi akhbaar mein bhojpuri aur hindi filmon...
    by ajay brahmatmaj at July 2nd, 2007 at 05:07 am
  • Romancing like Shahrukh Khan!
    One Sunday afternoon, after a delicious lunch of Rajma Chaval (red kidney beans and rice), went in to my bed room to find my phone ringing. The name ‘Toto’ was flashing. Toto is Anurag’s still photographer in No Smoking. I pick up the phone and go, “ haan bhai Toto Singh”(yeah tell me Toto Singh).The voice from the other side doesn’t sound like him, it goes,”...
    by Manjeet Singh at June 21st, 2007 at 10:06 am
  • In Conversation : Anwar Jamal
    Anwar Jamal loves to talk, and when you listen to him, you listen in awe. Literary references combine with philosophical insights coated with Anwar Bhai’s polished baritone, and you are transported to a world of stories. And the same effortless storytelling effervescence flows in his film, Swaraj too. Swaraj, a highly acclaimed film, has been screened in 45 international...
    by Tushar at June 12th, 2007 at 01:06 pm
  • The Cheeky Guide to Instant Art-House Success
    The Cheeky Guide to Instant Art-House Success Prologue “All Artists are willing to suffer for their work. But why are so few prepared to learn how to Draw?” – Banksy This essay is long. It’s highly opinioned. It even has opinions about itself. It’s arrogant, irreverent and generally sarcastic. It aims to be an academic essay, but can’t be, because of...
    by PROJEKT iVIEW at June 3rd, 2007 at 03:06 am
  • A promising new hope for Independent film-makers: Digital Cinema by RED Camera!
    Today’s technology is breaking new grounds. Cinema is just another field witnessing the winds of change. Films or rather movies (How can we call them films, when they are shot digitally ) like Collateral, Apacalypto, Star Wars, Sin City, 300…..being shot digitally. But is the present technology cheap? The above mentioned films used professional high end digital cameras...
    by Manjeet Singh at May 2nd, 2007 at 03:05 am
  • “METHOD ACTING”, please dont use this term!! PLEASE
    What is method acting? Method acting is not an acting tool nor is it a book it does not involve growing beard, loosing or gaining weight, living like the character or becoming a character. The most misunderstood term, misused by everyone and it spells nothing but ignorance about the craft of acting, to who ever use it without knowing what it actually is, now a days it...
    by PROJEKT iVIEW at April 30th, 2007 at 07:04 am
  • Film Investing Overseas and From There To Here!
    Hi Folks, This post is strictly business. But with more cross border film deals happening both in Bollywood and here in the US, some financial and fiscal guidelines to keep in mind. Firstly if there are any legal (actually this entire write up is on the premise that you are transacting the business legally) exchange of remmuneration i.e. monies paid to artist/crew/filmmaker...
    by Vivek Kumar at April 27th, 2007 at 11:04 am
  • IFFLA 2007 – Updates & Filmmaker Interviews
    In our tribute to Deepti Naval, the screening of Mirch Masala on Saturday, April 21 @ 8:00 pm has been REPLACED by the stunning Main Zinda Hoon directed by Sudhir Mishra. This is a rare film that is not available on DVD, VHS, or VCD, and NFDC has been kind enough to strike a brand new subtitled print for us, specially for the tribute. Don’t miss one of Sudhir Mishra’s...
    by Vijay at April 11th, 2007 at 03:04 pm
  • K Balachander – In discussion
    Here is a compilation of the Q&A session with K Balachander at Suchitra film society – exclusive to PFC. Q) When Kannada filmmakers like Girish Kasaravelli and Malayalam Directors like Adoor Gopala Krishnan are making films with a conviction and seriousness towards film as an art form, why is it that most Tamil film makers, who are not less talented, are making...
    by PROJEKT iVIEW at March 28th, 2007 at 04:03 pm
  • Four Short Film-Reviews
    Apocalypto It took me some time but I am glad that I watched this film. This is the stuff to be cherished in a DVD collection. It has ORGANIC, INDIGENOUS & VISCERAL written all over it. Much has been said about the film. The film deserves more resounding applause because of the courage and non-attempt to be perfect. I would like to add that it worked for me perfectly...
    by Tushar at March 27th, 2007 at 01:03 pm
  • 1/60 th sec ——> 24 fps
    Don’t understand where to start with. Where does this urge to learn everything involved in film making comes from? Can I control it? Will it really help me in becoming a better director? Why does it keep bothering me? Why the heck I am writing this article? Am I trying to show off my mediocre skills or stupidity? Why do I have to convince people close to me that everything...
    by Manjeet Singh at March 23rd, 2007 at 02:03 am
  • Screenwriting Tips from a TV legend
    As fans of hindi cinema, it’s far too often that we find ourselves watching what could have been a good, even great film, but somehow its found a way to disapoint us. 99% of the time its due to poor scripting. And what a damn shame that is. I’ve always believed that you don’t necessarily need a brilliant or even unique story to make a good film. It’s...
    by Tony Mera Naam at March 15th, 2007 at 02:03 pm
  • The Pursuit of Happyness-Film Review
    Christopher Gardner: And it was at that time that I thought about Thomas Jefferson writing that Declaration of Independence. Him saying that we have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And I thought about how he knew to put the ‘pursuit’ in there, like no one can actually have happiness. We can only pursue it. Different episodes in...
    by Tushar at March 10th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
  • Cinema going Digital
    21st Century and we are still stuck with the idea of shooting on celluloid film. Well this is true but things are definitly changing now. If I talk about the feature length motion pictures, they are still shot on film because of numerous reasons(we discuss later in the article), but for the documentary, indie film makers and for few others who are not afraid of experimenting,...
    by PROJEKT iVIEW at March 6th, 2007 at 03:03 pm
  • Some Thoughts on Eklavya
    Odes of Mahabharata, Shakespearean references and sonnets, a falling empire, a derelict palace, a royal guard who lives, well, royally. Eklavya is a film for a laid back watch; it speaks through the silences, which are not many. The technical aspect is near perfect, casting couldn’t be better; the BGM is not loud, just right. The film touches upon many themes, and...
    by Tushar at March 5th, 2007 at 09:03 am
  • Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd. – Film Review
    This review contains spoilers. HTPL is a delightful film for more reasons than one. It is a glowing proof to how well-worked stories can still work even with not so revolutionary treatment or setting. GOA. How lame can you get? A bus full of quirky characters, each theatrically distinct in mannerisms and hair-do’s. lame. A driver-conductor crew trying to mouth dehati...
    by Tushar at March 1st, 2007 at 09:03 am
  • Video Review – Pray For Me, Brother
    AR Rahman finally releases a music video, something that was long awaited. This song, which was actually released as a single through a mobile phone company, was composed two years ago. Bharatbala, of Maa Tujhe Salaam fame, directs this video with an international crew. This is a fine example of how quality video-making can elevate a song from the stature of great to memorable....
    by Tushar at February 27th, 2007 at 05:02 pm
  • Confessions of an AD
    The journey of becoming a film maker has taken me to the initial milestone of becoming an assistant director (AD). The team of Ads is headed by Nitesh, who has been associated with Pavan Kaul in television and films, first assistant Himanshu, who has worked in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Lage Raho Munnabhai and Eklavya. The rest of us Justin, Ravi, Prasad and myself are first...
    by Manjeet Singh at February 13th, 2007 at 08:02 am