Film Making

NITESH TIWARI

FILM-MAKING 101

ABOUT THE SPEAKER Nitesh Tiwari is a filmmaker, screenwriter, and lyricist best known for his record-breaking, Indian film, ‘Dangal’. Tiwari was born in Itarsi, Madhya Pradesh and graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in 1996 with a Bachelor's degree in Metallurgy and Material Science engineering. He worked as a creative director at the globally-acclaimed advertising agency, Leo Burnett before he entered Bollywood. He debuted as a director by co-directing ‘Chillar Party’ which won the National Film Award for Best Children's Film for that year. He then directed the supernatural political drama ‘Bhoothnath Returns’ which became a box office hit. In 2016, he scripted and directed Dangal that was screened at the Beijing International Film Festival in April 2017 and second BRICS festival in June 2017. The film is the highest-grossing Indian films and the fifth highest grossing non-English film, having collected over ₹2,000 crores. Tiwari has garnered the Filmfare Best Director Award and the Telstra People's Choice Award at the 2017 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction to Filmmaking. 2. What happens in Pre- Production. 3. Post-Production. 4. Production 5. Art of Storytelling 6. Cinematography 7. Budgeting for a Film 8. Assembling Cast and Crew 9. Location Scouting 10. Working with Music Director. 11. Role of an Editor. 12. Excerpts from Scenes. 13. Is Filmmaking a viable career option?

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01 Introduction to Filmmaking In this lesson, you will get an insight into the world of filmmaking.

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Introduction to Filmmaking

Overview of Filmmaking Filmmaking is the process of making a film. It is divided into three broad processes, i.e. pre-production, production and post-production. A film involves an initial story, idea, screenwriting, casting, shooting, sound recording and reproduction, editing and screening before an audience. Filmmaking deals with economic, social, and political contexts and use variety of technologies and cinematic techniques. Film production involves a large number of people and can take from a few months to several years to complete. Who is a Filmmaker? If you are not in love with films, then, you should not even attempt to become a filmmaker. A filmmaker is a storyteller who takes a story that appeals to him, translates it in the visual medium on screen and presents it to the audience. A movie should not just entertain people but make them think for a while. As a filmmaker, if you can make a difference in somebody's life in the tiniest possible manner, then, you should consider your job well done. A director does everything in the film. He can be considered as the “captain of the ship”. He has to be involved in every department from the very beginning.

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02 What happens in Pre-production Learn more about the concept of pre-production and the various processes involved in it in this lesson.

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What happens in Pre-production

Finalize Screenplay before Shooting Pre-Production begins with an idea or a script. The director needs to approve the storyline. He needs to be happy with the screenplay that has been written by the screenwriter. The shooting script is elaborate and an overwritten version of the screenplay. The screenwriter does not write the shooting script. The director alongside his cinematographer writes it. The main difference between the screenplay and the shooting script is that a screenplay is a selling tool, whereas the shooting script is a production tool. Line Producer, Cast, Costume Designer & DOP The filmmaker then starts forming his team. He has to get a line producer on-board who will decide the number of days required to shoot the film. A line producer will also estimate the approximate budget of the film. The director needs production designers who decide the essential props, the kind of set and the look required for a scene. He needs to have a Cinematographer or a Director of Photography who is going to be shooting the film for him. It is crucial to have a great understanding with the DOP because he is going to translate the director’s vision into a cinematic experience. Get the actors. The director needs to go to a casting director who is going to audition every character according to the screenplay. Then, the director has to start evaluating the auditions and zero-in on to the final cast of the movie. The director requires a costume designer and should be clear about the kind of costumes that he wants his characters to wear.

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What happens in Pre-production

Assistant Directors The director should assemble his team of assistant directors’ (AD). A Chief Assistant director stays in direct contact with the director. Many other assistant directors work under the Chief Assistant Director. Not many people know that even a small project that does not have a massive budget has close to 7-8 assistant directors working on the film. Their jobs are well defined because one person usually does one job. One AD will just be in charge of giving the Clap. Many people wonder about the importance of the numbers that are written on the clap. Those numbers are very essential because the shoot does not happen in a linear fashion. The director may shoot scene 38 today and scene 2 tomorrow. The job of an AD is to specify the number that is being shot. He has to ensure whether it has sync sound or not. Most of the information is written on the clap. When the editor starts cutting the film, he knows a particular scene belongs to a particular portion in the screenplay. There is an assistant director to manage the schedule and one to manage the crowd.

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What happens in Pre-production

Editors, VFX Team & Choreographers The director needs to have a music director and lyrics team in place before going for the shoot. A director also has to decide on the location. It can be a real locations or a set. Nitesh Tiwari prefers to shoot ideally on real locations unless the locations are unfit for sound recording. The VFX or special effects team should be finalized because they tell the director as to how a particular scene should be shot for special effects. If the film has to be edited during the shoot, then, a editor must accompany the director at the shoot. A sound recordist is required if the director is doing a sync song. It is essential to have a choreographer on board and give him enough days for him to be able to choreograph the songs and update the cast about the dance steps.

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03 Post-production This lesson will give you a deeper understanding of what post production is and the processes involved.

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Post-production

Basic Line-up After everything is shot, the basic thing to begin with is the initial line-up. You put everything you have shot according to the screenplay and gauge whether your shots are visually appealing or not. Usually, the first cut is quite lengthy because you do not treat it very harshly. The first cut is done to judge the basic flow of the story. Final Line-up & Final Cut If you are not happy with some shots, then, you need to re-shoot them. Certain portions of the film may not have turned out to be as good as you wanted. In that case, re-shoots are done only for those specific portions. Then, the final line-up is locked and it is fine-tuned to get the Final Cut of the film. If special effects or VFX is to be added to certain portions of the final cut, then, they are taken from the timeline and provided to the VFX team. Music & Sound Production The Final Cut is given to the Music director so that he can start putting the background music. The music in Bollywood is divided into two parts i.e. the song and the background music. Sometimes, the same person does the music for both, the song and the background music. It is a common practice to have separate people doing these things. If you have shot the film in sync sound, then, you do not need to do much of dubbing. Nonetheless, the sound engineer has to start correcting the sound that you have recorded and clean it up so that the sound “sounds good”. It may require re-recording if the sound quality is not up to the mark.

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Post-production

If the film is shot in sync sound, then, you have to end up dubbing 5 to 20% of the film. Else, you have to dub the entire film. The sound engineer also starts doing the Foley and collects all the sounds that are there in the film. There can be a sound associated with whatever you see visually. For instance, the tossing of a coin has a distinct sound. If the same coin falls on the floor, then, the sound is different. A good sound engineer should be able to source the sound of the coin falling on of the floor. Color Correction There is something called DI where color correction of a film takes place. The job of a colorist is to sit and color correct the film. The film is shot raw and a colorist actually corrects the film and gives it the necessary shade. People wonder at times, as to how one particular film has only a sepia tone or a blue shade. This is because the film was shot that way or color corrected as per the sensibilities of the colorist and the Director. Working on Reels In the post- production process, the work is done on reels. The film is divided into various parts of not more than 18 to 20 minutes duration. You can have as many as 10 reels for a movie. One single timeline will be very heavy to work on for a BGM artist or an editor. If a sound guy is working on an entire timeline and something shifts, then it will shift the entire timeline. It will be complicated to fix it. Once the work is done on all the reels, then, they are connected together. The best part of working with reels is that the entire project is not under any threat. You can simply make corrections to a particular reel if any such need arises. 11

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Post-production

Sound Mixing Once you have the sound and music in place, a sound mixer sits in a full-fledged studio and does the mixing. The background music, the sound effects and the dialogues need to be in the correct proportion. As a director, you can realize if the background music is louder than the dialogues or not. Communicate the necessary changes to the sound mixer on time. Big Screen When you are happy with the sound, the Foley, the mixing, the coloring and the edit, then, watch the rough run on a big screen. Watching a film on a small monitor screen is different from watching it on a large screen. When everything looks fine, then, you get down to make a DCP or the final print format of the film to be sent to the theatres. You need to go to the theatre and gauge things that can’t be done in a studio. Sound is mixed at different levels. If you go to the theatre and realize that the sound needs to be higher, then, you mix the sound in such a manner that it is audible and clear. A theatre will play the sound at 6 or 6.5 and would not risk their audio equipment. Therefore, the idea is to mix the sound such that 6.5 sounds like a seven in the theatre. Even the color grade of the movie may look different due to different projectors used in theatres. At the studio, the color correction takes place under ideal conditions. But, it may look drastically different in a theatre. It can cause disappointment to you as a director.

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Post-production

A smart cinematographer usually does not put all his fantasies into the film because he knows that half of the film would not be playing exactly as he planned. You have to arrive at a neutral grade to know something that will go with great and not so great projectors. You should check for the sound, the sync and the color. Once everything looks fine, the final print is aired or released.

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04 Production This lesson dives into the intricate details of the production process and breaks down certain myths regarding it.

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Production

Scheduling Imagine you are making a film that is scheduled for 55 days of shoot. You need to have the entire schedule in front of you before going for the shoot. The characters, locations, and the shot breakdown are done for a particular day. If the scenes are heavy, then, you can shoot around three scenes a day. If the scenes are light, then, you can shoot for 18 scenes in a day. You, as a director need to discuss the schedule with the Chief Assistant Director and the cinematographer. You may need to shuffle a few shoots to strike a balance between a stressful and a less stressful day. When you go to a particular location, you would want to complete all the scenes that can be shot at that place. This model saves a lot of production cost. Demystifying Film Production There is a common misconception among people that writing or filmmaking is very easy. According to Nitesh Tiwari, filmmaking is a highly disciplined field. You need to do a lot of homework before coming to shoot at the movie set.A director cannot randomly walk onto the set without preparation and start shooting. Everything needs to be planned. You need to complete your target every day and hope the film is completed on time.

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05 The art of storytelling Learn more about the art of story telling as Nitesh shares his experiences from creating ‘Chillar Party’, ‘Dangal’ and ‘Bhoothnath Returns’.

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The art of storytelling

What is Storytelling? Storytelling is an individual form of expression. Everybody has a different way of telling his or her story. Nitesh Tiwari has a unique way of telling a story that is different from other Indian directors. A few people want to make thrillers or dramas while others want to make horror films. However, there are certain principles that are common across all stories. According to Nitesh Tiwari, writing is the most important part of any film. If you get it right on paper, then, the chances are very less that you will get it wrong in some other form. Spend as much time as you need to write a story. Do not stop until you are happy with your script. Story behind Chillar Party Writing a Screenplay begins with an interesting idea or thought. It can just be four lines or a two pager. You need to be able to see the potential in those four lines. For instance, Nitesh got excited and decided to write Chillar Party. It was conceived from a thought that a bunch of colony kids forges friendship with an Orphan who has a pet dog. United by their common hatred for dogs, they eventually fall in love with the dog and then decide to save the dog. Nitesh Tiwari saw potential in the story because he could picturise it in his head. He thought of the characters and the idea of getting a villain in the story.You need to build on the core story and create the screenplay.

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The art of storytelling

Story behind Dangal & Bhootnath Returns Nitesh was intrigued by the basic premise of the show. The inspirational story of a man who trained his daughters, against all odds, to become world- class wrestlers caught his attention. Nitesh did not start working on the screenplay of ‘Bhootnath Returns’ until he stumbled upon the thought of a ghost contesting elections in a movie. It was a political satire and appeared to as a great story for the director. These premises are strong enough for you to get excited for a project. Evaluating a Screenplay Nitesh does not commit to a film until the final screenplay. This is primarily because the first four lines of a story can be exciting but it may not have the capacity to hold the audience for a period of 2 or 2.5 hours. A final screenplay can only give clarity about the entire picture. Writing the Shooting Script Nitesh Tiwari hails from an advertisement background where he has always worked in a team. He never writes the shooting script alone. He is comfortable writing and discussing ideas with his team members. As a director, the best idea may or may not belong to you. You should be open to other people’s ideas. Once the basic premise is in place, start writing the story in full detail. Once you write close to 20 pages, then, you can start visualizing the characters and graphs. You should then focus on writing the one- liners because they dictate the flow of the script. Try writing around 70 to 100 one-liners.

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The art of storytelling

Nitesh finds writing one-liners challenging and yet necessary at the same time. It helps a director to know exactly how the film is going to pan out on screen. If you have any doubts, make the necessary changes in the one-liners. If you are interested in writing, then, go and read the screenplay of other movies. Watch the film and analyze how things are done. Nitesh usually tries to keep it under 110 pages otherwise the movie will become too lengthy. Once the shooting script is completed, the director starts filming the movie. Observe People You need to be a good observer if you want to be a good writer. You never know when you are going to come across a very interesting character who can become extremely memorable. You can borrow a lot from real life. People will start empathizing with the characters if those characters resonate with the people. It is important to travel as much as possible. You do not have to go to US or Europe. You can travel within your city and meet new people. Introspection Nitesh Tiwari does not like certain kinds of films. However, he has found that such movies perform excellently well in box office. Therefore, he watches those movies in the theatre to gauge the reaction of the audience. It also reminds him that his personal preferences may not align with that of the audience every time. Therefore, introspect and understand the audience’s mind-set.

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The art of storytelling

Nitesh writes for the audience because they are the ones spending money to watch his movie in a theatre. You can also write for yourself but that will altogether be a different objective.

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06 Cinematography This lesson introduces you to the concept of cinematography and the roles that this concept entails.

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Cinematography

Who is a Cinematographer? Cinematography is one of the most technical jobs of filmmaking. Cinematographers are highly qualified people who have spent a considerable number of years learning cinematography. If you think that you can become a cinematographer without a degree, then, it is not possible. Cinematography is indeed a specialized job. In non-technical language, a cinematographer is the man behind the camera. He captures the director's vision on screen. He is the director’s right hand man. Roles of a Cinematographer He plays various roles at different stages of filmmaking. You, as a director, need to decide the schedule with the cinematographer. You need to discuss the shots and understand whether a particular day is hectic or not. A cinematographer can tell you the estimated time required to shift from Scene A to Scene B. Therefore, he comes handy while finalizing the schedule with the first assistant director. A cinematographer is crucial to production and costume design. He can help decide the color of the costume such that the color on screen looks perfect. He is also critical at the time of color correcting the film. He teams up with the VFX artists and shoots the scenes accordingly. He also gives his valuable insights about the shot breakdown in a scene.

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Cinematography

First Recce & Tech Recce In the first recce, a director explores all the options. However, in the tech recce, the director and the cinematographer explores individual scenes, blocks the frames and lenses for the day of shoot. The cinematographer has to decide on the number of shots and define the camera angles. A cinematographer is the backbone of the filmmaking process. Scenic Breakdown Emotional bits are easy to shoot, but certain things require a lot of technical expertise. You can refer to the scene where Mahavir Singh had a fight with his daughter in their Akhara. Nitesh Tiwari wanted to communicate a few things through the scene. He wanted to communicate the humiliation that Geeta felt, and the aggression with which she fought back Mahavir Singh. It was also important to show that Mahavir Singh lost the fight because of his old age. How did Nitesh Tiwari communicate all these things through camera movements? He could have taken still shots but decided to take steady-cam shots in the end. This was done after consulting the action director, the wrestling coach and the DOP. The whole sequence was shot in 48 frames. It is like shooting a scene in twice the speed. However, certain scenes such as Mahavir Singh getting tired and running out of breath was slowed down to evoke emotions. You need to plan out the shots with your DOP, well in advance, to get the desired result.

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07 Budgeting a film In this lesson, learn about the factors influencing a film’s budget and more.

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Budgeting a film

Factors influencing the Budget There is something called as production cost and star cost in Bollywood. Every script has a production cost i.e. the money required to make a film. The budget varies depending on the script. If your film is set up in a small room, then, the production cost is going to be low. Similarly, if you can finish shooting a film in 35 days, then, the production cost is going to come down. If a film involves VFX or expensive equipment, then, the budget will rise exponentially high. Budgeting is all about understanding the best way to shoot without compromising on the quality of the film. The Influence of the Cast In Bollywood, the budget is also influenced by the star or cast. If an actor has a proven record of accomplishment on box office, then, the producers are willing to shell out more money to produce the film. Else, the producers play safe and keep the budget tight. Convincing a Producer How do you convince a producer? How can you approach a production house? It is tough to find a producer. Nitesh considers himself fortunate in this aspect. You need to figure out a way to meet the producers. Find the contact numbers of the right people. Nitesh Tiwari receives synopsis and portfolios everyday through email or on WhatsApp. Do whatever it takes to get your idea to a producer.

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Budgeting a film

Writing a great Synopsis It takes a lot of time to read the entire screenplay. Nitesh Tiwari is extremely reluctant to read entire screenplays. He has been in meetings where the entire screenplay was read out to him. He later realized that he was not interested in the film. It would have been much better if he knew the summary of the movie in advance. As a filmmaker, you should focus on writing a great synopsis. Think of the best possible way to describe your story in a few words. Nitesh was excited about all his three films just by reading the first 4-5 lines of the synopsis.

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08 Assembling cast and crew In this lesson, you will learn about forming your cast and crew and the importance of a test shoot and coordination.

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Assembling cast and crew

Get the Cast of Your Choice Nitesh Tiwari had the opportunity to work with Mr Bachchan and Aamir Khan. They were concerned about the screenplay and not the ‘name or fame’ of the director. This is the reason as to why Nitesh feels that writing a great story is the key behind getting a great cast on board. At times, it depends on your luck and the lead actor’s frame of mind at that moment. When Nitesh read out the screenplay for ‘Bhootnath Returns’ to Amitabh Bachchan, the latter was eager to start the shoot as early as possible. However, when Nitesh read out the screenplay for ‘Dangal’ to Aamir Khan, the latter expressed his willingness but uncertainty about the schedule. Nitesh decided to wait until Aamir was ready to start the shoot. A great actor who has many blockbusters to his name will charge a premium price for doing a film. Therefore, you should start budgeting for the film only after the lead cast is locked. Assembling the Team Nitesh Tiwari considers himself fortunate for not having to compromise on the DOP, production designer or music director of his choice. However, he knows of other directors in the industry who were barred from choosing a particular crewmember. In the end, your producer must be confident about your direction and the team. Many directors choose to work with the same technicians for their films. A director is likely to retain his team, provided it has been a pleasant work experience in the past. Filmmaking, in the end, is a collaborative process.

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Assembling cast and crew

Importance of Test Shoot You need to get your characters wear the costume of your choice. Then, you have to create certain walls in the background and find the right combination of clothes and its colors on a big screen. For instance, Nitesh Tiwari tested five shades of white for Aamir Khan’s kurta. When shot outdoors, the white colour tends to burn on screen. Therefore, the DOP suggested Aamir to wear a cream colured kurta so that it appears white on screen. This is the importance of a test shoot. Again, Nitesh wanted a navy-blue costume for Geeta in the film. They had to try three different shades of blue. Therefore, Geeta had to wear a light blue costume so that it appears as “navy-blue” on screen in the presence of stadium lights used in the film. Working in Harmony As the production of the film begins, the team gets confident about the project. Nitesh Tiwari strongly believes in working harmoniously. He abides by a golden rule and ensures that everyone adheres to it. “No one can scream at anyone” is the golden rule on his film set. People can make mistakes and issues can be easily settled through constructive discussions.

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09 Location scouting In this lesson, you will learn about the multiple processes involved in finding the apt location for your scene.

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Location scouting

Choosing a Location As a filmmaker, you need to figure out your comfort zone. Are you interested in creating a set or shooting at a real location? Nitesh personally prefers shooting at locations unless they become unfit for the shoot. Most of the scenes in Dangal were shot at real locations. However, a few scenes had to be done in Chroma due to crowd mismanagement. For instance, the scene where Mahavir Singh was coaching Geeta and Babita on the terrace could not be shot due to people waving at the camera. The shoot location should be as per your visualization of the scene. Dangal was shot in six different villages but it appears as if it was shot in the same village. Nitesh Tiwari found an agricultural field, school, hospital and a market of his choice in different villages. He had to travel to other places to shoot scenes of mud wrestling and dangals. Sync Sound & Dubbing If you are creating a film using sync sound, then, you need to take the sync sound artist to the shoot location. You need to understand whether a particular location is sound friendly or not. For instance, if there is a highway close to a field, then, the sound of vehicles can distract the shoot. Nitesh insisted on shooting at a “distracting” location because it was too good to be left. He decided to dub the scene shot in that location. Similarly, you need to have a discussion with your producer before finalising any location.

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Location scouting

Scenic Breakdown Nitesh identified a house in Kila Raipur during his location scout. He wanted to shoot the sequence in Dangal where Mahavir Singh slaps Babita’s cousin. Kila Raipur had a railway station and a Gurduwara. He had two men stationed at the railway platform and the Gurduwara to inform him about the timings of the trains and “Gurwani”. Nitesh would shoot between the arrival of train at the platform and the commencement of Gurwani in the Gurduwara. In that way, he was able to shoot the scene in sync sound. Similarly, he wanted to shoot the Commonwealth Games’ scene at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in Delhi. This was because the games were originally played there and a wrestling pit was already built. Even though it was the most logical thing to do, Nitesh found it to be cinematically challenging. There was a 15 feet wall behind the wrestling pit and the audience could not have seen the crowd in the movie. Therefore, Nitesh had to shoot the wrestling scene in Thyagaraj stadium . They had to create a wrestling pit and a set. It was a mammoth task but it was a cinematically pleasing scene altogether. As a director, you need to think of ways that make a scene look better cinematically. Be willing to recreate scenes in your own way at right locations to be able to make an impact.

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10 Working with the music director Music always plays a key role in the process of filmmaking. In this lesson, learn more about working with the music director, music production and more.

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Working with the music director

Briefing the Music Director & Lyricist You, as a director, need to be clear about the brief that you give to the music director. Without proper guidance, he can run into ten different things and come up with something that you dislike. Be precise in your brief to the music director and the lyricist. For instance, Nitesh Tiwari needed a song to resonate with the intensive training period of the girls in the film. He briefed Pritam and Amitabh Bhattacharya about the scene and gave them an insight about the stage of life when children have differences with their father. Music Production Nitesh wanted the music to be based on the folklore of Haryana. Pritam agreed to it but insisted on keeping the arrangements modern. Therefore, songs such as “Dhakad” and “Bapu Sehat ke liya” had both modern arrangements and local influence. Once the brief is given to the lyricist and the music director, they come up with sketches and commences the music production process. The music directors gets the singers and people involved in creating background music, mixing and mastering. Mixing a song is a mammoth task as the number of layers are extremely high. Pritam was in love with the screenplay of Dangal and had therefore decided to create the background music himself. Since he had worked on the songs, therefore, he was able to do justice to the background music as well.

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Working with the music director

Theme Creation Nitesh wanted to create a music theme for the film. Mahavir Singh told his wife that the Indian tricolour will fly high one day. The soundtrack that accompanies the scene is based on Singh’s theme of “desire”. When Mahavir Singh got to know that his daughters had beaten up a boy, he saw hope in them. The soundtrack resonates with the theme of “hope”. However, there are independent events such as the one where Geeta fights her first Dangal. According to Nitesh Tiwari, emotions are interlinked between scenes and are not independent. The music director needs to keep all such points in mind before creating the background music.

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11 Role of an editor Learn more about the importance of an editor and the various roles that an editor plays in the process of filmmaking.

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Role of an editor

Introduction to Editing Editing is a technical job. An editor needs to be aware of the technical details and the editing software to be used. According to Nitesh Tiwari, an editor is the third storyteller in a film. His role is to put all the final scenes together. You and your editor needs to have a shared vision. For instance, if you, as a director, want to evoke emotions through a scene, then, the editor cannot cut the scene abruptly. An editor needs to be extremely sensible about the pace and length of a scene. He needs to employ reasoning and logic while cutting a scene. Nitesh Tiwari is choosy about his edits because he writes the shooting script with the edit in mind. For instance, he had a rigid edit approach for the ‘Hair-chopping’ scene in Dangal. Scenic Breakdown Nitesh Tiwari wanted to prolong the impact of the ‘hair chopping’ scene in the movie. He wanted to add emotion to the scene through the reactions of Mahavir Singh and the people of the village. He wanted to reveal the short hair of the girls towards the end of the scene. He advised Ballu Saluja, the editor of Dangal, to cut the scene accordingly. Nitesh had however shot the girls emerging from behind the shop. Ballu used his own instincts and used the ‘reveal shot’ before the ‘reaction shot’. As a result, the audience was able to understand the reason behind such a reaction of the villagers in the film.

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12 Excerpts from the scenes In this lesson, Nitesh talks about the minute details that are taken into consideration while shooting for a scene.

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Excerpts from the scenes

Scenic Breakdown Nitesh Tiwari explains one of the most rewarding yet heart-breaking scenes from Dangal. He went to Haryana, Delhi and Punjab for the location recce. Nitesh found an old, broken wrought iron bridge running over a Canal. He wanted to shoot a part of the training scene in that location. The bridge was broken and had holes in it. It was one of the first locations that he had locked. When he had come to the location for tech recce, the bridge was already repaired. The production team ensured that the bridge was safe for commutation. The shoot was scheduled on 20th September. Interestingly, it was the first shot of the film. Setu, the DOP, checked the position of the sun and the position where the camera needs to be placed. Nitesh wanted to capture the sun and its reflection on the canal in the scene. Setu crosschecked the requirements on the penultimate day of shoot. However, it started raining heavily on the day of shoot. The sun was nowhere to be seen. Nitesh had waited for 3-4 hours but the shoot had to be cancelled. The bridge had to be repaired and the shoot was rescheduled for the following week.

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Excerpts from the scenes

The position of the sun had changed in the following week. The DOP had to change the camera angle and the position. The rehearsal was concluded but they were again in a fix on the day of shoot. Nitesh and his crew realized that the position of the sun had changed again. They had to shift the camera position to get the sun and its reflection on the canal in the same frame. The team put in enormous hard work for a scene that lasted only for 2 seconds in the movie. This sums up the art of filmmaking.

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13 Is filmmaking a viable career option? In this final lesson, explore the scope of creating a career out of filmmaking and the key necessities in making your career happen.

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Is filmmaking a viable career option?

Passion is the Key You need to be in love with films to be able to pursue filmmaking as a career.It will be difficult to survive in the film industry if you are just there for the money. The pay will be relatively low irrespective of the department you join in any profession. Nitesh Tiwari recommends that you should pursue your passion without thinking about the monetary value. Learn Filmmaking As you gain experience and prove your abilities, you will have no shortage of money. It takes time to become an established filmmaker. This is because you will have to start at the bottom of the hierarchy. Nitesh started out as a director. However, he had spent close to 12 years in advertising and learnt, watched and wrote scripts for films. There are a lot of filmmaking courses in India as well as abroad. You can take online courses relevant to filmmaking. There is always an option available for every kind of budget. You can pick and choose what you want to do. You can learn things on your own like Nitesh Tiwari or get enrolled in a film institute. Nitesh has learnt everything through his life experiences and the work he has done with other directors.

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Is filmmaking a viable career option?

Career Options The career options are infinite. Some of them require technical expertise whereas others do not. For instance, you do not need a degree to become a writer or a director. If you are good at your job, then, you will definitely get noticed. Filmmaking is a very disciplined and demanding job. You cannot survive in this career if you are not passionate about it. It takes a lot of dedication to stick with an idea for 3 years.

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