Hello 2013!

I never expected my first post of the year 2013 to be this but life does have a way of surprising you! I am flat on my back due to a back problem and have been ordered two days bedrest by the doctor. I tried reading a book but that just made my shoulders hurt (Yeah! Try reading a book lying FLAT on your back without a pillow!), so here I am dictating this blog post using a dictation software. Lying alone in the room and talking to the computer - the house help has already come in thrice and asked me if I am feeling quite all right about three times since I started this!

Someone presented me with a screencasting software a while ago and I took it out for a spin and forgot about it - until today. Staring at the ceiling fan can give your life new meaning. I had made this screencast as a test and it has it's mix of bad and terrible moments(and it's slightly long winded too!) but hopefully it will be of some value to photography enthusiasts. Those of you who follow my show Arjun, will be please to see that a picture of Sameer Rathore has been used in the demo.

If you like it, please leave your comments and I shall try my best to create some more.

Joyride

This post is more out of need to give back to society than anything else. I often spend sleepless nights wondering what am I giving back to society??? Here is the answer. This video will bring a tears to the eyes of people who have never been on an airplane before. For the rest, it will serve as a lesson not to use YouTube's built-in image stabilisation while uploading your videos. Have fun.

Humse Hai Liife - Screener

As the new season starts on Humse Hai Liife on Channel V, I cannot help but look back at the time when the show started.

Pitching a new show to a channel is the most crucial part of TV production. You have thought of a concept and believe in it, but it is very hard to convey to people what exactly is in your mind and how are you going to execute it. The client (channel) too has a hard time understanding what the final show will look like.

You spend hours and hours trying to communicate to each other what you want to do. That is why pilots or screeners are made. It is a small or episode length video that the channel sends for research to the sample group and they react to that. The channel thus gets feedback from the audience-to-be how they feel about the show.

This video is special in many ways. This was the first solo-production by our company 4 Lions Films.The first time I was transferring anything written by Hitesh Kewalya on screen. I get nervous when working with writers I've never worked with before. I hope I can do justice to whatever they have written and the fact that Hitesh is an outstanding director himself, added to the pressure. ( Here is a link to one of his films.)This was also the first time I was shooting with a Canon 5D. Also, because we had to rush to shoot this, I was  also shooting with actors who I had never worked with before... and I had only one day to shoot all this.

This screener is usually shot with a tentative cast because usually, there is a long gap between the time that the screener is sent for research and the final go-ahead for the show is given - if at all! The actors in this "pilot" came and worked with the knowledge that they may or may not be a part of the final show. That spirit in itself is to be admired. So while you will see Saloni and Rangeela here, the superbly talented Nia Sharma who plays Sia in this screener got offered another assignment. Our loss - "Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai"'s gain! She does hold a very special place in my heart and I drop in on her sets if I am shooting nearby.

Anyway, take a look and leave your comments....