Behind the scenes

When people ask me what is it that I love about my work, my usual reply is that no two days are ever the same. It is such a blessing to be a part of a film or TV crew. It is a greater blessing to be a part of a crew with a camera and an "all-access" pass! Having a camera with you is a great way of documenting your journey and I always have one (or two or three) with me. Not only does it allow me to remember where all I have been but it also helps me to connect with people and places that I otherwise would not. It also allows me to see what I otherwise would not.

Of course, it all starts with going to different locations as a part of location scouting. Whether you end up shooting there or not is another thing altogether. For those of you who are interested,  I usually mount an all purpose lens on my camera, mostly the  Nikon 28-300 lens and my  Nikon 50mm stays in my bag too, just in case I need to take some low light shots of locations at night. During this time my mind is working more like a director rather than a photographer and the pictures taken here have a very definite purpose - that of being able to recall what is seen from each angle so that I can share it with my team. These photographs are so important that quite a few times I have been hired by foreign productions to scout locations for them and take pictures but if during the process a beautiful photograph crops up  - I don't let it go!

 One thing that I do quite often is to actually "block" a shot and take a photograph to see if it works the way I see it in my head. This way I have something to show my cameraman as a reference and there is nothing worse than having an army of people walk into a location, setup a shot and realise that it does not work.

When I am not directing is usually when the photographer in me awakens but I have to be careful not to get in the way of actual shooting. I also have to judge if people around me are uncomfortable having a camera in close proximity and going "click-click" when they are trying to concentrate. To shoot the candids, there is usually a time window of a few seconds between the time the director shouts "roll camera" and says "action". After the shot starts, you really don't want to be shooting because it breaks everyone's concentration and there is also the technical issue of the shutter sound being captured by the microphones and ruining the shot. That having been said, I like to go in really close to the people who are comfortable with it. I mostly use a Nikon 17-35mm for this purpose.

In between the shots is the time when it is free for all. Lights being moved, props being shifted, refreshments being served and everyone just concentrating on setting up the next shot. Nobody notices the photographer and depending upon how well you camouflage yourself, you can get pretty close to the hotbed of action. I have a set of clothes made of cardboard for this purpose and just pretend to be a cardboard box at times like these! Sometimes I also disguise myself as a table.

If you look away from the actors and director, there are plenty of other images that can be shot which complete the overall experience of being a part of a shooting crew. It really is amazing to see so many different people contributing to create the environment and the shot and this is where the true magic (for me) lies. So many people from different walks of life, with different skills contribute to that one vision that someone has - and that is what we see on screen.

When there is too much activity on the set and you are apprehensive that you might land yourself in trouble is when the big zooms come out. Sit quietly in a corner and just observe and wait!!! All pictures below shot with the Nikon 70-200.

 And of course, if you are very lucky, once in a while, you will spot a photograph that will remind you that in spite of all the madness, the joy and the celebration - we are all human. We dance, we laugh, we cry  for the sake of entertainment and somewhere our troubles are forgotten - if only fleetingly.

That's all for now. Hope you enjoyed these photographs. Until next time...

CinemaScope

Where does a photograph belong? Apart from what you can see in a photograph, I believe, there are numerous other factors - both seen and unseen which give you an impression as to where the photo belongs and what it is trying to convey. Of course, there is what you can actually see in the background or part of the environment where the picture was taken and then there is colour and tone which conveys the mood. Lately, I have been trying to create photos which seem that they have been grabbed from films.

I realised that apart from using focal lengths which are primarily used in film making and toning the photograph (the equivalent of DI or Digital Intermediate in films) there is one very important factor that has an effect on how we perceive a photograph and that is aspect ratio. Most of the films that we see are shot on an aspect ratio of 1:1.85 or 1:2.35 or 1:2.40  and over the  years we come to associate these aspect ratios with being "cinematic".

Each of these photographs have been inspired from a film, at least in my head - whether or not it comes across, I leave it you to tell me. Do these remind you of any particular film that you have seen or do you think that they could have easily belonged to a particular film? Please let me know.

More on aspect ratios when we meet next. Until then, take care.

--- By Gorky M

Colour

I hate rains.  There... I said it! Sue me! Everybody I know and their cousins love the rains and this makes me feel like the odd man out. Even if I don't take into account the facts that traffic slows down to a crawl and everyone thinks it is completely alright to act like an idiot (zig-zagging their bikes while driving and roaming shirtless on Marine Drive) I still don't like the rains for two primary reasons. I am afraid of screwing up my equipment even if it is safely tucked in my cabinet due to the appearance of mould and fungus and more importantly - rains just suck the colour out of everything.

Exhibit A - the photograph below was taken at 2PM in the afternoon. Do you see how dull and drab it is?

I am fascinated by colour and I keep shooting random images of colour as it appears in our everyday lives. Enter Exhibits B,C,D,E,Fand G.

While shooting for TV I think we tend to get a bit scared while using colour. We get so taken up by the technical definition of white light and tungsten light that we forget the abundance of colour around us and that is exactly why I shoot these images -  to remind myself that bright and random colours do exist around us in all shapes, forms and objects. Colour also affects our mood and while I have been trying to implement this in my photography (with varied success) for a while, I have just recently become bolder with respect to using colour while directing stuff. I now control more of the lighting aspect of the scenes that I shoot or even better - some scenes that I don't shoot myself.  Enter Exhibit H.

People who follow my TV series Arjun will get to see more of this bold colour approach over the coming weeks. So while the rains might suck out colour from things around me - on the set, it is a different matter entirely.

Surbhi Jyoti

Shot this a long time back. As usually is the case with me - contemplated, contemplated and then contemplated some more. Today seemed to be a good day to post it!

Inspiration: The magic of old things

" Where is your camera these days? Don't see it much..." Behzaad asked me a couple of weeks back. "It's always in my car," I said, "It's just that I am really sick of shooting all of you (the ETF team) and only you - all the time! Maybe I should have cast Katrina Kaif in Arjun,instead of you guys!!!"

"...or maybe Priyanka Chopra," chimed in Shaleen and we all had a hearty laugh.

The truth was that I really was getting frustrated of shooting only these guys - mostly under lighting conditions that were set up by the cameraman on set. I felt that I was contributing very little, if at all, to the creation of the pictures that I post so often.  My trigger finger was getting itchy. I had not shot something for almost 15 days. Even a call from Raju Bhai, my trusted friend and camera dealer, telling me that a lens that I had ordered long back was finally in stock, failed to excite me. I almost reluctantly went and picked up the wide angle 17-35mm lens from his place late at night and got it home.

On my way to the set the next day, stuck in a Mumbai traffic jam, I started flipping through my "Inspiration" notebook. It is actually a software called Evernote which I use very often to keep quotes, pictures, photographs and other stuff  for future reference - or for times just like these. I came across this quote:

To select well among old things, is almost equal to inventing new ones. - Nicholas Charles Trublet

Then it struck me - what I needed to create/invent was already around me. I had very willing and able actors who would do (practically) anything for me and I was surrounded by lights every single day - the two most important components of photography! All I needed to do was to get them together and create a shot that I could call mine!  I had a few images in my head that I wanted to shoot as a part of a project that I had been thinking of for quite some time. I reached the set that day, determined to get my shot before the day got over. In between all my meetings, discussions and briefings that day, I kept my camera around my neck and an eye out for the frame that I wanted to capture. Finally, in the evening as everybody was  going about their work - I identified the shot I wanted to take and I quietly asked a couple of lightmen to help me setup the lights for my shot.

As soon as Behzaad got free, I asked him to come with me and took the photograph. After him, it was Shaleen's turn but unfortunately, by that time, the cameraman on set had ordered those lights to be brought in because he needed them. I barely managed to get Shaleen's picture as I asked the lightmen, who were already in the process of taking the lights away to step outside the frame. If I remember correctly, both the pictures took a total of two minutes.

Also, as I thanked them and walked away, I cannot be sure... but from the corner of my eye, I think I saw Behzaad and Shaleen exchange a high-five and in between their muted laughter, I distinctly heard one of them say something about Katrina Kaif...

As usual, you can find the large versions of these pictures on my Google Plus page.