Images vol. 4 2012 - Kodak

Volume 9 Issue 4, 2012
Read more about
• Amlendu Chowdhary • Sayed Asif Jah • Satyajit Pande (Setu) • Rajdutt Revankar • C. R. Maravarman • Deepak Kumar Padhy
• I. Andrew • Vijay K. Chakravarthi • Venkat Prasad • Srinivasa Raju • Sudipto Sengupta • Sameer Haq
DoP Sachin Krishn
lets his instincts
guide him
on a shoot.
Also featured
• Shivendra Singh Dungarpur • Sandipp - Ramoji Academy of Film and Television • Anil Pingua • Amulya Chandra
• Soumik Mukherjee • FTII Workshop with Krishna K. Jaiswal and C. K. Muraleedharan • Post house - Annapurna Studios Pvt. Ltd.

Volume 9
Kodak is trusted.
FOREWORD
Issue 4, 2012
As we put together this issue, we were happy to find out that most
of the industry still considers Kodak "as a friend for years." For
most DoPs, each project poses several challenges which they
overcome through appropriate use of their technological
experience, instinct and raw stock. Says DoP Sachin Krishn
featured on our cover, "Kodak stock has been a friend for years
now, and the peace of mind that Kodak stock offers me and most
other cinematographers, nothing else does."
For many prefer Kodak as it also gives the DoP details. The choice
of raw stock is decided by the final look of the film and the kind of
light levels that are available. Most DoPs work on real locations 90
per cent of time, with varying light conditions, and hence prefer
stock with a high contrast ratio and changing color temperature as
far as natural light goes. Kodak offers them this and much more.
Many DoPs work towards getting details in highlights and the
shadows - they make for intriguing visual story-telling. They prefer
this information on the negative to be used if needed at a later
stage in the process.
For Sayed Asif Jah, who has recently completed a film on 2 - perf,
"Kodak is innovative with formats," he says. He always prefers
shooting on film and with 2-perf he gets the liberty to shoot on
film negative, with the cost factors less than that of digital.
Rajdutt Revankar is open about the fact that Kodak not only gives
satisfaction to DoPs, but also saves budget for the entire film as
less lights are used and still one gets good contrast and latitude
with Kodak. He recommends Kodak stock for every film maker.
It is there for all to see. Kodak has been a major player in films for
so many decades and continues to do so. In the context of the
digital hype prevalent, it becomes all the more important to realize
the advantages of Film.
And, Films are synonymous with Kodak!
Happy New Year!
Suresh S Iyer
Country Business Manager
Entertainment Imaging
Printed and Published by Suresh Iyer on behalf of Kodak India Private Limited, at Mumbai
1
Visual Justice
DoP Sachin Krishn feels that when one is
young he or she is over-enthusiastic and
dying to make his name in the crowd. So he
resorts at times, to gimmicks and tricks
that can make him stand out from the rest.
5
Innate Style
Amalendu Chaudhary is of the opinion that
the camera should accentuate the story and
script of the film and that style should never
overpower the content.
7
Innovation Counts
Sayed Asif Jah a journalist turned filmmaker
has just completed his second film Baat Bann
Gayi on 2-perf format. He goes on to share
his experiences and why 2- perf worked very
well for him.
9
Individual Outlook
DoP Setu enjoys films set in a particular
time or space and therefore the kind of
cinematography he enjoys is the one that
stays true to that scenario and does justice
to it.
11
Slice of Life
For DoP Rajdutt Revankar each day of
shoot is a learning experience. A stickler in
conforming to the story and script
Revankar has earned the reputation of
repainting several houses to suit the
situation if necessary in the film.
13
Thrilled to Bits
C. R. Maravarman is one of the new whizkids
in slick cinematography on the South
scene. A son of a still photographer he got
interested in photography in childhood and
then enrolled himself for a two year course
in the Film and TV Institute in Chennai.
15
Moving Images
Cinematographer Deepak Kumar Padhy
saw his father, eminent cinematographer
Saroj Padhy shooting innumerable
Malayalam films and this nurtured in him
an interest towards taking up
cinematography as a profession.
17
Wild Roots
DoP I. Andrew owes his roots of learning
and appreciating photography from his
father who introduced him to wild life
photography. From there to fashion and
then moving images has been a versatile
journey for him and he aims at some day
directing a Hindi film.
19
Insider's Viewpoint
For DoP Vijay K. Chakravarthi the journey
is more important than the destination. So
it's about the journey, not the destination
that makes him happy and fulfilled.
21
Action Plus
DoP Venkat Prasad is a man of few words
and more action. He has worked across the
length and breadth of the industry from
Hindi to regional films.
22
Trendsetter
Director Srinivasa Raju defied all laws of
the Kannada Film Industry by scripting and
directing a reality based film Dandupalya.
This film has been a trendsetter.
INSIDE
23
Natural Look
Sudipto Sengupta, the young
cinematographer from Kolkata has within a
very short period carved a niche in the
Bengali film industry for himself. After
working as cinematographer for quite a few
Bengali films, he has now turned director
with the film Final Mission.
25
Cool Customer
Sameer Haq who hails from Thrissur
district in Kerala is not an alumnus of any
prestigious film institute but takes pride in
the school of cinematography he belongs
to. Of the opinion that keeping a cool
temperament and concentrating on
completing the work is very important.
27
Perfect Post
Annapurna Studios Pvt. Ltd. is at the hub of
creating "the look" in several super hit films
with a dedicated team and managers who
lead from the front.
30
Confident Risks
Anil Pingua from the Satyajit Ray Film and
Television Institute (SRFTI) Kolkata is the
winning cinematographer of the Kodak Film
School Competition 2012 for his Diploma
film Birds of Passage.
31
Human Relations
Amulya Chandra, non-Diploma winner of
the Kodak India Film School Competition
2012 for the film Night Walk and student of
the Film and Television Institute (FTII),
Pune feels there are many ways of visual
expression and cinematography is just one
of them.
31
Organic Look
Paranoia is the main theme of the film
Naad, shot by Soumik Mukherjee, a
student of FTII. Mukherjee, in his
cinematography deliberately tries to tread
a different path from his predecessors.
32
Learning Light
Sandipp HoD Cinematography at the Ramoji
Academy of Film and Television (RAFT)
Hyderabad believes that cinematography is
not a technique but indeed a life style.
33
Committed Specialist
For Cameraman Krishna K. Jaiswal
teaching seems to be a kind of an internal
calling. He and C. K. Muraleedharan
recently conducted the Kodak Workshop
for final year students at FTII.
35
Royalty Beckons
Filmmaker Shivendra Singh Dungarpur
belongs to the erstwhile royal family of the
state of Dungarpur, Rajasthan. He began
his career in film as an assistant director to
his mentor, writer-lyricist and director,
Gulzar.
Managing Editor:
Suresh Iyer
Editor and Contributor:
Chesta Shah Sengupta
Contributors:
Jayanti Sen, K. B. Venu
Sandeep Hattangadi and
R.G.Vijayasarathy
Design and layout:
Roopak Graphics, Mumbai
Printing:
Printania, Mumbai
Do write in with ideas, suggestions, and comments to kodakimages@rediffmail.com
This is an independent magazine. Views expressed in the articles are those of the editorial team.
DoP Sachin Krishn feels that when
one is young he or she is overenthusiastic
and dying to make his
name in the crowd. So he resorts at
times, to gimmicks and tricks that
can make him stand out from the
rest. But as years pass by, the
realization comes from doing the
script the kind of justice it deserves
and not by making the visuals
overtly stunning or outstanding.
At the end of the day, the script is
paramount and final goal.
Cinematographer Sachin Krishn from Mumbai, describes himself as "I am as apart from any other
artist as two people can be, and should be. No two people can see and interpret the same thing in
exactly the same way… each views that thing with his own pair of eyes, and interprets it in his own
brain. Whatever I shoot, I shoot with my eyes, my aesthetics, and my interpretation of the script."
Coming from someone as experienced as Krishn, this is a very important and pertinent comment not
only on cinema and cinematography, but the world as a whole. This comment almost naturally leads
us to the world famous film classic Rashomon, Akira Kurosawa's film, where the whole film is about
four people interpreting one single incident in their own individual ways. Krishn is almost prophetic
about art and the world when he says this. And this is where he is a class apart from others.
At the moment he is working with 35 mm 3 perf format, which is just another format to shoot super
35. The advantages of working with 3 perf is - as he says, "3 perf ends up in saving a lot of stock by
the time a film is wrapped up. That is the prime benefit."
In his long and illustrious career as cinematographer, his visual style has evolved and changed a lot.
At the end of the day, the script is paramount, and if I as a cinematographer can do justice to the
director's vision of how he sees the film, I have done a great job as a DoP."
Cover Story
“The crux of the matter is -
that despite all the
technologies, the
advancements, the boom,
at the end of the day,
a film will eventually
look like how the man
behind the camera
has interpreted it in his
mind and soul.”
1

2 Cover Story Cover Story 3
About working with 3 perf he had this to add,
'Working on 3 perf is the most common thing
to work on, for anybody who is working on
35mm. It is not a novelty any more, but is,
instead, the norm.'
One of his most recent films is Rajneeti. The
political content of the film influenced his
visual style a lot. "I could not have shot a film
like Rajneeti like I shot say, a Khoya Khoya
Chand or a Blue Umbrella, or anything else. It
was a political film set in the harsh terrains of
Central India and the attempt was to place the
viewer right in the middle of the action in the
burning locales of Madhya Pradesh … right in
the middle of that crowd of thousands who
stood there, watching a political drama unfold
on stage before their eyes."
His latest film is Chakravyuha, and according to
him, "Chakravyuha is probably the most
interesting film, visually speaking that I have
done with Prakash Jha. The kind of terrain it
has been shot in, the kind of faces the film has,
and the very content of the film, give it the
very palette that it has." Krishn's attempt
when he shot Chakravyuha, was to keep it real,
almost documentary-like, so that the audience
could feel that they are actually witnessing a
real happening unfold before their eyes and
not some glorified drama. "I wanted not to
make the film look larger than life, but a slice
of life itself. Chakravyuha is a heavily lit film,
with massive night interiors, and even days
that have been lit heavily. But the attempt was
to make it look so real, it should look like it has
been shot in available light."
“Give a brilliant man
a run down, old camera and
any kind of stock - but he
will still shoot a film better
than a mediocre will,
with the latest cameras,
DIs and the whole stuff.
At the end of the day it will
always be about that man
behind the camera.”
“Kodak is a friend, for years now.”
Every film that I shoot brings in its own set of challenges. Kodak stock has been a friend
for years now, and the peace of mind that Kodak stock offers me and most other
cinematographers, nothing else does.
There are times when my best-laid plans go for a six when I am at the location because
of, either rain, or a sudden drop in the light intensity. But for exigencies like these,
I always keep 500 ASA ready to get me out of these tight spots. So it is clear how
Kodak's 500 ASA stock bails me out of the most challenging weather,
light or atmospheric conditions.
I am too small a person to comment of the contribution of a giant like Kodak to the
World Cinema. It is there for all to see. It has been a major player in films for so many
decades and continues to do so. Films have almost become synonymous with Kodak.
According to him, "Kodak stock for years has
been providing cinematographers the peace
of mind that nothing else has. The sheer
consistency of all the stocks, their seamless
cutting with each other, their excellent
latitude, all combines to make it my most
favorite stock."
In Chakravyuha, Krishn has ended up using
almost all kinds of stocks, right from 50 ASA
to 500 ASA. But if he had his own way, he
would shoot all his films on 50 ASA and
nothing else. He loves that stock. When there
is a mix-match of available light and artificial
light, he says, "I resort to using something like
a 250 ASA to milk the light in the interior, as
well as the exterior, although it is not my
favorite stock."
About the preference between artificial and
available light he says, "Artificial light - for the
sheer logic that I can control it better. I can
start from scratch, and light up totally in the
way I want, like a painter working on a blank
canvas. With available light, you are already
“I wish I could tell you that I make a hundred storyboards
and draw up detailed technical plans but I would be lying.
All I do before I shoot a single frame of my film is,
I read the script at least five times, internalize it,
and then go to the sets where my instinct guides me
on that particular day of the shoot.”
working on the given … and that given is not
too much in your control as you cannot order
the sun to lower or increase its intensity and
harshness."
He loves shooting nights. He says, "I love
lighting up huge night exteriors. To start with,
a huge night exterior looks as intimidating as
a Tyrannosaurus Rex wanting to eat you up.
But from the moment I begin putting my first
light, to the moment I take my first shot, it is
like taming that Tyrannosaurus Rex into
submission. And the high of seeing a well shot
night is unparalleled."
Regarding his planning the camera-work of a
film his reactions are very interesting. He
says, "I wish I could tell you that I make a
hundred storyboards and draw up detailed
technical plans of where I am going to place
my lights and all that before I go for a shoot,
but I would be lying. All I do before I shoot a
single frame of my film is - I read the script at
least five times. Try and get the essence of the
script right … internalize it, and then go to the
sets with a cigarette in my hand to take the
first shot, however my instinct guides me on
that particular day of the shoot."

4 Cover Story Mumbai 5
He ends up with not just one, but going for
many recces before he begins shooting his
film. "The sun path or the rise/set position
dictates the way I am planning to make my
set or scene or scenery lit up at that particular
location. All these are the technical aspects of
cinematography, and are essential for the
smooth production of any film. He believes
that, better the pre-production, the smoother
the shoot," he says.
Krishn is highly enthusiastic about his
profession as he sees it today. He says,
"Technically, this is a very exciting time to be a
cinematographer. So exciting that at times, I
feel like I have to be like a doctor, who has to
keep abreast of all the latest advancements in medicine and his field of specialty." A doctor or a
cinematographer, whoever he may be, has to update himself continuously. " In quick intervals there
is either a new camera or stock or technology being launched, says Krishn. "The lights are getting
smaller and more powerful, the cameras, faster and lighter, the post more and more advanced by
the day. So yes, this is an era of technological boom where one has to be like an eager student if he
has to be in sync with the current technology."
To aspiring cinematographers, his message is very clear and appropriate. "This is the best time to
be a cinematographer. So many different kinds of films are being made. There are several kinds of
technologies and various types of film cameras," he says. "It is like a carnival where there is space
for all. But the crux of the matter is - that despite all the technologies, the advancements, the boom,
at the end of the day, a film will eventually look like how the man behind the camera has interpreted
in his mind and soul. Cinematography still is and would always remain, an art more than a
technique," says Krishn. "Give a brilliant man a run down, old camera and any kind of stock - but he
will still shoot a film better than a mediocre will, with the latest cameras, DIs and the whole stuff. At
the end of the day it will always be about that man behind the camera," he says.
INNATE
Style
Amalendu Chaudhary was born with the gift to be a cinematographer, but started out as a still photographer.
He is of the opinion that the camera should accentuate the story and script of the film and that style should never overpower
the content. Hence is a bit wary and stays away from too much stylized photography in his films.
Amalendu Chaudhary though from Pune spent his childhood in
Mumbai visiting art galleries with his mother who was an artist. This
inculcated in him an inherent desire to be a creative artist. He enrolled
for a degree in commerce, but soon realized that it was not to be.
Encouraged by his near and dear he took to still photography and along
the way also apprised himself by viewing films across all genres at
various festivals. Thus began his journey as a cinematographer.
He assisted Ashok Mehta on two films Moksh directed by Mehta himself
and M.F.Hussain's Gajagamini. Chaudhary admits that whatever he has
learnt about filmmaking and especially cinematography has been due to
this internship.
Chaudhary says, "I got a lot of appreciation for my Marathi films Gandh
and Bai Manoos but the real recognition came after Harishchandrachi
Factory based on the father of Indian cinema - Dadasaheb Phalke.
“I am a big believer in natural lighting and
source lighting without getting noticed - as real
cinematography never overtakes the script ...
ideally, unless it's poor.”
Chaudhary prefers to work with bound scripts and with the director's
requirements about the mood and tone of the scene. "Harishchandrachi
Factory hardly had any trolley or camera movement shots," he says.
"Most of the film was shot using a static camera". In addition his film
Gandh had three short stories - each with a different texture and the
mood of the film was different in each montage but the director Sachin
Kundalkar had given him a bound script along with the three different
stories in different styles to be shot spontaneously. Chaudhary has
recently completed a commercial film Aiyyaa also directed by Kundalkar
and thoroughly enjoyed the shooting process of the film.
Chaudhary today is happy about the rising budgets of Marathi films and
exclaims, "The Marathi budgets are almost par with the best of any
regional industry and many different filmmakers with a different vision
are coming forward to paint their ideas on screen. That's why I believe
cinema is an art almost akin to painting and not crass commercialese."

6 Mumbai Mumbai 7
Life is nothing but a play of light and shadow. A dark room can be
illuminated with a tiny lamp, creating numerous shadow shapes, thus
giving a character to the room. Such is the power of light. "A
photographer once said that he doesn't capture object or moment but
he shoots light," says Chaudhary. "Cinematography cannot function
without light. It is an art to capture light. You paint with the light. The
darkness is like a canvas for a cinematographer who uses each ray of
light like a brush stroke to create a visual which tells the story," he says.
Cinematographers are often referred to as technicians, whereas the
mood and the style of the film changes with the sensibility and
sensitivity of each of them. It does have a lot of technique and
technology involved which is more or less similar, but the core lies in the
use of light and its compositions. There is more art to it than a science.
"A cinematographer is more an artist than a technician," he says.
"Chalatchitrakaar - One who paints with moving images - a friend of
mine suggested this name as the title for me," he says.
For budding students he advises that "Filmmaking and especially
cinematography cannot be taught but has to be learnt while working on
the job because the grammar is totally different." Students from films
schools have fresh minds and fresh ideas and the desire to do something
different which is good for cinema. Chaudhary continues, "You and your
work have a unique relationship so be true to it. Don't let anything come
between that."
“Kodak keeps textures alive.”
I generally use Kodak Vision 3 50 D, 250 D and 500 T for my
films and it has given me good results right from my first film
Doh. I have used Kodak for my commercials too and I have
shot ads for Tata Indicom, Savlon,Odonil, and Good Knight.
Kodak is true to texture and I am sucker for textures. As God
lies in details - for me he is in textures. It's my responsibility to
keep it alive. Kodak supports me in that completely.
“Cinematography cannot function without light.
It is an art to capture light. You paint
with the light. The darkness is like a canvas
for a cinematographer who uses each
ray of light like a brush stroke to create
a visual which tells the story.”
Chaudhary has worked in different set ups and has experience of
working with different directors. He is always passionate about the
visual arts and is interested in collaborating with directors to enhance
their visuals to make it apt to the story. His work has been appreciated
by several nominations and awards. His strength lies in articulating the
story into the visuals with sensitive lighting and apt compositions. His
experience in shooting Aiyyaa was tremendous. "As a cinematographer I
couldn't have asked for more," he says. "I love to shoot daylight and I
also love to replicate the sunlight artificially. It gives me a great joy and
power to render a visual with a source of the sun replicated by a light,"
he says. "I am a big believer in natural lighting and source lighting
without getting noticed - as real cinematography never overtakes the
script ... ideally, unless it's poor."
Sayed Asif Jah a journalist turned
filmmaker has served the English, Hindi and
Urdu press for over a decade working for
leading media houses for both print and
electronic media. He has been associated
with India's first private news channel TVI as
its Head of Production in Mumbai.
Jah's initiation to the Hindi film industry was
as an assistant director, and later as a chief
assistant to film maker (late) Sultan Ahmad.
He worked with him for two of his feature
films. "I always wanted to become a director
and even directed commercials, videos and
corporate films," says Jah. "But when I found
out that Shuja Ali, my younger brother had
better sensibilities as a director then I took a
back seat. I do want to direct a feature film
some day, though," he adds. Jah went
independent with the launch of ASR Media in
1998 and has produced more than 1,000
hours of software of different genres for TV
and the corporate sector serving some of the
leading business brands.
n
In 2010, Jah started ASR Television Network
and under this banner he launched two TV
channels - Media India (a news and
infotainment channel) and Imaan TV (an
Islamic spiritual TV Channel).
n
o
C
t i
o
a on
uu
v on
I
Jah's first production Kucch Log directed by
Shuja Ali is almost complete. His second
venture Baat Bann Gayi was in the stage of
conceptualization and was planned to be shot
on digital format due to budget constraints. "I
went to the Film Lab, where Selvam P. Caesar
(CEO) convinced me to shoot this film on 2-
perf format," says Jah. "I am really thankful to
him for his timely and valuable advice." There
are several advantages of 2-perf. "It has given
me superb quality both in terms of colors and
depth of field and superior result without
spending much money," he says.
Sayed Asif Jah
A journalist turned filmmaker
has just completed his second film
Baat Bann Gayi on 2-perf format.
He goes on to share his experiences
and why 2- perf worked
very well for him.
nn
His shooting experience was extremely good.
"The unit is always alert while shooting on
negative as compared to digital, where the
mood of the crew is always relaxed as there is
no fear of wasting the expensive stock," he
says. "I have personally seen actors and
technicians behaving differently while shooting
on digital and on film negative," he adds.
"I know that you can't go against developing
technology but 2-perf is one such innovation
that stands in between and that can delay this
film-to-digital transition. It offers the tried and
tested result of the negative at the cost of
digital," says Jah.
ts ts

8 Mumbai Mumbai 9
Background:
35 mm 2-perf
The 2- perf technology has been around since 1920's, but was first used for the big screen in
the 1960's when Technicolor Rome introduced its TECHNISCOPE Format. It gained notoriety
for its use on the "spaghetti westerns," such as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. These were
considered low-budget, fast turnaround movies made to meet the demands of film audiences.
2 -perf has come a long way from the spaghetti western days. The rising popularity and
decreasing cost of the Digital Intermediate process have made this 35 mm format more viable.
Capture Area
The red frame illustrated the 2-perf
format, which captures the exposed
image in the center 2 perforations
of the standard 4-perf 35 mm film,
represented by the blue, dotted line.
Aspect Ratios
The native aspect ratio for 2 -perf is
2.35, or widescreen. You can also easily
compose for 1.78 or 1.85 ratios.
Why choose 2-perf?
Affordable Film Format Image Quality
Cost savings
(compared to 4-perf)
Don’t compromise your look Fine grain films 50% less in film stock
No learning curve
No special orders
Natural fit for
widescreen projection
Evolved Digital
Intermediate Technology
50 % less film processing
Twice the run time
For more details visit: http://motion.kodak.com/motion/Products/Format_Choices/index.htm
“Kodak is innovative with formats.”
Jah always prefers shooting on film. With 2-perf he gets the liberty to shoot on film
negative, with the cost factors less than that of digital.
Today when we have so many exciting digital camera's coming in the market, people
are moving towards the digital medium but after his experiences with 2-perf negative
he has managed to convince K.C. Bokadia and M/s Cinenine (Kolkata) to shoot their
respective films on 2-perf as well.
One of the important advantages of shooting 2-perf is that it gives more film stock
for the money we pay. A 1000' load can run for 22 minutes, which provides
enormous savings. (50% compared to a traditional 4-perf negative or
a 1/3 less compared to 3- perf). It also saves lab processing costs.
Jah enjoys both formats - short TVC films or
long - feature films. "There is nothing that can
match the joy of making a feature film," he
says. "Advertising commercials bring in
money but do not give the satisfaction that a
filmmaker gets while making feature films," he
says. "Cinema where my heart lies, always,"
says Jah.
It was different time when Jah started working
in films. Now the entire process of filmmaking
has changed and it's for good. Technology has
made things simpler but the pace it has given
has also taken a negative toll. "Films today are
made in less time but they also live shorter
both on Box Office and in people's memory,"
says Jah.
“The unit is always alert
while shooting on negative
A filmmaker needs to always remember that
first he is a story teller and must acknowledge
the strength of a good script. Jah's advice to
new filmmakers is "Work hard and make
good films."
as compared to digital.
I have personally seen
actors and technicians
behaving differently while
shooting on digital and
on film negative.”
DoP Satyajit Pande (Setu) was born and brought up in Kolkata. His father was a business man and his mother
a school teacher. He was good at studies and sports and it was generally assumed (even by him) that he'd end
up doing engineering or some similar 'secure' profession. Growing up in Calcutta in the 80's and 90's there were
ample opportunities for him to visit film festivals and music concerts. He was fortunate to be able to watch a lot
of world classics and witness the violent debates and varied opinions which would follow.
"I would hang around at my aunt's (Vasudha Joshi) and my uncle's (Ranjan Palit) house quite often during my
school years," he recalls. "They're documentary film-makers," he says. "Ranjan Da is a cinematographer (FTII
graduate)," he adds. "Watching him work was quite intriguing," says Setu.
Setu was fond of still photography and organizations such as the Chitrabani in Kolkata had a dark room facility
for black and white photography. Both his aunt and uncle were quite encouraging and it was a logical culmination
for him to wean towards cinematography.
Individual
Outlook
“I don't think I'm in a position to advise budding cinematographers,
but from my experience I'd like to say that always trust your eyes,
go by what you feel is correct, don't follow conventions - be brave.”
Sharing his penchant for lighting
and filters and lenses Setu says,
"I consider the source to be the
point of departure and from
thereon I improvise to suit the
mood and story. Sometimes I
follow it rigorously, sometimes I
disregard it completely". He
continues, "Both Taare Zameen
Par and Kahaani are shot in real
spaces but the genres are
different and hence the degree
of reality between them differs
as well." Every lens has a
different voice – as we keep
working we become more and
more familiar with it according
to Setu. "It's like discovering a
person - and they never cease to
surprise. I ignore all theoretical
premises and go purely by what
is best for the story/emotion,"
he says. Other than the 85 and
ND series he avoids using filters
as far as possible on camera. "I
only use them if I want to get a
healthy component of say, a red
layer which I want to use in
post," he says. "Then I use an
81EF or an 812 filter depending
on the intensity of the red color,
for example," he says. He uses
filters on the lights extensively
during the shoot to get the color
he wants. "I prefer to do this at
the shooting stage and not leave
it for DI," he says. "DI is an
extension of the image making
process - to enhance the visual
story telling once the edit has
been done and the narrative is in
place," he adds. He admits that
the best shot is the shot that
tells us the story.

10 Mumbai Mumbai 11
“Every lens has a different voice - as we keep
working we become more and more familiar
with it. It's like discovering a person - and they
never cease to surprise. I ignore all theoretical
premises and go purely by what is best
for the story/emotion.”
“Kodak gives details.”
The choice of raw stock is decided by the final look and feel I
want and the kind of light levels that are available. I find myself
working on real locations 90 per cent of time, so I use whatever
is appropriate to handle a high contrast ratio and changing
color temperature as far as natural light goes.
I'm always looking at getting details in highlights and the
shadows as far as possible - I think they make for intriguing
visual story-telling. I would at least want the information on the
negative - I may decide not to use it later.
I end up using Kodak Vision 3, 200T, 250D and 500T quite a
bit. The choice of stock differs from situation to situation.
I don't see stocks as better or worse. I've shot on sound
negative stock and print stock as well and the results
have been quite interesting.
The decision on the camera to
be used is also dependent on
the requirement of the situation.
"There are a number of choices
today. Taare Zameen Par was
using sync sound and hence the
Arri 535 was used. Kahaani was
a more available -light hand held
film so the Arri 235 was used as
the main camera.
One of Setu's favorite films is
the Battle of Algiers. "I'm
enchanted by films that are
rooted in a particular time or
space and therefore the kind of
cinematography I enjoy is one
that stays true to that scenario
and does justice to it," he says.
Among many films he finds
Ashok Mehta's work in 36
Chowringhee Lane and Bandit
Queen inspiring.
"I don't think I'm in a position to
a d v i s e b u d d i n g
cinematographers," he says,
"but from my experience I'd like
to say that always trust your
eyes , go by what you feel is
c o r r e c t , d o n ' t f o l l o w
conventions - be brave."
Slice of
For DoP Rajdutt Revankar each day of shoot
is a learning experience. A stickler in conforming
to the story and script Revankar has earned
the reputation of repainting several houses
to suit the situation if necessary in the film.
Rajdutt Revankar is one of those lucky cinematographers who made
the transition from still photography to motion picture cinematography
successfully. He assisted eminent photographer Jagdish Mali for two
years and then did a more comprehensive course in cinematography
from UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles). He also has a
Diploma in Commercial Art. He directly started working as an
independent cinematographer on films such as Makarand Deshpande's
Daanav, (unreleased) and Marathi movies such as Joshi Ki Kamble which
won critical acclaim and Nirmalya both directed by Shekhar Sartandel.
Films are totally stories filled with emotions and dialogues and the
camera technique should never overshadow the narrative of the film but
should enhance the story in the film. According to Revankar the two years
spent with still photography helped him tremendously during learning
cinematography because he had already learnt the basic technique of still
photography and motion picture photography was just an enhancement
of that with moving pictures. "It taught me how a photograph shot in low
light or natural light gives good results rather than using heavy lights and
I follow this dictum while I work on films too."
“I always follow the story and script.
Formulation of the visual pattern should be
strictly according to the requirement of the
script. I have the reputation of repainting
several houses to suit the situation in scripts.”

12 Mumbai Chennai 13
Revankar is very much in favor of low lighting and natural lighting when
on an outdoor schedule and soft focus lighting which looks good on
screen. "I also use colors according to the theme of the story," he says.
"If it's a romantic film I use a warmer color or if it's a dark film then I use
harsher colors," he adds. He also prefers to use Arri cameras and Arri
lenses. "It's better to use Arri because it gives wonderful results on
screen," he says.
Revankar says, "I learnt a great deal from my course at UCLA - especially
not to meddle with the director or the other department's vision of the
film and to utilize my camera to enhance the story of the film that the
filmmaker is narrating. Therefore, I interact with the art director for my
color palette compositions and work with other department heads too."
“I recommend Kodak Film
to every film maker.”
I have been using Kodak stock right from my still photography days
rather than any other stock because I learnt that in low lighting
Kodak stock gives the best results.
I have used Kodak Vision 3 50 D (I use Kodak Vision 2 5201, 50D
for day exteriors which gives high contrasts), 250 D, 200 D stock
for my shoots and the color restoration one gets on the screen and
the bright colors on screen makes the images visually exciting.
In low-key lighting situations I use Kodak Vision 3 500T. It helps
him to bring the shadow details with less grain and soft contrast.
Kodak not only gives satisfaction to DoPs, but also saves budget
for the entire film as less lights are used and still one gets
good contrast and latitude with Kodak. I recommend
Kodak stock for every film maker.
A cinematographer, who believes in the overall perfection of the movie,
is always keen on coordinating various departments such as art,
costume and make up to ensure collective effort throughout the process
of filmmaking. Technicians belonging to different departments conceive
the same script in different ways. But these concepts have to converge
to a point from where the cinema as conceived by the director should
emerge. "I always follow the story and script," he says. "Formulation of
the visual pattern should be strictly according to the requirement of the
script. I have the reputation of repainting several houses to suit the
situation in scripts," says Revankar.
Revankar is not very fastidious about lenses but says he only uses the
cinemascope lens and that has always given him good results on the big
screen. He is not in favor of using high tech equipment available in the
market but keeps the shoot within the realms of the budget of the film.
When asked about any memorable experience about a film shoot he
says that every day of the shoot is a memorable one and he learns new
things every day.
This DoP is also of the opinion that a budding cinematographer should
do a good comprehensive course from a good film school and then one if
wishes to turn independent, he can do so immediately because he
knows the grammar and craft of cinematography.
C. R. Maravarman says, "I learnt a lot from
the institute and also my stint with A.
Venkatesh where I learnt all the intricacies of
filmmaking especially cinematography. I saw
the best of cinema and filmmakers from India
and the world all over. We studied directors of
all genres and it added to our aesthetics of
creative cinema."
H e s t a r t e d a s a n i n d e p e n d e n t
cinematographer very soon and has two films
such as DOO and Mathapoo where-in his work
was recognized. He says, "My lighting with
natural tones and filters with dark strong
colors was appreciated to a large extent in the
industry. I also used a multicolored color
palette." He admires the works of DoP
Santosh Sivan's and considers him as a role
model. He also respects Binod Pradhan from
whom he picked up the art of soft focus
lighting.
Manavarman is a big believer in the Arri brand
of cameras and is not much taken in by the
latest digital filmmaking cameras or Reds or
150 D Canon cameras. He says, "From what I
have seen I will never attempt digital
filmmaking because the resolution which it
gives is less compared to traditional Arri
cameras and the effect is grainy on the big
screen. But I do use Steadicams and Jimmy Jib
cameras for long shots and top angle shots".
He further opines that ultra prime lens are the
best for a shot taking be it a close up or a long
shot or an over shoulder shot.
“Cinematography should be
learnt like painting and not a
technical thing with just the
knowledge of lens and filters
but a sense of visualization
and storytelling should be
developed.”
He advises budding cinematographers to
learn the grammar of cinematography and
filmmaking from a good film school and then
with a degree or a diploma. "You can assist
any of the leading cinematographers and
learn the practical side of filmmaking on the
sets." He keeps himself updated with the
l a t e s t t r e n d i n c i n e m a , e s p e c i a l l y
cinematography by reading foreign magazines
and advises students of cinematography to do
so as well. He explains that cinematography
should be learnt like painting and not a
technical thing with just the knowledge of lens
and filters but a sense of visualization and
storytelling should be developed.

14 Chennai Chennai 15
Maravarman reveals that he likes thriller films
and dark films very much and that he would
like to direct such films in the future. He says
that he is generally aligned towards natural
lighting and rarely uses artificial lights. He is
also not much inclined towards the use of
filters and keeps his shot compositions very
simple and symmetrical. He is fond of using
bright colors for colorful frames especially for
songs picturizations and prefers exterior
shoots with natural lighting only if the script
demands it . Close-ups and extreme close ups
are among his favorite shots and he is always
experimenting with such shots.
Maravarman uses a low contrast light and
shade ratio to heighten the drama of the
scenes he is shooting and hence relies on
Kodak stock to get the best screen effects.
“From what I have seen I will never attempt digital filmmaking
because the resolution which it gives is less compared to traditional
Arri cameras and the effect is grainy on the big screen.”
"I have always used Kodak."
Maravarman has always used Kodak raw stock because according to him,
"It is the best undoubtedly," He always stores Kodak stock in his magazines
especially the Kodak 5207 and Kodak 5218 which are his personal favorite rolls.
"Though at times producers crib about the high price of the raw stock," he says,
"I try to convince them that it is very necessary to make a good looking film."
For him, Kodak is the best raw stock because it gives the highest restoration
and the good effect of lighting and filters which almost reflects the truth
"I hope to do more good work such as Roja and
Nayagan to name a few," he says. "I also hope
that the students of cinematography today
who are so fascinated by the boom in the
format of cameras and may be veered towards
the traditional way of film making which will
always give them good results," he says.
and gives a feeling of realism.
For h i s n ext f ilm M a p p i l l a i A l a r ya r
Maravarman will be experimenting with mood
cinematography and fresh mis-en-scene. He
hopes to direct his own film soon and there-in
he will have the freedom to shoot the film
according to his likes and specifications.
"I have been born and brought up in film background in Chennai", says cinematographer Deepak Kumar
Padhy. He used to play around his father Saroj Padhy's (DoP Malayalam Cinema) shooting spots as a child.
"When I was studying in the final year at my college, I was also working as an operative cameraman for my
father's film,"' he says. After completion of training at the MGR Film and TV Institute of Tamilnadu, he started
shooting small projects and commercials independently for his friends.
Kaaty with director Shankar Paniker was Padhy's first important independent venture as a DoP and won his film
two awards at the Bahrain Film Festival and was applauded for its cinematography. It was on viewing one of his
ad films in the theatre that director Saro Sriram approached Padhy to wield the camera for his Tamil film
Therodum Veedhiyile. This was the real launch of his career.
According to Padhy, "Cinematography is a medium that deals with
moving images and expressions.". Moreover he says,"It is merely fixing-
up the camera and taking a well composed still shot.". A DoP has to
capture moving artists from beginning to end which are all well lit and
composed. And for Padhy, "the camera movement should not disturb
the story narration of the director." He continues, "I remain very definite
that my cinematography should not overtake the mood of the scene. I
concentrate more on the costume, colors and art department, which are
the main elements that add life to the cinematography of a particular
movie". Padhy has one rule "Give the best with what you have". To him
that is the best way he can explain creativity. "Being a DoP is a very
responsible job because everybody's efforts get captured in the negative
roll as the camera cranks," he says. "A DoP is a director's tool used for
conveying his message with right mood to the viewers."
Cinematographer
Deepak Kumar Padhy
saw his father, eminent
cinematographer
Saroj Padhy shooting
innumerable Malayalam
films and this nurtured in
him an interest towards
taking up cinematography
as a profession.
As Padhy matured as a DoP his own visual style too has undergone a
change. "Obviously my visual style has changed a lot," he says. "It
should evolve and change, otherwise it gets very difficult to compete
with other cinematographers. I learn each and every single day of my
shoot," he says.
Padhy became an operative cameraman at the age of 19. When one
compares the technology of those days, with those in 2002, and the
technology used today there is a lot of difference. "Hence the
perspective of my treatment to a scene and my visual style of executing
it are bound to change automatically with my own experience growing,"
he says.
“I can try out lots of experimentation
with mixed colors and can be sure that
it would not look messy if I shoot with Kodak.
For me Kodak is the best.”
Padhy experiments a lot with his tones and lighting and in each experience
he improvises. "My experience over these years had been my best teacher
and my dad is my best critic, as he is straight forward," he says.
He lights up his subjects in such a way that they do not have restrictions
in the movement. "I would never stop their creativity of expressing their
feelings with their body language," says Padhy. "I travel with the mood of
the scene and also I maintain a style of lighting to a particular character
throughout the film and I will maintain consistency with my exposure
levels, so that my DI colorist will find it easy to balance my shots."

16 Chennai Hyderabad 17
“The perspective of my treatment to a scene
and my visual style of executing it are
bound to change automatically with
my own experience growing. That over
these years had been my best teacher
and my dad is my best critic.”
Current Projects
• Sandron Directed by Kannan Elumalai -
Shot with Arri 435 Xtreme (Super 35mm)
S4i Cooke lens and Optimo Zoom.
Stock: 5213 (200T) and 5219 (500T)
• Thirukural Directed by Kadhal Sugumar -
Shot with Arri 235 (Super 35mm)
Ultra Prime Lens and Optimo Zoom.
Stock: 5207 (250D) and 5219 (500T)
When it comes to shooting a
film, Padhy has no second
options other than Kodak.
According to him, "Kodak has a
lot of advantages - the color
reproduction and latitude are
the main factors for me," he
says. "After lighting up well and
finally if the medium I am
shooting in does not support
with correct reproduction, then
there is no use of working so
hard, but Kodak has never
disappointed me at any time."
Usually he uses tungsten stock
converting its color temperature
to daylight and uses it for day.
The output for him is great. For
exteriors he uses 5213-200T
and for interiors he uses 5219-
500T. For dawn and dusk he
uses 5219-500T. Each raw stock
he feels has its own tendency to
capture an image.
“Kodak plays
an important role.”
Kodak plays one of the major roles in the film industry today
providing DoPs with their dream stock for capturing their
visuals. Every DoP has his or her own perspective of seeing
things in that I like few stocks, and another DoP may like
some else. Kodak gives us what we want. We can
choose from a wide range of stocks.
One of the most challenging shoots was shooting the
Therodum Veedhiyile - a jail sequence inside a floor. Kodak
really helped me here because I shot this entire sequence
with 1½ stops push process and the latitude the stock had
was really awesome, we had very good details of the artists
and the blacks came out good. I tried a de-saturated tone,
which had a unique look and was very apt for the script.
Without Kodak stock I would not have achieved it.
The Kodak film laboratory at Mumbai with their technology
of processing helps DoPs to maintain a pitch clear quality
with our negatives. Also the Images and In-camera
magazines are helpful to get updated with both
Indian and International Film Industry.
He says, "When I have to shoot
with available light, some details
become dark, so if I go with high
speed stocks, then I can see
some better details than low
speed stocks. When I want my
film to look more colorful and I
get a good budget for lights,
then low speed stocks are the
best choice. I can have a greater
contrast and color saturation."
Shooting with Kodak helps him a
lot. "I need not worry about my
output going bad and with the
help of high speed lenses, today
we have a wider range of stops,
we can shoot even with low light
conditions," he says. "That too
when it comes to Kodak, the
black levels are pitch black. I can
try out a lot of experimentation
with mixed colors and can be
sure that it would not look
messy if I shoot on Kodak stock.
For me Kodak stock is the best."
I. Andrew always dreamt of becoming a
cinematographer but started as a wildlife and
fashion photographer, with photography also
thrown in for commercials.
Born in Bangalore he was interested in wild
life photography as his father taught him the
ropes. Currently he is settled in Hyderabad he
has a slew of Telegu films up his sleeve and a
roster of Tamil films which has given him a
reputation to reckon with in the South film
industry.
"My father used to work for Natural Wildlife,"
says Andrew, "Hence I was interested in
wildlife since my childhood and I started
taking photographs of the wildlife." "Later
when I started working for fashion
photography, I would spend the money
earned on wildlife photography," he says. He
is the recipient of several National and
International awards and was once the
youngest wildlife photographer in India to
have received some of these awards, among
more than 400 participants and 4000
entries," he explains.
A latent desire to become a cinematographer
led him to the celebrated cinematographer P.
C. Sreeram, wherein he expressed a desire to
assist him. However inundated with
assistants, it was a while before Sreeram
conceded. Andrew was with him for five
years. "He is one of the best human beings
and the best guru," says Andrew. "I learnt so
many things from him - not just technical
things but other things too," he adds. Apart
from feature films, he also worked on many ad
films as well. "We were used to getting
involved in post-production and pre-
production work too, including costumes, art,
and so on," he recalls.
“The best school to learn
cinematography is to join
some celebrated
cinematographer like I did and
learn all the intricacies of
cinematography.”
WILD ROOTS
DoP I. Andrew owes his roots of learning and appreciating photography
from his father who introduced him to wild life photography.
From there to fashion and then moving images has been a versatile journey
for him and he aims at some day directing a Hindi film.

18 Hyderabad Hyderabad 19
Andrew describes DoP Sreeram as a very
simple and plain-speaking cinematographer
who loves Telugu films and has made
Hyderabad his second home. "I've worked for
three of Karunakaran's films and I love being
part of his projects, as he gives a lot of
freedom and there is beauty in his love stories
and montage shots. His next goal is to win a
national award for a feature film. "That isn't
far," he quips with positivity and confidence. "I
want to be like my idols Sreeram," he says. "I
admire Mani Ratnam's Roja (DoP Santosh
Sivan) and Nayakan and Thiruda Thiruda (P. C.
Sreeram) and Ravi K. Chandran's Black.
Andrew admits that he has seen a lot of films
while growing up and those films have left an
indelible mark on his mind. He likes all kinds
of genres but romantic films which have a
certain mood are his favorites. "But now I am
more inclined towards action thrillers and the
first film I direct will also be an action thriller,"
he says. "I also like art house cinema and
would like to make realistic films shot
naturally for the festival circuit," he adds.
“I have done a lot of Tamil
movies and Telugu film. My
aim is to become a director
and work in Hindi films.”
Speaking about his shooting technique
Andrew prefers exterior shoots because he
was exposed to this genre while he was doing
commercials and still photography. And he
considers cinematography as a part of
photography and only difference is that
cinematography is about moving images. "I
use 20X 11 aperture generally," he says. "I was
the cameraman behind the rich visuals in
Ullasamgaa Utsahamgaa, Darling Kandireega
and so on, which were highly appreciated. I
generally use a bright colored color palette
with an enhancer and colorizer to give the
bright color to my images in post -
production," he says. "I have done a lot of
Tamil movies and now I am doing a Telegu
film. My aim is to become a director and work
in Hindi films," he says.
He generally uses prime lenses which are
good for the focal length he shoots on and
also usually uses the Arriflex cameras which
give him the right amount of luminance and
brightness to the Kodak film on which he
shoots. "The format which I shoot generally
on is Super 35. I also use ND filters such as
0.6, 0.7, 0.8 and 0.9 which cut through light
and gives the right brightness and colors to
the images as per my requirement," he says.
His advice to budding cinematographers is
that there is no full proof way to success in
cinematography because one is constantly
“Kodak is celluloid.”
I used other raw stock earlier when I was working as a still and wild life photographer.
After I ventured into shooting films it's only Kodak film for me. It has the right
perforations and sprockets to give the desired effect which I want on screen. The high
resolution and the bright colors which look good on screen are all because of
Kodak stocks that I use. I generally use 5205, 5207 and 5219 because
I believe it's the best raw-stock available for film shoots.
Kodak stock is universally acknowledged as the best stock available for film shoots
and a perennial favorite with all cinematographers. Kodak gives the best results on
screen as compared to other cheaper stocks but Kodak is totally
value for money and even the producers acknowledge this fact.
Kodak is an absolutely integral part of my professional career and
I can't do without this stock. I trust Kodak and it has never failed me.
For me celluloid is Kodak and Kodak is celluloid.
learning and new developments are taking
place every day. "However," he says "the best
school to learn cinematography is to join
some celebrated cinematographer like I did
a n d l e a r n a l l t h e i n t r i c a c i e s o f
cinematography. However filmmaking is not
everyone's cup of tea as it involves lot of hard
work and learning. However the best thing
one can do is to be a student of cinema to see
the best of national and international cinema
and get to see the masters of cinema at
work," he concludes.
For DoP Vijay K. Chakravarthi the journey is more important than the destination. So it's about the journey, not the destination
that makes him happy and fulfilled. A person who lives in the moment for the moment Chakravarthi questions himself
at every turn as he says, "you only learn the aesthetics of creation from yourself.
When asked how he would define cinematography Vijay K.
Chakravarthi narrates an anecdote. "I was hardly four or five years old,"
he says. "It was raining heavily and my father and I were watching from
the doorway of my village house. My father asked me, "What is this?"
"Rain", I replied. "For a painter it is a painting, for a poet it is a poem, for
a musician it is music. For others it is simply, rain. Now tell me, who are
you?" asked my father. "From there started my endless search of finding
myself. Of course, I am still searching. My father is the reason for
everything that I am today and for everything I am going to be someday,"
Chakravarthi says. His father was a Tamil teacher in Pattiveeranpatti, a
village at the foothills of Kodaikanal in South Tamilnadu.
Chakravarthi started his career in the Tamil film industry but later moved
towards Telugu cinema. He has worked on blockbusters such as
Bommarillu, Parugu, Kikk, Oye, Mr. Perfect and Oh, My friend and recently
Sirochaaru. When asked about his growing interest in films, Chakravarthi
says, "As a son of a teacher I was always advised to become a doctor or
engineer. But I accidently happened to see Azhiyaatha Kolangal, the
direction debut of the legendary Balu Mahendra when I was studying in
the 9th grade. I saw my life and my village in that movie. That movie
changed me and it made me to think about what career I should follow
for the future."
It was not easy to convince everyone in the family for Chakravarthi that
he aspired to become a film maker. During his intermediate he watched
a thriller titled Oomaivizhikal - a film which was the work of a new talent
from the Adayar Film Institute - DoP Ramesh Kumar. "That is when I
decided to join the film institute," he says. "However that was easier said
than done. My father wanted me to complete my graduation and join the
government service. I enrolled for graduation in economics and
discontinued after six months. Then, I joined a polytechnic and soon
abandoned it. I convinced my father that I would get a job in
Doordarshan if he let me join the film institute," says Chakravarthi.

20 Hyderabad Bangalore 21
It was there that he met Ramesh Kumar for the first time. "He asked me
a question," says Chakravarthi - 'What kind of lighting and framing
would you give if a widow were sitting at a dining table?' That is when
Chakravarthi realized that photography was not merely a combination of
good lighting, framing, and equipment. It should come from the heart.
He joined the film school in Adayar, Chennai and during his learning
days he also worked with Ramesh Kumar in his ad agency.
Chakravarthi worked with Arthur Wilson before his debut as a
cinematographer for the film titled Diwaan. "However I was not satisfied
with my work. I was so disappointed that I wanted to give up and return
home," he says.
“You can learn technical things by assisting in
three or four films. But you could never learn the
aesthetics of creation from anyone except from
yourself. So, read a lot. That is what will make
you different from others.”
"For me, cinema is a directors' medium," he says. "So the main job of a
DoP is to convert thoughts of a director into visuals." But
cinematography is not merely about visuals. "For instance, if someone
sees a misty scene on the screen, that someone should feel the chilliness
in them as well," he adds. "So, cinematography should come from the
heart, and should help your mind to feel what you saw or imagined.
Most importantly, cinematography should never overtake the script. It
should be the canvas where the script is painted visually," he says. "I
always follow the concept of 'chiaroscuro', a concept invented by Dutch
painter Rembrandt. Vermeer too inspires me. 'Chiaroscuro' is the
treatment of light and shade in drawing and painting. An effect of
contrasted light and shadow created by light falling unevenly or from a
particular direction on something. "It is the concept of painting with light
in which he always followed source lighting which was so natural," says
Chakravarthi. "One thing I had learned from his paintings is that little
details make big differences," he says. "Lensing always depends on what
kind of script or scene you are filming," he says.
“Kodak gives me comfort.”
I love to shoot with Kodak because of the comfort it gives me.
I love to shoot only with the ambience light while shooting
outdoors. Kodak makes sure I will get what I see through the
camera without artificial lights and also about the latitude it gives
me when I am shooting indoors, from the highlight to the black.
When I am shooting with Kodak, I don't need to wait till I see the
dailies to make sure it was what I wanted. I know it.
That makes Kodak stand tall from others.
Chakravarthi finds the visuals of Balu Mahendra so natural that it makes
him feel that he is witnessing something happening in front of his eyes
and not on the screen. "I consider him as the father of cinematography
from whom I have learnt a lot," he says. He also advocates reading a lot
to learn. "Read - literature from whatever language you belong to or
whatever language you can read in," he says. "You can learn technical
things by assisting in three or four films. But you could never learn the
aesthetics of creation from anyone except from yourself. So, read a lot.
That is what will make you different from others."
In conclusion Chakravarthi says, "For me, cinema is the director's
medium. So the main job of a DoP is to convert the script into visuals."
ACTION PLUS
DoP Venkat Prasad is a man of few words and more action. He has worked
across the length and breadth of the industry from Hindi to regional films. He
gives a lot of importance to lighting and shot composition and prefers all pre
production discussions to be documented for record purposes.
Well established director of photography
Venkat Prasad made a debut in the film
industry after obtaining Bachelor of Fine Arts
degree in Photography from the Jawaharlal
Nehru University, Hyderabad. He has
extensive work experience that includes
working for some Australian short films,
documentary and advertising films. He has
also worked on Ram Gopal Varma's Satya in
which he assisted in the camera and all other
departments as well. "Working in a RGV film is
an altogether a different experience. You may
be a technician working for the film, but you
are made to work in many other departments,"
says Prasad. "When I worked for Satya, I found
many top artists of today working with RGV as
assistants as well," he says.
Prasad has also worked as an assistant to
Rasool Ellore. His first break was with the film
Prem Katha directed by Ram Gopal Varma and
produced by actor Akkineni Nagarjuna.
Recently he has worked as a DoP in Rana
Daggubati's first commercial film Naa Ishtam
produced by Parachuri Kireeti. "The camera
work of 100 percent love brought a lot of
appreciation for my work," he says. "In that
film I used an innovative process of the DI
format scanned in 6K method. This had saved
lot of negative cost for making the film. That is
“Since the whole script was based on real life incidents,
I had to take lot of care while shooting. I also had to ensure that
the story element does not get diluted because of the technical
one reason why the film became viable within
a week of its release," he says.
He has also worked on Dandupalya directed by
Srinivasa Raju which turned out to be the
biggest hit this year. "Dandupalya is one of the
biggest challenges faced in my career," says
Prasad. "I had to shoot with lesser lights as
the film had to be shot realistically," he says.
"And then I also had to ensure that the story
element does not get diluted because of the
technical superiority of the film," he adds.
"Since the whole script was based on real life
superiority of the film.”
incidents, I had to take lot of care while
shooting. There was lot of gore and violence
which had to be shown on screen, but
everything within limits," he says. The pattern
of lighting and shot composition was
discussed thread bare before the shooting
began and was documented.
Prasad always has given prominence to Kodak
products. "Kodak products will also provide
qualitative results. It gives real colors to the
final print. The entire work gets a realistic
look," he says.

22 Bangalore Kolkatta 23
This year has been a trying one for the star
studded big budget films in the Kannada Film
Industry, but there has been some surprise
hits which took the Box Office by storm.
Dandupalya directed by Srinivasa Raju based
on the criminal activities of a gang of serial
killers which shocked the peace loving
residents of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh is
one of them. Made with a modest budget of
around Rs. 3 crore, the net collections of the
film grossed over Rs. 10 crore. Dandupalya has
become some sort of a trend setter in the
Kannada film industry and now many films
having 'reality based stories' are being made
in the industry.
Raju would have been an engineer by now,
had his passion for films had not dragged him
to the industry. In 2001 he resigned as a
design engineer in a textile company to
become an assistant script director and
director to well known Telugu film director
Raviraja Pinishetty "After working as a script
writer, my passion in working as a director
had enhanced," says Raju. "I joined Puri
Jagannadh who was known for making out-of-
the-box films to work as an assistant in
Kannada films," he says.
He has worked with the likes of national
award winning director Nagabharana and
later assisted director Prakash in writing the
script of Milan. Later he got his first break as a
director in the film Sangaathi. "Sangaathi was
not the type of film I was aiming to direct, but
I was committed a lot of errors because I
wanted to play safe. Later I got an opportunity
to direct Nannavanu but it was the success of
my third film Kote which really saved my
career," he says.
TRENDSETTER
Director Srinivasa Raju defied all laws of the Kannada Film Industry by
scripting and directing a reality based film Dandupalya. This film has been a
trendsetter and has sparked many more such non-fiction based films that are
subsequently being made in the industry.
Then the big moment came with Dandupalya.
He did a lot of homework before writing the
final script and even went to Bellary Jail to
meet and talk to some of the criminals
involved in the Dandupalya gang. He even
spoke to some police officers who had
investigated the case. There were a lot of
interviews of family members victimized by
the Dandupalya gang. "I then decided that the
film had to be made realistically and should
be devoid of any commercial elements," says
Raju. "I was confident about the film's
success, but many court cases against the
making of the film and many claims made by
some so called journalists that the story is
based on their reports had delayed the release
of the film," he adds. "The film was declared a
super hit from the first day of its release and
the range of success even surprised the
industry," he says.
“I decided that the film had to
be made realistically and
should be devoid of any
commercial elements. The film
was declared a super hit from
the first day of its release
and the range of success even
surprised the industry.”
About using Kodak materials for all the films
made by him, Raju says, "Kodak stock has a
higher degree of depth and quality. Kodak is
known for giving the best results as for as
clarity is concerned. It is also consumer
friendly as it can give high quality results for
the use of any tele-lenses."
Sudipto Sengupta as a cinematographer and director working for
Bengali cinema, feels that the Bengali film Industry has quite a few
problems which have to be faced by technicians such as himself - "The
main situation being that they are mostly low budget or medium budget,
which gives rise to other problems" he says.
"Hence cinematographically we have to make many compromises - the
first factor affecting our output is the little time we get to plan our
camera work, which often does not allow us to plan in detail," he adds.
Then in terms of lights and lighting materials there is a compromise.
Coupled with that comes the problem of projecting or exhibiting his
work to the general public. "Apart from multiplexes, Bengali films release
in cinema houses which have low quality projectors," he says. "The
projectors are not upgraded," he says. "Buying new projection lamps for
celluloid projectors and installation of new digital projector lamps before
release of a new film is never a practice among the cinema house
authorities", he says. "Their lackadaisical attitude to the quality of
projection plagues the cinematographers of Bengal always," he adds.
"This affects our projection quality and image quality."
Natural Look
Another important issue which Sengupta wants to emphasize is the
total lack of foresight in these matters on the directors' and producers'
side as well as the lack of availability of good quality cameras. "Best
quality equipment is not available in Kolkata, they have to be brought
from Mumbai or Chennai," he says.
But despite all these shortcomings, "If you are creative enough, you are
almost forced to give your best, and if you are good enough in technical
skill and inborn creativity, then despite these entire constraints one can
always create works of national and international standard," says
Sengupta. "These forced constraints are a good exercise to develop a
cinematographer's skill", he admits. So that way the problems that have
been cited so far are in a way working as a boon in disguise. In spite of
these constraints, Bengali Cinema is leaving its indelible mark in the
Indian and international film scenario.
To Sengupta cinematography's technical side is very important, and a
cinematographer needs to successfully develop his lighting plot, i.e.
mood lighting using tones, light and shade, costumes, camera
movement and so on. The proper portrayal and depiction of an actor's
skin tones is very important to him. "Where skin tones are concerned,
precision soft lighting is necessary," he says.
“My first importance is given to the story, plot,
psychology of the characters, each mood
may need a particular stock and maybe this
is where I am different from the others.”
Sudipto Sengupta, the young cinematographer from Kolkata
has within a very short period carved a niche in the Bengali
film industry for himself. After working as cinematographer
for quite a few Bengali films, he has now turned Director with
the film Final Mission. In this film he radically turns away from
the usual commercial formula to create a film where several
new vistas of cinematic creativity open up.
As a cinematographer he feels, "My specialty is that I try to depict the
story successfully through lighting and camera movement. From this
angle I start thinking technically about the selection of stock, lighting
style and lights, camera." Subject wise his visual style varies in creating
the interplay between light and shade, their inherent tensions which
makes film come out vibrant with life.

24 Kolkatta Kerala 25
“Since, as a cinematographer I have to
operate this project at a brisk pace,
the shooting is happening at all types of
locations and difficult light conditions,
the vibrant Kodak stock is matching
my directorial visualization
and imagination to the fullest.”
“It's always only Kodak.”
Kodak raw stock is the ultimate choice in surviving professionally.
Kodak stock gives me great white and blacks.
For daylight exteriors I use Kodak Vision 3 200 T and 250 D but if
tonal creativity and situation so demands, specifically I use Kodak
Vision 3 500 T as well. For daylight interiors I use Kodak Vision 3
200 T and 250 D when there is a mix-match of artificial light and
available light. For night interiors I use Kodak Vision 3 200 T and
500 T both. For night exterior I use Kodak Vision 3 500 T,
sometimes very rarely Kodak Vision 3 200 T. For dawn and dusk I
use Kodak Vision 3 500 T and also 250D. In the changeover
period between day and night I use Kodak Vision 3 500 T. In the
magic hour I use Kodak Vision 3 500 T and 250 D.
But first and most important is the stock. "Kodak is obviously the best in
this regard - best in the world," he says. "My first importance is given to
the story, plot, psychology of the characters, each mood may need a
particular stock and maybe this is where I am different from the others,"
he adds.
Where Kodak is concerned, he says, "Mainly it is in the discovery of high
speed stocks which has opened the vista of creativity for us
cinematographers. Especially, the high speed stocks with lesser and lesser
grains have opened up new paths. The technical excellence of Kodak is a
boon for us. Kodak for the first time brought these stocks for us."
Kodak also gives him the proper and perfect tonal quality which
becomes achievable and also the correct color saturation comes through
Kodak. "Proper depiction of light and shade is possible through Kodak
which gives me tremendous satisfaction as a DoP," he says. "Its extreme
latitude helps me in creating magic moments through candid or
documentary style of photography like when I am shooting using
available lights only in a shot."
His most challenging shoot to date is his directorial debut film Final
Mission. "Because I am functioning as both director of photography and
director, this is a great challenge, maintaining my cinematographic
dreams," he says. "Since as a cinematographer I have to operate this
project at a brisk pace, the shooting is happening at all types of locations
and difficult light conditions, the vibrant Kodak stock is matching my
directorial visualization and imagination to the fullest," he adds.
Kodak is also matching his visual creativity shot by shot in normal and
difficult lighting conditions and other factors. When he sees the visuals
on screen, the appearance of the images as he looked through the
camera, are enhanced manifold because of using Kodak stock. "I am
getting a tremendous satisfaction by the performance of Kodak," he says.
If confidence is the key to success young DoP Sameer Haq is
confidence incarnate. "I commit a film only if I am confident about doing
it," says Haq. "And once I commit it, I will be taking maximum efforts to
make it happen in the proper way." Haq belongs to the young generation
of cinematographers and filmmakers in Malayalam cinema who believe
more in making films happen than on sticking on to the so called norms
of filmmaking.
Haq is not an alumnus of any prestigious film institute, but takes pride in
the school of cinematography he belongs to. "My apprenticeship with
Sanjeev Shanker was a turning point in my life. He is a disciple of
Santosh Sivan. I am proud of being part of that tradition," says Haq. "I
owe Sanjeev Shanker a lot in my career as a cinematographer."
It was after doing a few advertising and short films that Haq joined
Shanker as an assistant. He was recommended by none other than the
veteran director Viji Thampi. The film was Olympian Anthony Adam
directed by Bhadran in 1999 with Mohan Lal in the lead. "That was a
good start," remembers Haq. He could work with some of the best
technicians and artistes in the field. Four other major films followed -
Sathyameva Jayathe (Viji Thampi), Rakshasa Rajavu (Vinayan),
Rajamanikyam (Anwar Rasheed) and Pappy Appacha (Mamas). All these
films had made impact in the box office. The Mammootty starrer
Rajamanikyam was a huge commercial success.
Cool
Customer
Sameer Haq who hails from Thrissur district in Kerala is not an
alumnus of any prestigious film institute but takes pride in the
school of cinematography he belongs to. Of the opinion that
keeping a cool temperament and concentrating on completing
the work is very important in cinematography, he has
always tried to achieve maximum result with
whatever facilities I got and has met his
challenges successfully so far.
“Once I start doing a movie, it's my duty to
finish the work in time. Nothing else matters.
I never had to complain about equipment or
anything during the shooting of any of the films
I've done so far. My work doesn't merely
depend on equipment and facilities.”
Though all the movies he had worked were in commercial mode, Haq's
first work as an independent cinematographer was off beat. In 2010
debutant director Prem Lal approached him with a novel subject. The
story was about the travails of a blind man and his daughter. Haq liked
the subject and became an independent cinematographer with Prem
Lal's debut film Athmakatha (Autobiography) with Srinivasan in the lead
role. The film though was not a huge commercial success, accumulated
critical acclaim both for the director and the cinematographer.

26 Kerala Post House 27
In the next year Haq worked with hit maker Aku Akbar for Vellaripravinte
Changathi starring Dileep. The movie was a big hit and Dileep won the
State film award for the Best Actor. The film had the distinction of being
a period film that partly essayed the history of Malayalam cinema itself
to an extent.
In 2012 Haq once again wielded camera for Prem Lal in Outsider, a dark
thriller with Srinivasan and Dr. Pasupathi in the lead. Another film he did
this year was Bhoopadathil Illatha Oridam directed by Joe Chalissery.
Since the theme of Athmakatha was centred on blindness, the director
wanted to emphasise on light emanating from candles. "Even that
worked out well. That too makes me happy," says Haq with satisfaction.
There is an element of fear psychosis in the movie Outsider.
Haq who is an avid movie buff from childhood is of the opinion that
cinema ultimately belongs to the director. "I formulate a pattern while
hearing the storyline for the first time. Both Prem Lal and Aku Akbar are
good story tellers. They know what they want. Establishing a rapport
between the director and the cinematographer is the most important
factor in filmmaking," says Haq. "I never want to impose my ideas on the
director. There may be difference of opinion while hearing the script.
Such disputes must be settled and clarified then and there. Once you
start shooting the movie it should tread on smoothly." Haq also believes
in the total output of the crew. "The camera and other devices should
support the cinema and its subject. No element should stand out," Haq
makes it clear.
“I like Kodak.”
The protagonist is in constant fear that the mysterious and
dreadful villain might appear from the darkness anytime. This
being the storyline, I planned to shoot the film giving importance
to black shades. In fact I like black shades in the frames I create.
And this was easily achieved in Kodak. I am quite happy that
it has worked out well. I got appreciation from many quarters
for my work in Outsider.
Haq is of the opinion that keeping a cool temperament and
concentrating on completing the work is very important in
cinematography. "Once I start doing a movie, it's my duty to finish the
work in time. Nothing else matters. I never had to complain about
equipment or anything during the shooting of any of the films I've done
so far. My work doesn't merely depend on equipment and facilities."
Haq says he is happy that so far nobody has said a bad word about his
work. "I had always tried to achieve maximum result with whatever
facilities I got. I think I have met my challenges successfully so far."
For Charan Reddy T, Founder for 24 Karat
Post One (post studio offering business
development for post production, film
scanning and high-end camera rentals), a
mechanical engineer by profession, destiny
landed him in post production rather than as a
film director. "I quit my first software job in
less than 30 days from joining," he says. "As a
child I was a film critic which slowly
developed into a fascination towards the
movies. From my teenage years I watched
every script, visualizing how it could have
been made better," he says. Reddy had joined
the industry with an ambition to direct films.
"I will certainly go back to film making very
soon, as now I understand the aesthetics
required," he says.
DI today is popular as
color consistency can create
a look according to scene
and a clean product without
any joints in the negative
which is not possible
in analog method.
Annapurna Studios Pvt. Ltd.
is at the hub of creating
"this look" in several
super hit films with
a dedicated team
and managers who lead
from the front.
A part of the larger Annapurna studios, a
popular brand in Tollywood, with three
generation of famous artists, state-of-the-art
studio facilities, film production, film school
and to make it one stop shop the
management has recently started state of the
art DI and post facility with base light, Mistika
and Barco Projectors.
"Annapurna Studios Pvt. Ltd. was established
on 13th August 1975 by Padmavibushan
Akkineni Nageswara Rao, a recipient of the
highest honor in the film industry awarded by
the Government of India, The Dada Saheb
Phalke Award," says Reddy. "He was the
catalyst in shifting the Telugu film industry to
Hyderabad from Chennai," he adds.
Perfect Post
Over the years trend shave changed and the
studio has kept abreast of these changes.
"Transformation of current shooting locations
to fully equipped air-conditioned shooting
floors, edit, dubbing, content production and
post production facilities," are some of the
main areas where there have been many
changes," says Reddy.
Reddy has an amazing philosophy which has
been adopted as the company's philosophy as
well - "Bindaas, cool going, share my
knowledge and acquire it as and when
needed," he says.
Appropriate stock and the artistic handling of
the DoP contribute to the look of the film and
of course stock. Commenting on Kodak stock,
Reddy says, "The best images I ever saw, a
movie can fail if the script is bad, but the
visual eye candy Kodak produces will
otherwise save the movie from being
disastrous." According to him quality,
commitment and delivery is what makes
Kodak popular among the producers, DoPs,
and the technical community of this industry.
Today DI (from scanning to color grading and
film out) has gained considerable importance
because of the fact that it offers the freedom to
color correct beyond RGB and to tweak to the
pixel level, beautify every frame-look and feel of
the film. Kodak raw stock is preferred because
of "The balanced grain structure and the colors
it reproduces from the color grade," says Reddy.

28 Post House Post House 29
It is extremely difficult to obtain the technical
knowledge that is needed to learn about post
production and DI. "Unfortunately there is
never a system to teach professionally, it is all
acquired with experience," says Reddy. "I
hope that the current training schools will
adopt a curriculum, include and impart better
training in the days ahead," he adds.
Sharing a few words of wisdom for the new
comer Reddy says, "Perhaps this is the only
field where you will never get bored, you enjoy
every second of your life and sky is the limit
for your success." He adds that dedication,
passion to learn and to keep updated with
technology are some of the important
attributes which help a person become a good
technical person.
He concludes on an optimistic note. "The
future of the Indian film industry is in the
hands of youngsters who will handle it
professionally and will utilize technology to
the optimum level and make decent movies to
generate good revenues," says Reddy.
C. V. Rao, General Manager-Technical and
Colorist for digital post production at
Annapurna Studios has a post graduate
degree in Economics, a Masters in Multimedia
and was trained at Arri in Hongkong and
Cintel and Filmlight in London. "I started my
career as a DTP operator. Thereafter a 3D
animator, Editor, Visual Effects Artist, Colorist
and now Technical Head for post production,"
he says.
One his main objective is to serve the industry
better and produce best quality for features
and commercials. This concern began with an
interest towards the creative field. His source
of inspiration has been Gnaneswar PRO and
K.B. Reddy CEO, Digiquest.
The studios began with just editing and
dubbing stations and now recently have
a d d e d D I fa c i l i ty for feature s a n d
commercials. Rao envisions making it "a one
stop service provider for all media related
works."
Rao specializes in some of the main services
they offer in the field of digital post
production like editing, film scanning, film
recording and digital intermediate, training
and leading the team.
"Our high profile dedicated team and a good
studio ambience make our facilities a special
place for the client and us," says Rao. His total
involvement and dedication for the project
makes him rather popular among producers,
DoPs and the technical community of the
industry.
His philosophy is simple - "Work is worship.
Help the team members instead of
commanding over them and it will come back
to you as a leader," he says. He emphasizes
the company philosophy "To take care of a
customer and deliver the product on time
with quality. The rest follows." His opinion
about Kodak stock is clear - "Reliable, no risk
and experiments." Another reason to use
Kodak raw stock is that the color can be
reproduced similar to DI..
One of the most challenging projects
undertaken by Rao was the film Usaravelli.
"We had very little time and the producer
came to us with delivery date after fixing the
release date for the film," recounts Rao.
Overcoming these challenges was possible
because of good support from DoP Rasool
Ellore and from my team members," he adds.
There are three main factors according to Rao
which contribute to the look of the film.
"Exposure, production values and obviously
the DoP."
The main steps in the DI process are
scanning, color grading, visual effects and
conforming. "Each of them is very important
in order to get the best quality product," says
Rao. DI today is popular as "Color consistency
can create a look according to scene and a
clean product without any joints in the
negative which is not possible in the analog
method," says Rao.
Recent Projects
Eega Released
“The future of the Indian film industry is
in the hands of youngsters who will handle it professionally
and will utilize technology to the optimum level ,
make decent movies to generate good revenues.”
Shot on Kodak-DI-Film out Kodak
Okkadine Due for release next month
Shot on 35mm -scanning-DI-Filmout
Charan Reddy T
Managing Partner
24 Karat Post One
“Stay focused on a particular sector since there are
many sectors in this industry. Focus, observation
and dedication towards the work will help you become
a much sought after technician.”
C. V. Rao
General Manager - Technical and Colorist
Annapurna Studios Pvt. Ltd.
Rao and his team's work begin on a film after
the final edit. "Currently we are involved after
the final edit. We collect all the developed
negatives, perform ultrasonic cleaning, scan
the full movie as per the EDL, start color
grading, add VFX, conform and then film out
to DI negative. His staff includes Shiva-Sr.
Colorist, who has worked on big films such as
Magadheera, Arundathi in Telugu earlier and is
with them currently, Pankaj-Colorist who
started as a conformist with the studio itself
and is now handling a few films on his own.
And Mahesh - Conformist who has five years
of experience and has worked on many
feature films.
Rao offers a few tips to new comers - "Stay
focused on a particular sector since there are
many sectors in this industry. Focus,
observation and dedication towards the work
will help you become a much sought after
technician," he says.
Technology and fashion according to Rao are
main trends that are defining the business
rules today. "Many new comers will be
coming to the industry since the cost of
production is getting Reduced. However
training needs to be given on live projects so
that it will be easy for them to attend
interviews," he adds.

30 Young Guns Young Guns 31
Exploring human relationships is the most interesting feature about the film Birds of Passage,
directed by Ashim Paul and shot by young and highly aspiring cinematographer from SRFTI,
Kolkata, Anil Pingua.
Pingua has enormous confidence on Kodak stock as a cinematographer. "Kodak stock is so forgiving
that it gives me enough confidence to take risks and try something new. I can focus on the creative
aspects of cinematography instead of technical things. I can work faster. I do not need to see a
monitor on set. For me, it is easier to achieve the desired look with Kodak," he says.
Kodak's wide latitude gives him the freedom to work in challenging conditions. So he says, "It
faithfully reproduces colors even in the extreme shadows and highlights. I like the way Kodak stocks
maintain neutrality through the full range of exposures."
He prefers to use Kodak Vision 3 200 T stock for most of the situations, day and night, exterior and
interior. "I like the sharpness and neutrality of 5213 stock. For magic hours, mixed light situations
and in uncontrollable low light situations, I use Vision 3 500T 5219. I use Vision 3-50 D and 250 D
stock for day sequences when I want more saturation," he says.
According to him, "SRFTI changed the way I look at things. I saw a lot of World Cinema, which I had
never even heard of. We had daily theory and practical classes followed by the evening screening at
the main theatre. We had some really good workshops by some eminent cinematographers. We
used to do practice shoots on 16mm and 35mm format and later view the print. I learnt a lot from
other students."
Anil Pingua from the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) Kolkata,
is the winning cinematographer of the Kodak Film School Competition 2012 for
his Diploma film Birds of Passage. Never one to be afraid to take risks while
shooting as he uses only Kodak stock, Pingua says Kodak gives him a creative
control on any challenging shoot.
CONFIDENT RISKS
As he feels, "A cinematographer transforms the director's vision into visuals. It is an interesting job
to collaborate with other crew members to achieve the look of a film. A cinematographer also has
to take care of the rhythm of a film."
He says, "Film is the best medium to learn filmmaking. It makes you pre-visualize." Regarding
Kodak's role in film education today, he has this to say, "Kodak plays a crucial role in film education
by providing film stock, scholarships and conducting master classes."
In this time of changing technology, he thinks it is really challenging to focus on aesthetics. He says,
"One can easily get distracted with so many new tools coming and evolving workflows."
Where the Kodak India Film School Competition is concerned, he says, "It is really inspiring to win
the Kodak India Film School Competition. For my diploma film, I used Vision 3 200T stock for
almost the entire film, only for the airport interior I used 5219 500T. It helped me get the sharp,
contrast-y and neutral image."
As he sees the future of cinematography as a profession, his personal point of view is very clear and
to the point. He says, "Life has always been more convenient with the technical advancements. In
previous days cinematographers had to work with slower films and lenses, now we have higher
sensitivity, more latitude and faster lenses. I do not think the profession of cinematography would
change much in the future. It would always be the same, to tell a story visually, using the same tools
- light, colors, camera and lenses."
“Film is the best medium to
learn filmmaking. It makes you
pre-visualize. Kodak plays a
crucial role in film education
by providing film stock,
scholarships and conducting
master classes.”
Night Walk, the non-diploma winning film of
the Kodak India Film School Competition 2012
directed by Ravi Davala, Cinematographer
Amulya Chandra, a highly promising student of
cinematography at the FTII.
The film centers on Sharvari, a young woman
of 29 and her grappling with her relationships
and coping with the clash between the
modernity and tradition. "Focusing on human
relationships was a directorial decision, and
as a cinematographer the challenge for me
was to create the dark mood of the story
through light and composition", says Chandra.
According to him, "Being at FTII is shaping me
up as a cinematographer and teaching me the
aesthetics of sculpting with light. As a student
of cinematography I concentrate on seeing
the world through the eyes of a director. I keep
myself like clear water that takes the shape of
the container."
Chandra feels, "There are many ways of
expressing oneself like a painter does with
paint and brush or a writer with a pen. I
The film Naad, shot by Soumik Mukherjee of
FTII and directed by Tathagata Singha, is the
Runner-Up Winner of the Kodak India Film
School Competition 2012. It is a very interesting
film about a city where a disease strikes the
inhabitants and causes blindness as a result.
"Paranoia seems to be a constant overpowering
element in today's time," says Singha.
Mukherjee believes that cinematography
should be dictated by the story and script of
the film and not be over-powering. "I like to
involve myself right from the scripting stage,
be a part of all the aspects of the film and see
it through till the final print."
Kodak raw stock has excellent tonal and color
renditions according to Mukherjee. "The
images reproduced have a very organic look,
which might be difficult to explain but it
becomes apparent when it is viewed in
comparison with other formats."
For Naad he used Kodak Vision 2 Expression
500T 5229 in the first half of the film and
Kodak Vision 3 500T 5219 in the second half
of the film. "In the first half of the film we
wanted a muted look and the colors to have
HUMAN
RELATIONS
Amulya Chandra, non-Diploma
winner of the Kodak India Film School
Competition 2012 for the film
Night Walk and student of the
Film and Television Institute (FTII),
Pune, feels there are many ways of
visual expression and cinematography
is just one of them.
started my journey with sketching but was
soon drawn to photography which is an
exciting medium and became an extension of
my sketching and drawing. This medium so
overpowered me that I use sketching only to
plan my shots. I can express myself
completely through photography."
According to him, "It is easier to translate
one's own ideas but doing that with others'
ideas is challenging. My strength lies there. I
always try to give maximum output with
minimum resources to save wastage of
money and manpower."
His own experience of using Kodak dates
back to his school days when he used the
stock to do still photography. He says, "I feel
confident while shooting with Kodak stock
because of its versatility, latitude and the
sophisticated colors. It offers me a chance to
manipulate and arrive at the look I desire. My
experience tells me that Kodak stock always
lives up to the claims made by the company.
ORGANIC LOOK
Paranoia is the main theme of the film Naad, shot by Cinematographer Soumik
Mukherjee, a student of FTII. Mukherjee in his cinematography deliberately tries to
tread a different path from his predecessors.
low saturation and the images to have less
contrast, hence I opted for the 5229 and in
the second half 5219 was used to get fully
saturated and vivid colors and high contrast.
The dream sequence was pushed to get a
grainy bleached out feel", he says.
According to him, "In today's world where we
are constantly bombarded by media with
visuals of different kinds, the challenge lies in
coming up with work which will be different
and visually engaging. FTII not only imparts
the technical and aesthetic know how of film
making but the space also helps in creating a
worldview which is essential for an artist to
create a work of art," says Mukherjee.
To him, "FTII other than being a good training
Institute, provides a space where we can
make our own mistakes and learn from it to
develop our own style of filmmaking and
cinematography and the journey is different
for every student. It helps us to create our
o w n i n d i v i d u a l a r t i s t i c i d e a s a n d
philosophies."
About the Kodak Film School Competition he
has this to add, "The Film School Competition
is a great opportunity for a student
cinematographer to showcase his works. Such
competitions help one set newer parameters
for one's work and motivate one to push one's
own boundaries."

32 Film School Teacher 33
Learning Light
Sandipp graduated from the Satyajit Ray
Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata,
in cinematography, after completing B.Sc.
Degree from the University of Kolkatta. He
cherishes the fortuitous association he has
had with the legendary cinematographer
Subrata Mitra at SRFTI as he is among the last
batch of students Mitra has taught there.
Sandipp has worked on feature films,
television programs, commercials and music
videos. His penchant for the visual has given
him a variety of opportunities to explore
different formats for the narrative,
documentary and other forms of storytelling.
Sandipp believes that his interest in the Urdu
poetry, Bengali literature and Hindustani
classical music enriches his understanding of
the craft of cinematography, which he imparts
to students and provides able guidance.
The Ramoji Academy of Film & Television
(RAFT) is set in the sprawling Ramoji Film City
in Hyderabad and offers amongst the best in
terms of infrastructure for film education in
India. The faculty members are hand chosen
and a variety of long-term and short-term
intensive courses in various areas of Film and
Film Production are offered. The institute
offers two-year, post-graduate courses in
cinematography, direction and screenwriting;
it also offers one-year courses in editing and
audio recording and sound design.
The institutional philosophy at RAFT is one
that takes Film Education very seriously. The
belief that film school plays a vital role in
making the student disciplined and passionate
about his or her craft is at the center of the
course design. The teachers generally make a
student aware about the various techniques
and the technology available to put across his
creativity on the big screen and small screen
to the best of his ability.
Sandipp HoD cinematography at the
Ramoji Academy of Film and Television
(RAFT) Hyderabad believes that
cinematography is not a technique but
indeed a life style. That's why he prefers
to start his introductory classes
of cinematography with students
observing the sunrise.
"The cinematography course, here, itself is
holistically designed," says Sandipp. "Starting
with a grounding in theory and aesthetics, to
the craft of cinematography (including the
intricacies of framing, focusing, placement,
lighting, movement), to processing and post
production, the course covers them in detail,"
he adds. "The craft component imparts skills
to the student that gives him or her proficiency
in using any camera or format as need be.
Lighting classes and exercises ensure a grasp
of the basics and then provide a large number
of opportunities to practice in a wide range of
locations and on world-class sets," he says.
"The facilities to provide this kind of exposure
are unlikely to be available at any other film
school," says Sandipp as RAFT makes use of
Ramoji Film City (RFC) sets and facilities."
"You have to reach certain heights as a
cinematographer to be able to shoot on the
railway station set at RFC," says Sandipp. "But
a student of cinematography at RAFT gets to
use it for a practice exercise."
“The teachers play a great role in molding the students
for better prospects and a great future.”
Pawan Manvi
Dean
Ramoji Academy of Film and Television, Hyderabad
Unique to RAFT is also its ability to draw upon
the resources of the RFC camera department.
From Arri IIC to Arri 535 (that means the
entire range of Arri cameras) are available and
have been used for RAFT classes, exercises,
or workshops. Beyond the shoot itself, RAFT
enables its students to make use of the
extensive processing laboratories at RFC.
Students have access to the Rainbow Color
Labs and have the remarkable advantage of
having their footage processed, very often on
the same day. Other institutes would find it
difficult to match such a facility -students
often have to wait weeks or even months
while their work is processed.
"The goodwill of the institute and the faculty
has also seen a stream of highly-distinguished
guest faculty come to RAFT to conduct
workshops," says Sandipp. "Most prominently,
Soumendu Ray conducted a 10-day workshop
here. The workshop was organized with the
s u p p o r t o f Ko d a k . " O t h e r e m i n e n t
cinematographers who have conducted
workshops at RAFT include Adinath Das, R.V.
Ramani, and Narayan Kumar.
In order to give students a direct feel of
industry shooting standards, RAFT stipulates
that the diploma film be shot on 35mm.
"Because of celluloid, cinema exists," says
Manvi. Diploma films for the first batch were
shot on Kodak stock. Students used Kodak
5219 for its color saturation and the extreme
dynamic range it can provide, which has
yielded very good visual quality in both digital
transfer and celluloid prints. RAFT hopes to
continue its valued collaboration with Kodak
in the coming years.
When Krishna K. Jaiswal began his career as an assistant on the
film Mere Bhaiya and later on Loafer (1971) he was merely equipped with
a B.Sc. along with Diploma in Photography (Two Year course) from
Allahabad University, Diploma in Cinema (Motion Picture Photography)
from FTII in 1971. After working for almost 33 years in the field as a
Cameraman for many features then a Video Editor and a Technical
Consultant in various organizations he was invited to teach at FTII in
June 2004.
At present Jaiswal is an external faculty at the Film and Television
Institute (FTII), Pune in the cinematography department. "I share my
know-how with students and have written chapter on Checking of the
Electronic Camera and DI (Simplified) in the Cameraman's Handbook
for benefit of the Cameraman's fraternity," he says.
FTII is one of largest and most beautiful campus located in Pune. "I enjoy
teaching at FTII because this 'Temple of Learning' made a fine person
out a boy of 23 in me and then a cameraman," he says. He tries to bring
the students to a level of practice before conducting workshops with
stalwarts in the field for them. Theory and practical are given an equal
importance in the syllabus. And the Institute attracts the crème de la
crème of people wanting to pursue film studies. The entrance exams are
tough and the small batches in the classes ensure equal attention to all
students. The students get to see the best of Indian and International
cinema. Many guest speakers from the best cinematic minds come to
the institute to interact with the students and advise them as well.
Committed
Specialist
Jaiswal believes in teaching the rudimentary basics with utmost
simplicity and clarity and then pushes the students to develop their own
ideas and skills. He tries to cultivate in them an inquisitive and probing
mind so that as a camera-person they can develop their own styles of
For Cameraman Krishna K. Jaiswal
teaching seems to be a kind of an
internal calling. He is tremendously
happy and satisfied when
surrounded by students to share
his knowledge and secrets openly
with them, with an expectation to
make them ace professionals.
He and C. K. Muraleedharan
recently conducted the
Kodak Workshop
for final year
students
at FTII.
visual representation on the screen. He doesn't believe in allowing the
students to only learn the craft but also stresses on developing their own
style of writings in cinematography. And this is not for shooting their
own diploma films with excellence but also as a preparation for farther in
life and profession. He always stresses that their field is outside the
institute and desires to see them as good persons who would leave their
impressions as competitive professionals.
According to Jaiswal, "The best resolution on print is available on any of
the Kodak stocks and the Institute always provides the students with
varieties of Kodak stocks for their practical exercises, workshops and the
diploma films." He is very happy that Kodak stresses on connecting with
students and conducts several workshops with working professionals
during the year for them. Recently, one such workshop was organized by
Kodak for the third year students of cinematography. It was held earlier this
year with Director of Photography C. K. Muraleedharan, a FTII alumnus.

34 Teacher Kodak Special 35
“I enjoy teaching at FTII because this
'Temple of Learning' made a fine person out
a boy of 23 in me and then a Cameraman.”
Krishna K. Jaiswal
Cameraman-Faculty, FTII
The three days workshop was on the learning the craft and philosophy of
lighting. Muraleedharan emphasized on thinking first then using the
technique in any situation: such as - for day or night and the use of lights
in constricted spaces. The students also learned how and why to use a
particular lens to enhance the mood and emotion required for a scene.
The real-time situations on location during the workshop hopefully will
provide the students with some experience to deal with real situations at
work in fields, once they graduate from FTII. The students who
participated in "Lighting on Location in Cinemascope" had a hands on
experience on Kodak Vision3 500T Color Negative Film 5219 and Kodak
Vision3 200T Color Negative Film 5213.
“ Workshops are a great learning curve.”
Sachin Sonawane
Final Year, Cinematography, FTII, 2012
Sachin Sonawane, a final year student in cinematography is proud to be
in FTII and being taught by persons such as Jaiswal and Muraleedharan.
"Workshops are a great learning curve," he says. "We got to learn great
details of lighting for back lighting, foreground lighting and character
lighting. Furthermore, how to use lighting to create a mood of the scene
like suspense, horror and other genres" he says. "This workshop has
helped me a great deal in learning about the techniques of lighting and
how it can be utilized in the storytelling about a film. The workshop has
given us confidence that we can be independent filmmakers and I am
quite sure that my diploma film will turn out great because of this
workshop," he adds. Sonawane expresses his gratitude to Kodak who
"gave us so many insights into the various areas of cinematography."
The third year at the institute "has been a great boon for budding
filmmakers like us and all thanks to Kodak," he adds.
Amulya Chandra also in his final year is absolutely thrilled with Kodak
Vision 3 5219 500T, which he uses regularly for his films because of the
color quality it gives and the high resolution it provides. The workshop
was quite a learning experience for him to get in touch with the basics as
well as advanced aspects of cinematography. "It has inculcated in us
that the camera is a fascinating tool for story telling in the best way
possible," he says. They were taught about the techniques of lighting,
aspect ratio, light meters, and how to do lighting very fast on the sets
and prepare the shot as fast as possible. "We were told about the
various kind of lenses used for different kinds of shots that the director
has in mind. We were made aware that the DoP is kind of a lieutenant to
the director and we have to discuss with the director as to the best kind
of color palette and the lenses to be used to get the best possible shot to
be taken," he adds. He is thankful to this workshop which according to
him has made his theoretical knowledge to be used in the practical side
of cinematography.
“This workshop has strengthened
my theoretical knowledge to be used in
the practical side of Cinematography.”
Amulya Chandra
Final Year, Cinematography, FTII, 2012
It is always advised for students of cinematography to join a school to
learn the basics of cinematography such as camera movements, lens
and lensing, filters, stocks and then assist some senior
cinematographers to get a good foot hold in the industry.
Filmmaker Shivendra Singh
Dungarpur belongs to the erstwhile
royal family of the state of Dungarpur,
Rajasthan. An alumnus of the Doon
School in Dehradun, Dungarpur went
on to do his degree in History (Hons.)
from St. Stephen's College, Delhi.
He began his career in film as an
assistant director to his mentor,
writer-lyricist and director, Gulzar.
Royalty beckons
"I assisted Gulzarsaheb on Lekin and
Libaas. Subsequently on Gulzarsaheb's
insistence I enrolled in the Film and Television
Institute of India (FTII) at Pune to study film
direction and scriptwriting", says Dungarpur.
He graduated from the Institute in 1994.
He started his first feature film with
Chandrachur Singh and Rani Mukherjee but
the project was shelved midway. That's when
Dungarpur ventured into advertising.
Dungarpur launched his production house
Dungarpur Films in 2001. "The initial focus was
on advertising films and corporate films, but I
widened the scope of the company to
producing television serials, short films and
documentaries," he says. To date they have
made more than 400 commercials.
Dungarpur is deeply committed to the
preservation and restoration of the film. The
first film that got him interested in restoration
work was Alfred Hitchcock's early British
masterpiece The Lodger. The film was restored
by the British Film Institute (BFI) with a new
score by Nitin Sawhney. A patron of the BFI,
Dungarpur contributed towards the
restoration of this 1926 film. "I went with my
instinct to contribute my bit as I'd loved
watching this film while I was a student at
FTII," he recalls and so, "when BFI sent out a
call for funds, I knew I wanted to do
something for this movie that is essentially
British, as Hitchcock made this before he
moved to America." Today he is happy as it is
being screened. "As a student and now
filmmaker, you wonder how you can give back
to movies and for me; it is by restoring films
for posterity," says Dungarpur.
“As a student and now
filmmaker, you wonder how
you can give back to movies
and for me; it is by restoring
films for posterity.”
Once while working on a Guru Dutt project
with Anurag Kashyap he visited the National
Film Archive of India (NFAI) for research. "I
managed to catch a screening of Kalpana
(directed by Uday Shankar) and was
concerned about the condition of the
negative," he says. "Of the 1,700 silent films
made in India only nine films were still there,"
he exclaims in horror. "I just knew it that I had
to spread the word on the importance of
preserving films and I thought that if I got
Kalpana restored, the word would spread."
After a mighty struggle with the authorities
the film print was sent to the L'Immagine
Ritrovata lab in Bologna, Italy and digitally
restored under the aegis of Martin Scorsese's
World Cinema Foundation. The movie was
premiered in the Cannes Classics section in
May this year, with the late Uday Shankar's
wife, 94-year-old Amala Shankar walking the
red carpet for it.

36 Kodak Special
"A film is a record of a particular time and as a
country, we need to preserve the heritage
through our films," he says. "Producers in
India today just make films with only the
bottom line in mind and once the movie has
earned them the monies, they forget about it.
But we need to preserve films else we will
have nothing left to show for our history, "he
adds. Restoration is an important aspect of
film making and the Hollywood fraternity has
shown us their zealousness as advocates of
this art of restoring films. "Foreign stars too
feel very strongly about preserving their
films," he says.
A project very dear to him is a documentary
film he has directed on the founder - director
of the NFAI - P.K. Nair. A passionate film
archivist Nair worked at the NFAI for over
three decades, collecting films from India and
from all over the world. The documentary film
titled Celluloid Man, the film is Dungarpur's
tribute to a man whom he believes "single-
handedly contributed to a whole generation of
film makers and taught us all the art of film
making." The germ of an idea took shape over
two years ago in a casual conversation with
fellow cinephiles.
“A film is a record of a
particular time and as a
country, we need to
preserve the heritage
through our films.”
Post Nair's retirement Dungarpur realized that
the archive had been orphaned. He saw
rusting cans lying in the grass, thick cobwebs
hanging from the shelves in the vaults and
Nair's old office turned into a junkyard. "I
thought about this remarkable man who had
devoted his life to collecting and saving these
films and I was determined that his legacy
should not be forgotten," he says. "It took 11
trips to Pune to convince the authorities to let
me film with Nair at the archive. I started the
film two years ago and what a journey of
discovery it has been. I learned about the lost
heritage of Indian cinema and how important
it is to preserve and restore our films before it
is too late," says Dungarpur.
Having worked in telecom industry for about five years when I started to search for a
different industry where I could leverage my gained experience and skills, Kodak
Entertainment and Imaging division seemed to be the right choice. I am proud to be part of
such a great organization which helps the cinema industry across the world to evolve over
all these years. Never had I dreamt in my life that I will be meeting tycoons of the film
industry. Kodak has made it possible given its high level of acceptance among the
cinematographers.
h
t
a
b
m
a
S
.
N
K
u
It has been thrilling and learning to meet DoPs who are highly confident of Kodak stock
and praise its high standards. Kodak has given me the right platform to learn about the
nuances of the film and to build strong interpersonal relationship with the customer. It has
been five months since I joined Kodak and I am enjoying meeting people across all
departments such as cinematographers, producers, directors and post production houses.
The pride of getting associated with Kodak makes me feel energetic, confident and keep
pushing me daily to carry out my tasks.
Besides profession I am fond of reading and avid follower of Chetan Bhagat and Ravi
Subramanium novels. I am very conscious about physical fitness and do yoga and exercise
daily to keep my fitness on check.
m
“Kodak makes me proud.”
a
My Motto: Don't be serious, be sincere.
r
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S A S A N K A PA L I T
“Just as a painter loves his colors, brushes and empty
canvas, I love my light, camera and film to paint pictures.
My job is to fulfill the director’s vision. When designing
the look of a project, I give priority to what the script
demands, and then consider the budget and ways to
accomplish the images without compromising quality. I
still prefer the realistic film look, and I don’t rely too much
on modern post production. I trust what my eye sees, so
the audience becomes immersed in the story.
“Today, everything including film’s language, looks,
subject and presentation has changed. I consider myself
lucky to be a participant in this era. Cinema has become
more realistic, and to address this evolution, I am always
ready with my camera, Kodak stock and lights.
“When I receive a script, I try to read it from the new
generation’s point of view. With that in mind, I decide the
look and camera movements, using their imaginative
power to guide me. If I decide to do a historical film, then
I try to understand that time period by meeting with a
historian. If I take on a thriller, then I go to the location to
understand what look will be appropriate. For a movie for
younger audiences, I explain the script to some children
to get an understanding of how they interpret it in their
minds.
“There is nothing greater for me as a cinematographer
than knowing the images I’ve created are immortalized in
the memories of audiences forever.”
Sasanka Palit is a self-taught director of photography who
worked his way up from assistant cameraman. His
collaborations with Sandip Ray, son of the award-winning
director Satyajit Ray, nurtured his cinematography
experience. As an accomplished visual artist, his credits
include Royal Bengal Rahashya, Gorosthane Sabdhan, Hitlist,
Tintorettor Jishu, and Kailashey Kelenkari.