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12 THINGS THAT MAKE A BETTER EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

February 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Unlike Hollywood, Executive Producer in Indian Film Industry is a representative of Producer/Financier, who takes care of entire film from End to End. He is a non-investing producer as you can say, or someone whose work begins right from creating a team to the releasing of film. Sweetly called an ‘EP’, he gathers the entire film block by block, and makes the final product look good. His work profile is to look after Pre-production, finances, casting, legal, locations, crew, music, camera and sound, production, post-production, marketing, distribution, release and revenue. Though he has an allotted team for each of them, he is the key decision maker in non-creative process of a film. In India, EP is considered as another crew member. However in Hollywood, Executive Producer holds a position just next to Director. Steven Spielberg, James Cameron are some of the best Executive Producers known. (P.S- Steven Speilberg is an EP for Men in Black-3 and Jurassic Park-4)

Know your Script WELL
EPs don’t bother about script. They aren’t those creative breeds. That’s where they go wrong. Script is backbone of logistics. A script is the first love of Director, or for sake, the entire direction team, and its only a EP who can counter logistical requirements of a script. A much needed balance of Script vs Money is soughted. Also, knowing the entire script thoroughly helps an EP with scene wise breakdown, and provides a clear idea of the shoot. Right changes at script level surely reduce the budget drastically.

Money is NO Boss, People are!
In a film, the investment is not always the money-power, but the people-power. Or so, it is the minds and hands of people involved, who make it a better product. So, if your Art director says he would need more manpower, seldom stop him. He actually needs that. There is that piece of work happening, which no money can buy. Invest in Cast, invest in Crew and let them take the front seat! We are not talking about over-hiring, but getting the best people in good budget.

If Technicalities are in better place, SENSIBILITIES are taken care off
A film made with proper, and the best equipments, will look equally better on screen. And believe it, investing in better technical reaps more benefits over the time. Getting best available Camera, a sound Cinematographer, a fine Editor, a Composed Sound Designer, a lavish DI setup, is what adds value to your film. When people with better technical know-how are brought in, they bring with them quality and most importantly, sensibility. I personally believe that cost should not be compromised to get best technical people and setup. A single goof-up technically can ruin the efforts of your production in minutes.

Put every DAMN thing on Black and White
A film made with proper planning will be seen on the big screen. Often, compromises occur on set due to poor planning and lack of communication. From the very beginning, it is helpful to pen down every requirement of film on paper. That’s where Breakdown comes in. A proper Master Breakdown should contain each and every detail about every scene, beginning from actor’s requirement to art requirement, location details, prop details, shoot time, supporting artists, camera details, lighting needs, transport needs, etc. A good breakdown runs into hundreds of pages, and contains DNA of entire production.

Following your Schedule is KEY to Success
A schedule is the remote to control budget, and achieving it right is always an EP’s triumph card. A film budget works linear to its schedule, but the moment the schedule overshoots, the line is exponential. A film that costs Rs. 2lac a day during scheduled shoot, might cost Rs. 3.5lac per day in overshoots. Hence a single day over the schedule maybe a EPs worst nightmare. It may put costs overhead and production under pressure. Remember, not every financier can/will/should afford an overbudget.

UNDER-Budget your film
Projects always overshoot the budget, and it is a universal truth, as pure as mortality. And with each penny going above the line, the explanation becomes tough, and nights, sleepless! It’s advisable to under-budget your film always. By under-budget, I mean to always consider a 25% lesser budget than available finances. If Rs. 2Cr is your desired budget to make a film, Rs. 1.5Cr is what you need to convey. Your soul knows, how it is going to overshoot. And then, one of your actor misses the flight, your camera gets damaged, a fire engulfs a light, location hidden costs, someone gets injured or a penalty comes up, are enough reasons for those extra Rs. 50lac to be spent.

Experience is Awesome, FRESHERS are Awesomest
Experienced people on floor bring established process, hard mindsets and a narrow window of thoughts. Also comes with them is usually tonnes of ego. Though, they make work easier, and faster, they sometimes fail to cope up with rest of the crew due to limitation of thoughts. A newbie however have an opposite approach and an urge to learn and do things differently creates an atmosphere of hardwork and persistence.

Actors are KINGMAKERS, not Heartbreakers
Actors are the face of your film, and it is every director’s wish to work with best available actors. Seldom it happens that known actors make a happier set. Most of the times, tantrums of actors are the worst dilemma a production can face. A director hates to see his actors in bad shape, and a EP cannot afford everything that comes from actors as well. It is the thin line to be maintained which is very crucial. A pet actor is a tantrum machine, an unpet one is a curse machine. Either way, it SHOWS on screen.

Food RUNS the Set
A good meal is an eye-closer, and a mouth closer too! Believe it or not, a good food is all it takes to get things right. There are below the line crew members for whom, most of the times, it is more important to eat right than to earn right. A correct meal keeps cast and crew in correct temperament and creates a healthy atmosphere to sustain for longer durations and stretched days.

HEAR your Crew, Let them shout loudly!
Yes, Crew has always been the one whom you fear for their constant nagging. You give them 3Star treatment, they ask you for 5Star. But Alas, without them nagging, you won’t ever know what has been going wrong. And one day, they won’t turn up at shoot, and damn, all washed. Not every crew member’s words make sense, but sometimes, ignoring them poses a greater fear. When things are heard and taken care of, it keeps their spirits moving. A No responded logically is acceptable, very much!

 Director maybe God, but he ISN’T Producer

Directors are those people who can make a 1Cr film for 10Cr, and a 10Cr film in 100Cr. They don’t care for money. Their team, their script and their temperament is all sail love to them. Giving the liberty to a director can turn nightmare for any EP, and giving him explanation of an unavailability can be sure headache. At times, it’s better to say NO to a director. They are no way going to understand your logic, neither your budgets. Even if they, there are counter questions, debates, arguments and everything happening to make their will work.

Ice on head, saves NINE
Things go wrong. Things go haywire. People shout. People blame you. Finances Dissolve. Credits Overshoot. Things break. Sleepless nights. Everything potentially boils your head. And all you have to do is catch some patience, sit there, COOL. Very Cool. Shouting at probable everything won’t help. This doesn’t mean things should go out of your hand but a more effective management rather than acting like a Line Producer.

About The Author:
Long Live Cinema_Ritam BhatnagarRitam Bhatnagar is a film entrepreneur based in Gujarat and runs an entertainment start-up called Freeway Film Company. He is also the Executive Producer of an urbane contemporary regional film currently in production stage.

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EVERYTHING ABOUT DSLR MOTION PICTURE PHOTOGRAPHY The DSLR CinEvolution

January 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Long Live Cinema_DSLR FilmmakingWhen you watch a movie at the theatre these days, what you might not know is that a lot of these films are being shot on DSLR cameras, the ones used primarily to take still pictures. Small, light, and easy on the pocket, independent filmmakers and even famous directors are increasingly picking up DSLRs to shoot with. From features to ad films, music videos and documentaries, the HD video feature on prosumer cameras are increasingly becoming an alternative to bigger, more expensive cameras.

Amol Gupte’s feature film Stanley ka Dabba, Ram Gopal Varma’s ‘Not a Love Story’ and Parts of ‘Shor in the City’ were all shot on Canon DSLRs. In the USA, it is being used to film features, TV series and talk shows.

What makes it such a popular choice? (Besides the price factor of course!) It has a very large sensor, with twenty to thirty times more surface area than that of a dedicated video camera. It can use interchangeable film lenses, which can give you some interesting effects if you use special lenses like a tilt-shift lens or fisheye. It is less bulky and heavy, and the shallow depth of field that can be achieved is very similar to the film look. Also, these cameras are very good in low light situations, which makes it easier to shoot night scenes without carting around a truck full of lights behind you.

Another big advantage is stealth mode. You can go out and shoot with 4-5 crew members, and most people would not even realize that it is actually a film production, as it appears that the cameraman is using a still camera. This is especially useful in a film-crazy city like Mumbai, where even a reflector board will give away your intention to shoot unknown, and you will literally be surrounded on all sides by an over-excited crowd that doesn’t go away.

So what are the disadvantages in that case? For one, the sound quality isn’t very good on these cameras, considering that they are primarily meant for stills. This can be circumvented by using double system to record sound separately, that can be synced later in post. You also get systems that record directly into the camera, using the same mics and inputs. Another problem is that your handheld shots will be unsteady, given that the cameras are small and lightweight. This can be solved by using a tripod or any kind of stabilizing system like a shoulder rig. There are a lot of other accessories that you can use to enhance the user-friendliness, like small monitors, viewfinders, matte boxes, and focusing systems. Or you could just shoot it guerilla style, if the handheld feel adds to your story.

Editing with these movie files is even easier! Just transfer all the files from your flash card to your computer – drag and drop. You may have to convert the files to a different format to edit, depending on which platform you are using, but from then on its smooth sailing. Slow motion can also be achieved almost effortlessly, taking your videos to another level.

All said and done, filmmaking nowadays is a lot cheaper than it was 20 years ago. There is also the boon of the internet – the amount of advice and suggestions you can get from online film communities and discussion forums is simply staggering. With a little practice and learning, people who have never held a camera before are churning out some fantastic videos!

Cameras are just one of the tools used to convey the story or idea of the filmmaker. In the end, it doesn’t matter if you are using a thousand dollar camera, or a ten thousand dollar camera, the story and the message is what leaves the biggest impression on your audience. So get your thinking caps on, and shoot your story in the best possible way!

About The Author:

Long Live Cinema_Tascha EipeTascha Eipe has lived and worked in many countries, including India, the Middle East, Singapore, South Korea, Egypt, and the Philippines, which has given her a great insight into the film industry around the world. An award-winning filmmaker, Tascha has worked at Nirvana Films, YashRaj, Fashion TV Asia, and has directed shows for a travel channel. She has recently jumped onto the ‘DLSR filmmaking’ bandwagon, and now runs Deep Focus, her own production company. She loves scuba diving and also does some underwater filming.

www.tascha007.webs.com
www.deepfocuspix.com

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AFFORDABLE COSTUME STYLING FOR YOUR INDEPENDENT FILM by Shilpi Agarwal

January 26, 2012 By 4 Comments

Costume styling is a very essential part for any film as it is to do with the identification of the characters. However it may take away the major chunk of the overall budget if not given a deep thought. For an independent filmmaker working with budget constraints there are always these apprehensions of how to cut down the cost on the costumes to reduce expenses. Also, these films are not just about frills and fancies rather it is content based where the characters are of utmost importance. Here are few pointers that could be helpful and if executed properly can do wonders with the limited budget as well.

1. Fashion fades, only style remains

Instead of just blindly following fashion, set strong style statements for your characters.  Study the detailed character sketch, observe and look for references in real life to render the character and come up with that peculiar element which could set the character apart and makes him speak for himself. For instance, Inspector Chulbul Pandey’s style statement in DABANGG- The way he puts his glares at the back collar of his shirt. It doesn’t cost an extra rupee yet it creates a huge impact and a strong impression by which people can very well relate to his personality which is so unique, carefree, confident and of a very strong human who no one would dare to question.  He sets his own set of rules and regulations.

2. Fashion brands – too heavy for my pocket

Scrap the brands and plunge into the street surplus markets like Sarojini, Bandra, flea markets with eyes wide open and character sketch engraved on your mind . Explore the small street shops. Tweak and twist, layer it as required. You can indeed get best of the stuff in terms of look and style however real good patience and the eagerness is required to dig out the gold from the mines. You might get lucky enough to get your hands on those hi-end premium brands too which are probably not of the current season but who cares if it solves your purpose that too at the price of peanuts.  Indeed it is an endless hunt ..so HUNT till you drop!

3. Mood swings are good

Just like every individual behaves as per their moods pertaining to the situations, sketch out options of outfits that is versatile and can behave differently when treated in a certain manner. When draped or tweaked the outfit would give a fresh and new look, still not leaving the basic character from its root. Accessorise it with interesting elements and it is ready for the new take. Cost effective , a new outfit for a new scene and still it behaves in a specific character to not disturb the role personality as it would be very well in sync due to the characterstics of fabric and the colors used to define the character. Here is a sketch to illustrate one of the drape which is styled differently! Drapes can do wonders in this case.

Long Live Cinema_Film Costume Design_Mood Swings

4. One Block, Two Block, its Color Block

Color blocking is a very interesting concept and can do wonders if got it right. Study the color wheel to get right the colors that compliment each other when put together. The significance of this concept is that the colors itself creates so much interest that the details are subdued due to the colors speaking aloud about the characters. One can use muted accessories to complement or else even accessories could be used for color blocking interestingly. Stay quiet in styles and let the colors do the talking. Colors are used here to define the characteristics of the person.

5. Accessories –An alternate clothing 

Work on the smart use of accessories to divert attention from the basic outfits. To avoid kitsch, keep the outfits very simple and neat wherein the silhouettes don’t add drama but the other elements in form of accessories steals the show and do the talking. The advantage here is that there are high chances of spotting the outfits in your or your dear colleagues’ wardrobes and if not you would exactly know where to get it from. Accessorisation is an art of styling and a unique way of defining the character and personalities. There was a lot of use of accessories in the movie Rock On. For instance, Debbie, an aspiring fashion stylist in the movie always wore a bunch of bright neon colored bangles. This was a highlight of the character and instantly spoke about the colorful, fun loving and sparkling personality she played and adds fun to the overall look as well. Although, not necessarily the use of accessories need to be that loud all the time, it could be subtle and muted to merge and still add that needed soft drama and volume to the overall look and personality.

6. Time to brush up the wardrobe 

Clean up your own wardrobe and you could find many interesting stuff that can be utilized in various ways if not as is. Cut and sew, overdye, bleach, print, layer are some of the experiments you could do with them. Old sarees in mom’s cupboard can be put to best use by dyeing in different colors as per your set color palette and be used to create various silhouettes. Atleast your fabric expense is taken care of. Even the old outfits which you don’t even remember are lying in your wardrobe can be overdyed to give a fresh and new look. High time now you clean up the mess and put them for better use and give a breathing space to your wardrobe.

7. Networking at its best -window shopping just a click away

Time to ping and catch up with those good old pals over endless chats, comments and tweets. With networking sites in rage, it’s even better to keep an eye on the near and dear ones and observe the wardrobe through the frequent updates of the albums. Its like window shopping just a click away! You know what you need and what better if you can borrow the same from them for some scenes. So socialize a lot, it is a key to get your hands on the interesting stuff from various wardrobes. Ping and just stay in touch.

8. Eureka! A new designer in town

Consider yourself lucky enough if you could spot those young budding fashion labels in town who recently launched their first few collections. They certainly need publicity and you need their workshop handy. A great opportunity to strike a deal with them. Acknowledge them for support in the credits and get your costumes customized as required. Indeed, it’s a win- win situation on either side. It is more feasible and easy going to work with the low profile aspiring and budding labels who are genuinely interested in spreading the word across than going through the tantrums and the amount of energy that goes in getting those high profile sponsors for our low budget movies.

9. Less is More

The characters in the reel life are certainly a reflection of the real life characters. Understand the character and the requirements and identify such role models to study more about the personalities and lifestyle. Being a low budget film why not just get a reality check and repeat some of the outfits like each one of us does in real life, though styled differently by various combinations and adding other elements to make it look new and fresh. Hence reducing the number of outfits to bare minimum still managing to cover more scenes. We all are our own stylists in real life and we do our job very neatly and make an optimum use of the existing wardrobe to look our best.

Long Live Cinema_Shilpi AgarwalShilpi Agarwal is a Fashion Stylist and Designer , a graduate from NIFT, currently working with Arvind Ltd providing design concepts to various international as well as domestic apparel brands like ZARA, M&S,  AllenSolly, Louis Phillipe, Arrow, Raymonds etc. She had worked as a Costume Stylist for the movie “ROCK ON “  with costume designer Niharika Khan on various looks of the characters. Having had an exposure to both styling and designing she is open to styling assignments for film projects of any scale. 

Follow on Twitter https://twitter.com/shilpiagar

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RESOURCE FOR INDEPENDENT FILMMAKER: FREE DCP BUILDER

January 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

DCP Builder can be used to create unencrypted Digital Cinema Packages (DCPs), which can then be played on Digital Cinema servers. DCP creation needs several signal processing techniques, such way that encoding becomes a very CPU intensive task. Please note that this program is conceived to be used by cinema professionals, and not by the casual user.

This is a FREE program but not open source. It watermark-locks the DCP but you can obtain ONE registration code to unlock it for FREE → there is a limit of one registration code per employer (or person, if freelance), decide carefully the installation machine before asking a registration code. Please note that, due to the increasing request of multiple codes, this rule will be strictly followed. An exception is done for academic institutions and universities.

Main features of the program are:

  • Natively multiplatform (Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, 32 and 64 bit)
  • 2K, 4K, and 3D picture format
  • Flat, scope, HDTV, and full aspect ratios
  • 24, 25, 30, 48, 50, and 60 FPS frame rates are supported
  • 48/96 kHz sound sampling rate
  • 1.0, 2.0, 5.1, 7.1, and (up to) 16 audio channels layout
  • converts many audio/video clip formats (AVI, MOV, WAV, M2TS, FLAC, etc.) plus TIFF/PNG/TGA/DPX/BMP sequence of pictures
  • Supports multiple origin RGB color spaces (PAL, NTSC, BT.709, etc.)
  • Can save Digital Cinema Distribution Master (DCDM and DCDM*) in PPM/AU/J2K/XML format
  • Can use different files for audio, video, and text input
  • Supports SMPTE and Interop DCP formats
  • Can resume work from partially completed DCDM or DCDM*
  • Subtitles in burn-in and Interop mode
  • DCP finalization success email

What it does not support:

  • MPEG-2 DCPs
  • Assembly of multiple input clips
  • Video frame rate resampling (audio is slowed-down or speeded-up)
  • Pitch shift of audio
  • Encryption and generation of Key Delivery Message (KDM)
  • Unicode in text fields and subtitles

DOWNLOAD FREE DCP BUILDER

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Celtx FREE Pre-Production Software

January 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Celtx is the world’s first all-in-one media pre-production system. It replaces ‘paper & binder’ pre-production with a digital approach that’s more complete, simpler to work with, and easier to share. And it’s FREE. Celtx helps you produce all types of media — film, video, documentary, theatre, novels, machinima, comics, advertising, video games, music video, radio, podcasts, and however else you choose to tell your story.

DOWNLOAD Celtx

Celtx includes five dedicated industry standard editors for writing:

  • Screenplay
  • Stageplay – International and US standard
  • AV scripts – including documentaries, music videos and advertising.
  • Audio Play – including radio plays and podcasts.
  • Comic Book
  • Novel

Celtx includes the essential features that writers need to keep their fingers moving – like intuitive formatting, text auto-complete, page breaks, dual column dialog, scene management, scratchpad, embedded notes, title page generation, pagination, printing, spellchecker, keyboard shortcuts, find and replace, script importing and exporting, PDF and HTML script reports, and collaboration.

Text Lock

The Text Lock feature enables a writer to lock a script from further text editing, while still allowing others with whom they share the project to continue working. This can be used to protect a script while it is being marked up and broken down for production. The script can be locked and unlocked as many times as needed.

Revision Mode

Revision mode provides writers with the ability to lock scenes when editing a script that is in production. The feature supports the Hollywood standard A and B scene nesting, an innovative numeric mode, plus the ability to create your own unique nesting style template. A ‘Fix’ feature can be used to manually change any scene nesting. Revision mode also enables edits to be colour coded to help keep track of changes made between revisions or by different writers.

Adapt To

With a single click Adapt To converts any fully formatted script of one type into a fully formatted script of another – for example, a Stageplay to a Screenplay – displaying in an instant the multi-media potential of your work.

TypeSet/PDF

TypeSet/PDF provides precise automatic formatting of your script to industry and international standards. The Celtx server uses the very powerful LaTex typesetting tool to deliver perfectly formatted scripts, which can be saved within the feature in PDF format. Full support is provided for optional formatting features like Mores and Continueds, scene numbering, dialog numbering and paper size.

Index Cards

Celtx includes reversible, colour coded Index Cards that are intelligently tied to your script and auto populate with the Scene Headers and first 40 words or so of the scene. You can flip the cards to type notes on the back, colour code them to track plot lines, and drag and drop them to reorder scenes.

Story Development Forms

Celtx helps you develop your story with preloaded forms for key elements like locations, scenes, props, characters, and 32 other production categories. You can use the forms to organize your thoughts and kick-start a media rich storyline that includes sound files, images and video clips. Celtx story development forms are intelligently tied into your script, informing the story and each scene with valuable production information.

Template Engine

If the default setting for a Celtx project doesn’t fit your needs, you can create your own new, blank state Template that will only open the documents you want.

 

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