http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Boogie-Nights.html
Has some gems esp. when it comes to dialogues between two people.
Also was watching cricket and saw this vodafone 3G ad and totally loved it :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GFr_GSjYPI
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Last week made the most exotic food i think I ever made
In our weekly grocery shopping at Nature's Basket we saw some salmon pieces. And we thought we could experiment and try making Salmon steak at home. We also got some asparagus (really cheap - 50 odd bucks for all that) and baby potatoes (and for some reason saurabh calls them sweet potatoes and confuses the hell out of everybody) and we made this dish as a team effort. Actually I wanted to make it with mash potatoes but we only had baby potatoes in my house.
I later realized that we were out of garlic and I had to borrow garlic from my neighbors and this is my only interaction with them in last 2 years.
So here are some pics of the food -Salmon Steak (with butter garlic dressing), roasted baby potatoes and stir fried asparagus:
I later realized that we were out of garlic and I had to borrow garlic from my neighbors and this is my only interaction with them in last 2 years.
So here are some pics of the food -Salmon Steak (with butter garlic dressing), roasted baby potatoes and stir fried asparagus:
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Best use of extras
Wattsi shared this chinese vid. I think the chinese know how to make the best use of their extras:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfE0jgMUQrc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfE0jgMUQrc
The struggles of making "just a student short film"
Yesterday found out through an sms that my diploma film got Express award for best film. It felt nice. It was not publicized much (and my friends always criticize me for not publicizing my stuff and doing bad networking and I guess both are extremely imp in this field!). But yes it is my first film festival win so thought of bookmarking it!
Anyways like lots of my classmates I should also have a good poster of my film and like a few of them have a facebook page with all the film festival selections of Uss Paar:
- River to River Florence Film Festival, Italy
- Kalpanirjhar film festival, Calcutta
- Article 19 - Won the BEST Short Film Award
- Bhubaneshwar International short film fest
- Xaverian Film Academy ( X.F.A )
These are all small fests - but it is always nice to start small - kinda sets a trajectory. But my first love my short fiction Reflections haven't gotten anywhere. It's sad coz I really think Reflections is my best work till date.
We had worked really very hard for Uss Paar. Infact after the shoot I realized that I was not able to walk normally and when I came back from outdoor and took off my shoes I saw my legs as below. (pls click for clearer view)
Here are some musings of the day of the shoot : http://atkifilm.blogspot.com/2010/04/pruduction-day-musings.html
And here are some musings of "some" of the hiccups before the shoot: http://atkifilm.blogspot.com/2010/04/diploma.html
Reading it refreshes a lot of memories. One was being(ironically) caught by a railway TT coz the ticket was in Dev's pocket and he had left for Goregaon. And I had to pay 500 bucks to bail myself out (And thank God I was carrying that much money - as again I am very bad with cash management). And yes that 4 am cold shower was just so shockingly awesome too.
Anyways like lots of my classmates I should also have a good poster of my film and like a few of them have a facebook page with all the film festival selections of Uss Paar:
- River to River Florence Film Festival, Italy
- Kalpanirjhar film festival, Calcutta
- Article 19 - Won the BEST Short Film Award
- Bhubaneshwar International short film fest
- Xaverian Film Academy ( X.F.A )
These are all small fests - but it is always nice to start small - kinda sets a trajectory. But my first love my short fiction Reflections haven't gotten anywhere. It's sad coz I really think Reflections is my best work till date.
We had worked really very hard for Uss Paar. Infact after the shoot I realized that I was not able to walk normally and when I came back from outdoor and took off my shoes I saw my legs as below. (pls click for clearer view)
Here are some musings of the day of the shoot : http://atkifilm.blogspot.com/2010/04/pruduction-day-musings.html
And here are some musings of "some" of the hiccups before the shoot: http://atkifilm.blogspot.com/2010/04/diploma.html
Reading it refreshes a lot of memories. One was being(ironically) caught by a railway TT coz the ticket was in Dev's pocket and he had left for Goregaon. And I had to pay 500 bucks to bail myself out (And thank God I was carrying that much money - as again I am very bad with cash management). And yes that 4 am cold shower was just so shockingly awesome too.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Advancing on Chaos and Dark ...
"There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance, that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till.
The power which resides in him is new in nature and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried.....
But we half express ourselves and are ashamed of that divine idea that each of us represents."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson (from his essay Self-reliance)
The power which resides in him is new in nature and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried.....
But we half express ourselves and are ashamed of that divine idea that each of us represents."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson (from his essay Self-reliance)
50 greatest opening title sequence of all times
http://www.ifc.com/news/2011/02/the-50-greatest-opening-title.php?utm_source=twitter
Friday, February 18, 2011
Random thoughts ...importance of supporting actors in your films
Nothing compensates for a lack of good performance and nothing brings to table more than a good performance...
Perhaps perhaps perhaps
So I have songs from various countries in my music player and I love putting them in various bins - depending on the mood they create. One of the songs that just stayed with me for a while is Quizas Quizas Quizas.
Probably because this song replays the melancholic images of "In the Mood for Love" for me. But also when I listen to it in my car - I imagine a really teasing dance between two people on a midnight french street. So I thought I should research a bit more about this song. And found out that it was sung by Nat King Cole in 1958 (here is the youtube link): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjVfiZM09YA
I also found out the song has a history. It is a 1947 song written by Cuban songwriter Osvaldo Farres. I have not been able to find the original video of the 1947 hit song.
But I found a delightfully slow version by Ibrahim Ferrer & Omara Portuondo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSEiyF64z3o
And as I was researching more - listening to various version of the songs - I really enjoyed the beauty and the personal touch Nat King Cole lent to the song. For comparison listen to this version and you would know the importance of a voice selection while composing a song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sjhjw6u5TqQ
Here is a verbatim translation of the spanish song for you
Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps"
I am always asking you
When, how and where
You always tell me
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps
The days pass this way
And I am despairing
And you, you always answer
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps
You are wasting time
Thinking, thinking
That which you want most
Until when? Until when?
The days pass this way
And I am despairing
And you, you always answer
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps
You are wasting time
Thinking, thinking
That which you want most
Until when? Until when?
The days pass this way
And I am despairing
And you, you always answer
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps
Though the truth is that one need not know the lyrics to enjoy the song.
Probably because this song replays the melancholic images of "In the Mood for Love" for me. But also when I listen to it in my car - I imagine a really teasing dance between two people on a midnight french street. So I thought I should research a bit more about this song. And found out that it was sung by Nat King Cole in 1958 (here is the youtube link): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjVfiZM09YA
I also found out the song has a history. It is a 1947 song written by Cuban songwriter Osvaldo Farres. I have not been able to find the original video of the 1947 hit song.
But I found a delightfully slow version by Ibrahim Ferrer & Omara Portuondo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSEiyF64z3o
And as I was researching more - listening to various version of the songs - I really enjoyed the beauty and the personal touch Nat King Cole lent to the song. For comparison listen to this version and you would know the importance of a voice selection while composing a song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sjhjw6u5TqQ
Here is a verbatim translation of the spanish song for you
Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps"
I am always asking you
When, how and where
You always tell me
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps
The days pass this way
And I am despairing
And you, you always answer
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps
You are wasting time
Thinking, thinking
That which you want most
Until when? Until when?
The days pass this way
And I am despairing
And you, you always answer
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps
You are wasting time
Thinking, thinking
That which you want most
Until when? Until when?
The days pass this way
And I am despairing
And you, you always answer
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps
Though the truth is that one need not know the lyrics to enjoy the song.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
The Social Network
Social Network was a good movie that came out in 2010. It is not like best of the best type of movies but as compared to other movies that came out from Hollywood last year it stands tall. Also it is one of the really well-received films.
What stands out about that movie is perfection. Perfection in script and execution. A 2.5 hours movie going at 1000 miles per hour. The experience of the craftsmen involved really showed.
After I saw the film, I read notes of the script writer and read the script and then I saw the film again. So I know the movie like the back of my hand. You also realize that everything that was mentioned in the first scene, drives the rest of the movie. It is more about "invisible" class difference and deals with the illusion of democracy that a capitalistic society sometimes exhibit. It has quite a little material about Facebook the site itself. An interesting point to note is that - Mark Zucerberg was a socio-path and Facebook is a socio-path's idea of the society.
Recently Zain posted the 93 minute making of the film. 93 min is a long time for the making of any film - but it is prob the first making that I saw that actually made you go through the process of rehearsals, selection of costume, look of characters. It was also a great way to understand the forces that operate when a group of people come together to make a film.
So here are some of the resources for "The Social Network" enthusiast:
The script:http://wiscreenwritersforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Social-Network-The-by-Aaron-Sorkin-May-28-2009.pdf
Aaron's (scriptwriter's) interview: http://www.wmagazine.com/celebrities/2010/10/facebook_film?currentPage=1
The making of Social Network: http://www.slashfilm.com/watch-social-network-movie-facebook-93minute-scenes-documentary/
What stands out about that movie is perfection. Perfection in script and execution. A 2.5 hours movie going at 1000 miles per hour. The experience of the craftsmen involved really showed.
After I saw the film, I read notes of the script writer and read the script and then I saw the film again. So I know the movie like the back of my hand. You also realize that everything that was mentioned in the first scene, drives the rest of the movie. It is more about "invisible" class difference and deals with the illusion of democracy that a capitalistic society sometimes exhibit. It has quite a little material about Facebook the site itself. An interesting point to note is that - Mark Zucerberg was a socio-path and Facebook is a socio-path's idea of the society.
Recently Zain posted the 93 minute making of the film. 93 min is a long time for the making of any film - but it is prob the first making that I saw that actually made you go through the process of rehearsals, selection of costume, look of characters. It was also a great way to understand the forces that operate when a group of people come together to make a film.
So here are some of the resources for "The Social Network" enthusiast:
The script:http://wiscreenwritersforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Social-Network-The-by-Aaron-Sorkin-May-28-2009.pdf
Aaron's (scriptwriter's) interview: http://www.wmagazine.com/celebrities/2010/10/facebook_film?currentPage=1
The making of Social Network: http://www.slashfilm.com/watch-social-network-movie-facebook-93minute-scenes-documentary/
Friday, February 11, 2011
Just a quote that I liked
"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars." - Jack Kerouac
So I wonder
If people who deactivate their social networking accounts exhibit more suicidal tendencies than others. Atleast Saurabh worries so.
But well I deleted my twitter account. Here is a summary of the useful content of my old twitter account:
Some quotes:
"Those are not stars in the sky- those are your brain cells" - Biutiful.
"It is stunning how much we gather back after death. Effortlessly the
net pulls to shore what it needs." -Zain (from his story "Foreword")
"I'm aware what tremendous feats human beings are capable of once they
abandon dignity." - Hans Landa - Incredible Basterds
"Private behavior will be a relic of an era gone by" - The Social Network.
"Sometimes reason it matters to care passionately about something is that it whittles the world down to a more manageable size. " - Adaptation.
"Information underrepresents reality”
"There is always another death to die, beyond the death you know." - rumi
“The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not
our ability to explain why it is good.” —Stanley Kubrick
"there is a certain deliciousness in the oblivion."
"When two rivers cross they borrow eachothers water."
"Sometimes talking is interference and sometimes not talking is interference"
Links of posters:
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/02/vintage-posters/?pid=1391&viewall=true
http://englishrussia.com/index.php/2011/01/15/look-out-soviet-bloody-posters/
http://www.reelizer.com/
http://www.slate.com/id/2279923/pagenum/all/#p2
http://www.ferdyonfilms.com/?p=8013
http://observersroom.designobserver.com/rickpoynor/entry.html?entry=24218
Some good movie posters of 2010: http://mubi.com/notebook/posts/2708
Talks:
Are you a cyborg: http://bit.ly/ff1voN
www.harvardmagazine.com/commencement/the-fringe-benefits-failure-the-importance-imagination
Your brain on improv. An amazing look at creativity and the mind http://on.ted.com/8oVd #TEDxMidAtlantic
http://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_keep_your_goals_to_yourself.html
why i never manage to lose those 10 kilos!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGt3-fxOvug&feature=player_embedded
john cleese on creativity and i agree 100%
Youtube vids:
Poem by the NRI lady: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9W1j5NCy9s&feature=player_embedded
Powers of 10 - to just get some perspective:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gpn8MANhdLU Watch the beautiful
cinematic kisses at the end of the video. Also nice shots of
depression.
I guess this band is too smart to know that they need to act dumb to
be popular:http://bit.ly/dfbWts Too cool though esp the peepin old
man.
http://filmmakeriq.com/2010/11/a-seminar-with-steven-spielberg-from-1978/
Slomo videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsdDyJJPDeA
Trivias:
Life etc: http://www.miltonglaser.com/pages/milton/essays/es3.html
Working with actors- point: 6,9,10 are good.
http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/issues/spring2002/features/inner_monologue.php
How Mike Leigh extracts such wonderful performance from his actors
-http://ind.pn/aseL2X
Good cab services in mumbai: http://www.olacabs.com/ Check their About
us :http://www.olacabs.com/info/about_us
241543903 - is the tag for all pics that people have taken while trying to insert their head in the freezer.
Good paper on how emotional responses are created by make-believe fiction: http://bit.ly/9lRgPz - "real is good but interesting is better"
"There is no co-relation between the strength of a given experience and the reality status of the object of experience."http://bit.ly/9lRgPz
Well dunno where I had my growth spurt: http://bit.ly/d1qS4u
http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2010/feature-articles/“films-are-vulgar-and-this-vulgarity-i-love-it”-an-interview-with-arnaud-desplechin/
http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report_udaan-changed-his-life-forever-rajat-barmecha_1440506
-they misspelt my name but its ok i guess
Some of the links to the scripts I read and liked:
http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Boogie-Nights.html
Social Network: http://bit.ly/aISsDI
various drafts and the shooting script of Udaan : http://bit.ly/dOUrKB
http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Inglourious-Basterds.html
That was all the useful content that was there - rest was personal fluff and imaginary outings.
Will promise to keep the content in the bins above updated.
P.S:
Best tweet: My macbook runs computer se bhi tez :).
Best useful tweet: Save paper - print 4 script pages on one paper. Print on both sides and as left edged booklet. Added bonus- It is less spread out and more readable.
But well I deleted my twitter account. Here is a summary of the useful content of my old twitter account:
Some quotes:
"Those are not stars in the sky- those are your brain cells" - Biutiful.
"It is stunning how much we gather back after death. Effortlessly the
net pulls to shore what it needs." -Zain (from his story "Foreword")
"I'm aware what tremendous feats human beings are capable of once they
abandon dignity." - Hans Landa - Incredible Basterds
"Private behavior will be a relic of an era gone by" - The Social Network.
"Sometimes reason it matters to care passionately about something is that it whittles the world down to a more manageable size. " - Adaptation.
"Information underrepresents reality”
"There is always another death to die, beyond the death you know." - rumi
“The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not
our ability to explain why it is good.” —Stanley Kubrick
"there is a certain deliciousness in the oblivion."
"When two rivers cross they borrow eachothers water."
"Sometimes talking is interference and sometimes not talking is interference"
Links of posters:
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/02/vintage-posters/?pid=1391&viewall=true
http://englishrussia.com/index.php/2011/01/15/look-out-soviet-bloody-posters/
http://www.reelizer.com/
http://www.slate.com/id/2279923/pagenum/all/#p2
http://www.ferdyonfilms.com/?p=8013
http://observersroom.designobserver.com/rickpoynor/entry.html?entry=24218
Some good movie posters of 2010: http://mubi.com/notebook/posts/2708
Talks:
Are you a cyborg: http://bit.ly/ff1voN
www.harvardmagazine.com/commencement/the-fringe-benefits-failure-the-importance-imagination
Your brain on improv. An amazing look at creativity and the mind http://on.ted.com/8oVd #TEDxMidAtlantic
http://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_keep_your_goals_to_yourself.html
why i never manage to lose those 10 kilos!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGt3-fxOvug&feature=player_embedded
john cleese on creativity and i agree 100%
Youtube vids:
Poem by the NRI lady: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9W1j5NCy9s&feature=player_embedded
Powers of 10 - to just get some perspective:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gpn8MANhdLU Watch the beautiful
cinematic kisses at the end of the video. Also nice shots of
depression.
I guess this band is too smart to know that they need to act dumb to
be popular:http://bit.ly/dfbWts Too cool though esp the peepin old
man.
http://filmmakeriq.com/2010/11/a-seminar-with-steven-spielberg-from-1978/
Slomo videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsdDyJJPDeA
Trivias:
Life etc: http://www.miltonglaser.com/pages/milton/essays/es3.html
Working with actors- point: 6,9,10 are good.
http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/issues/spring2002/features/inner_monologue.php
How Mike Leigh extracts such wonderful performance from his actors
-http://ind.pn/aseL2X
Good cab services in mumbai: http://www.olacabs.com/ Check their About
us :http://www.olacabs.com/info/about_us
241543903 - is the tag for all pics that people have taken while trying to insert their head in the freezer.
Good paper on how emotional responses are created by make-believe fiction: http://bit.ly/9lRgPz - "real is good but interesting is better"
"There is no co-relation between the strength of a given experience and the reality status of the object of experience."http://bit.ly/9lRgPz
Well dunno where I had my growth spurt: http://bit.ly/d1qS4u
http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2010/feature-articles/“films-are-vulgar-and-this-vulgarity-i-love-it”-an-interview-with-arnaud-desplechin/
http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report_udaan-changed-his-life-forever-rajat-barmecha_1440506
-they misspelt my name but its ok i guess
Some of the links to the scripts I read and liked:
http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Boogie-Nights.html
Social Network: http://bit.ly/aISsDI
various drafts and the shooting script of Udaan : http://bit.ly/dOUrKB
http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Inglourious-Basterds.html
That was all the useful content that was there - rest was personal fluff and imaginary outings.
Will promise to keep the content in the bins above updated.
P.S:
Best tweet: My macbook runs computer se bhi tez :).
Best useful tweet: Save paper - print 4 script pages on one paper. Print on both sides and as left edged booklet. Added bonus- It is less spread out and more readable.
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
Spending time with Borges again after a long time ...
"I want to tear down the exceptional preeminence now generally awarded to self, and I pledge to be spurred on by concrete certainty, and not the caprice of an idealogical ambush or a dazzling intellectual prank. I propose to prove that personality is a mirage maintained by conceit and custom, without metaphysical foundation or visceral reality .. There is no whole self - any person who defines personal identity as a the private possession of some depository of memories is mistaken." - Borges.
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