Some Film-Making Practice Work

Well as you all may have not known, I have a screenplay under the works for another short film. So I thought I'd get down to it and get somewhere close to establishing visual presence and atmosphere with the given soundtracks and shots. I've also gone over shot placement, sequential imaging and composition.
Our Subjects on Screen:
Achu Krishnan (www.achukrishnan4424.blogspot.com)
Subham Mukherjee (subhammukherjee.blogspot.com)

A Rant on "The Awkward Silence"

Awkward.

It sounds so, crowy. A meaningless k between two w's. But yet, we find means to label a sudden moment of silence as awkward, without even taking time to grasp that fresh air of freedom, of listening to some more bullshit.

Yeah, swear words are not italicized!

Anyway, an awkward moment is never really awkward, or doesn't have to be. Until we acknowledge the idea and fool the brain to generate the most enormous gallons of discomfort which ultimately leads to poor social perseverance.

Take time to bask in the awkward moment, and realize that it's nothing but a moment that you branded as such.

The moment helps us recover, from an intense talk-fest of one person's word over another's, backhanded compliments, a double-standard remark and all the more of having the final word. But it is instead used for quirky little actions and sounds. Funny noises that pollute the air that they feel ashamed of, maybe a burp, or a fart that could have gotten by, midst the noise once was. Clicking their tongue, clapping hands, humming tunes for the rest of the moment that you feel almost sad not wanting to snap them out of being off key the whole time.

The funny thing is though when trying to re-animate conversation we, instead of getting to actually cherish the life out of the chance to have gotten past the discomfort, we start up again with the compliments, the word and the standards.

Yes, these are generally our aspirations of social human behavior. We have our ultimate goals in mind yes, to be the chosen one of course, but these are the little goals that keep us fulfilled for the day, you know, it gets us through all the hardship.

Don't you know you're not mass produced edible goods? The world isn't a big shelf of Oreo's you know. It's the supermarket, maybe even those little shops they have outside the supermarket, and the ATM's, and that one guy who always sells wooden musical instruments and knows how to play it enormously well while you're left wondering "Why isn't he in a band? Has he heard of a band? Should I explain to him the idea of a band and then feel great that he maybe would become a larger part of society? Okay, maybe I should just act like I don't see him."

The point is we need to look past that moment when we're not able to come up with anything interesting to say and maybe just look around and see everything that sits around us, how maybe a glint of the Sun bouncing off of a car's beautiful reflective hood, obscuring somebody's vision, silence can do a lot of good for us, it helps us collect and organize our thoughts, so that the next thing we say, wouldn't necessarily have to be just any jibber-jabber.

Movie Reviews - Ranting

Everything is so quick nowadays huh? So fast, "Here he is, there he's now and woah, off he went. Did you get time to see that?" and what about the movie reviews nowadays huh? Okay reviewing movies have always been a conversation starter for the world before the online coup detat. Now you ask people how a movie was and all you get is "Nice."

Back in the day at least you ask people about a movie and they'd be ready out with their opinions, recommendations or dismissals. They'd recite the plot to you like they'd written it themselves.

Now, I go up to this random dude and ask him about a movie. because apparently I'm going up to random people and asking them about their opinions on movies:

"How was 'Cannibal Holocaust'?"
"Animal violence yes, hmm. Didn't you read the reviews? There was a big fuss."
"What fuss?"
"Ooh, you really didn't read the reviews? How should I put it, I don't really remember."
"Wasn't it really a film about how a group of documentary filmmakers were stupid enough to put their lives in danger despite their conclusive research?"
"They were documentary filmmakers?! God, I couldn't see past the tortoise."
"So how was the movie?"
"Nice."

Not to worry though, we've got 'wikipedia links'.

When's the last time you saw that poster and wondered what that movie's all about.

"Shrewd, deception, and a load of crap."
"YAY! MY FAVORITE!"

The Window Seat

Been in an Airplane before? Yeah, I sure do love those seats by the window, or what the airline thinks is a window. I love them.

Especially when I've gotta use the bathroom during travel, how about that situation huh?
You look to your side and you've got this look that says "I'm so sorry, I don't know what I was thinking. Would you please?"
Now considering if the people to your side actually obliged to move, they do it two different ways and either way, you're gonna end up apologizing to them like you actually owe them a kidney for what they're just doing.

Number 1: They step out into the isle for you to leave (with the gracious sigh of hesitation of course) and you step out smiling like an idiot, followed by 400 'sorry's.

Number 2: The move back into their seats and you're left wriggling your way through that path they have oh so graciously offered you, and it's more 'sorry's this time because you know you're gonna step on some feet.

About 600 'sorry's later, you're finally in the bathroom, it takes you two seconds, you come back out, back to your seat and what do you know,

It's time for those 'sorry's and 'pardon's again!
That's why it's always so hard, getting anything done on airplanes. This is because to the airline people you're nothing but cargo.
"Sir don't you think the seats and the bathrooms and everything is a little too small?"
"No! We're shippin' 'em out, might as well put them in a box"

You know you can actually see a return address under the tail?

I'm just kidding. But they're having a laugh huh? 

The "Thus Far"

Coming to realization of what life really was so far,

there are no quotes, there is no chosen person for ultimate victoriousness.

There's just individual satisfaction of what they've amounted to so far. You don't like where you are, start working, start thinking about what you could do to make yourself happy; if you think you've done enough, relax, watch some TV, eat some crackers.

Now I'm not saying pursue any of your fancies that may actually cause the downfall of someone, but I do forgive you of an innocent action from your part was actually a smaller stimulus to a grander scheme. 

But is there really a grander scheme to anything really? I mean the idea of this grand scheme is something we assist with and something we bring into effect, with our choices and our will. But one could argue that the choices a person makes represents who they have been throughout their life. 

That's why I'm fascinated by film makers and philosophers. They actually try to find out what this arena we've been dropped into is all about, what is our purpose? Why does an auditor have to go about his routine day in and out and still not be satisfied with where he is. Well you decided! No one forced you to become an Auditor, so your bad life is really all on you. 

That's why I hate those other group of film makers who try to promote every aspect of every falsification of identity, the life of a lawyer for example, I mean this man has to get involved in conflict brought upon by the plaintiff maybe based off of some bad choice he (we'll call him 'plainty') would've made along the way, but deception is a cunning little hound; who can you trust then? Why is there deception? It just may have risen out of jealousy. 

The point though is, it's the lawyer's choice that has gotten him thus far, and yet we see him, bitching about all the hardships that entails his choice of career. Careers, pft! The definition of a sound human being, not kindness, not consideration, not analytical skills, but career. You're a good man if you're fast thinking and on your toes and working in a deli, but ultimately you're a much better man if your background reads an expensive degree and a series of high paying jobs that you feel lukewarm about and you still have the same amount of intelligence about what meaning the life you're leading has. 

Maybe that's why people fancy movies so much, they see this question of what reality is and they turn to the side and say "Boy, these guys are just hilarious, thinking they know what life is all about, I tell you now, eight hour slaving and stress all the live long day and coming back to a wife that cheats on me and a son that questions his sexuality, that's the perfect a/an *insert LABEL* should lead!" Oh there's obviously the fight for feminism that all these men say they're all for.

Are you kidding me? Do you really think they actually care? Do you really think anybody cares about anybody else other than themselves, no! If anybody had to pick you over them, they'd pick themselves in a heartbeat, but, BUT if there is a chance they're gonna be glorified or proudly spoken of to millions and millions of people, suddenly they're donating to charities, helping old people across the streets and sail the seven seas, it's just for you to KNOW that they actually did these things. I mean name one time you did a good thing supposedly and don't talk about it. How you maybe graciously let that woman into the shopping complex before entering yourself, and then came back to criticise the world around you for not being as gracious and selfless as you are. And the very next day, you turn around and cease the opportunity to top somebody, I mean if you're so gracious and generous, why not let that other person have the job? No you need the job, you need that outlook, to hide who you really are to yourself; a cloak, if you will, you NEED people to say "God damn man, what you do for a living makes me wanna envy you so much that I am gonna tell all my friends about how much I envy you and secretly think you're the ultimate being there ever did set foot on the land"

Then follows a life of complaining and active deflection of all the problems that may arise of actually having that big social outlook, upon any other person that may show even the littlest involvement in your sad and pathetic choice of a life.

Well if anything I am a fucking hypocrite. Yes I am, yes I am. And I'll tell you why, because of this environment I can CLEARLY say, I am being smart and blending with the crowd huh? A chameleon you'd say huh? NO! No, I'm gonna be this hypocrite that tells you these amazing little quirks you have in just how you lead your lives! Free of charge! *Bwahahaha* Yeah right. No you'll be seeing my movies. Like a great man once said 'Thank you all for giving me this beautiful world,  with all its quirks that I'll admire and present!' Although, I'm just gonna sit by and be the hypocrite while you stab each other in the backs over why you think you should just live in a dome for the rest of eternity. But I'd be rich, so jog on. 

Your favorite filmmaker, Surya.