Best compliment received from the client on Chevrolet Trax

One of the best compliments I have received from the client on this..

"What we require is the edit - A version, but after we saw this edit, we will go with this version" 

So earlier this year I was given this promo to cut, the brief given was to keep a liner story (a sort of cut down from the TVC) which I did make, on seeing the result I was not very kicked by it and it did not give me a feeling of a video that people would want to watch at a Autoshow.. So I sat with the editor and redid this edit.

The agency was a bit unsure of showing this version at first, since it was not what the client wanted but after a few viewings and a bit of convincing them that there is no harm in showing both versions.. they agreed to present both.

We presented both versions to the client, the first one edit - A, had everything from the brief and then we presented this version, all the clients present in the room had a long silence after they watched it and a little bit of discussion followed as to the positives and negatives of what they saw.. they ended with  "What we require is the edit - A version, but after we saw this edit, we will go with this version" 

I think that was one of the best compliments that I have received from the client, goes to show sometimes you just have to follow your gut and do it even though its not in the brief..

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Casting Brief Q7: Contract?

For the entire list of casting questions go back to

Casting Brief

Question 7: Contract?

A contract is made between either the producer (production house) and the actor or sometimes directly with the brand, like in the case of commercials.

In features, a contract is usually made for almost everyone working on it. In the case of actors, all the cast who have to give more than a few days to the film have to sign contracts. Some of the basic things that a contract usually contains are,
a) The total amount that the producer and the actor agreed to for that particular project.
b) The time required from the actor.. i.e. no of days or months or sometimes even the exact dates that are required, not just for the shoot but for dubs as well.
c) The timelines and distribution to when this would be paid,
(eg- 10% advance on signing + 50% on completion of shoot + 40% on completion of dubs is one version, other is a fixed sum at the end of every month. The break is what is best suited to both parties)
d) Participation of the actor in promotional activities before the release, this also could be in terms of no of days of appearance or get even more specific like 10 tv shows 3 radio, etc..

In most cases there are no contracts made for actors who are cast for a day's shoot and for background artists, however, there could be a one-page agrement with these actors and for background artists, the contract is usually made with the coordinator.

In the case of commercials, the actor has to reveal at the time of casting if they are or have been part of competitive brands irrespective of contracts. Usually, if the actor has had a lead role and face has clearly been seen on a major brand like a cola drink the actor cannot act for its competition for around 2 years (even if no contract is made as competition won't touch the actor), it is therefore also necessary for the casting director to make sure that this is followed as this could land up everyone in a soup. Even when the contract is over it is best to mention at the time of audition that the actor had a contract with a particular brand that ended on so and so date. Contracts in commercials range from
a) A simple agreement to endorse the brand and not participate in the competition for 'X' time period. to
b) A contract that signs the person as a brand ambassador which goes beyond just shooting a commercial but print, radio and presence at live event's, etc..

TIP to all:
a) Before signing any contract it is best to read all the fine print on it as that might just lead to bigger problems later.
b) Be aware of all that is required from your end to fulfill the contract
c) Also, keep an eye for the clauses that can stop your payment or working on other similar materials.
d) If your confused about some clause get clarification not only from the concerned party but also from a lawyer if need be. OR lookup online to hunt for similar agreements and see what they contain.




For the answer to the previous question see
Q6 - Casting Requirements?

Read on for the next question
Question 8: Which competitive brands worked on by the actor are to be kept in mind?

For the entire list of casting questions go back to

Casting Brief

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Casting Brief Q6: Casting Requirements?

For the entire list of casting questions go back to

Casting Brief

Question 6: Who will take care of the requirements of the audition?

This question is directed form the casting director to the producer. So what are these requirements that I am talking about

1. Space to audition.
2. Camera, Lights and Power Supply 
3. Backdrop (if needed)
4. Props (if needed)
5. Any other special requirement 
6. Stationary
7. Conveyance and food
8. Phone / Net Bill

Now while most casting directors charge a fee and rest at actual's there are some production houses that like to make deals with casting directors (rarely happens), the deal being that the production house would pay just one figure and the casting director would do the rest all-inclusive. Why would any casting director take up the latter proposition it would be if they think that they could make a little more by making better deals with suppliers or if they themselves own either equipment or space thus saving on rent, also if they are confident of wrapping up the casting within the time so that it does not go overboard. Why would a production house take this route its simple, one bill, one figure this cannot go over budget since the figure gets decided upfront. This route is very risky for the casting director since if any variable is to change they might just lose more money rather than saving.

This question has to be asked as the casting directors fee is determined basis on these variables. There are mostly in between deals that are made, where the production house would provide/pay for certain things and rest has to be taken care by the casting director. Let's talk about each requirement in detail to understand this.

1. Space to audition - if a space is hired for audition rent has to be paid for using that space. In cases where casting has to happen for only a few days, renting a space might be feasible, also some audition spaces these days provide with some of the other requirements like camera, lights, and backdrop along with a assistant, making it easier on everyone. In cases where casting could go on for a long time (weeks to months) like in features, or in case the production house wants to save money on rent or time* is a huge factor, in such cases a space is provided by the production house which is usually a room in the office and sometimes even in the space just outside the office like in the compound or corridor. The minimum requirement of space for an audition should be so that the camera can capture the full length of the actor without having to tilt the camera and the area should have decent lighting and not too much outside noise. 
The number of people coming for audition also makes a difference to where the audition is held, if there a lot of people expected in a single day (like in advertising) then usually space is rented out unless the production house has sufficient space to keep people waiting and preparing for their parts. In case there are only a few people coming in, like only a select few have been called, like in the case of features or in the case its a call back then these do take place in the production house's office space.     


*Time, in this case, is the time after the audition is captured and for the video to be seen by the director, and if liked sent further for approval. Or if the cast is required urgently like for the next day's shoot.

2. Camera, Lights and Power Supply - in order to record an audition the casting director needs a camera, any camera of a decent resolution should work, earlier DV camera's were used, still gets used in some places but that has now been outdated since DV camera requires DV tapes which then have to be transferred to a digital format to view which involves both a lot of time and money. Some casting directors own a camera themselves and they charge rent for it or include this in their fees. Owing a camera is also a good thing for production houses who do a lot of work as this helps bring down the cost, it also helps at times when the actor can not make it to the audition room but can come to the office to give the audition (since the audition location might be far). It helps in cases of callbacks and smaller tests as well.
Lights are definitely required for auditions that are conducted in closed rooms, a couple of decent powered lights is the minimum requirement, these can be either softboxes or light bounced of thermocol, the basic idea always is to have the actor evenly lit from both side's i.e. no shadows mainly on the face. When auditions are conducted in office spaces its still ideal that the room has sufficient internal lighting or there is enough sunlight coming in. In case the audition is held in the corridor or in an outdoor space the person recording has to make sure that beyond light the sound of the actor is also picked up clearly by the camera.
Rented studios sometimes charge separately for power supply (rarely) usually its included in the cost provided the lights used are basic, which is why most current audition spaces provide these and include the cost in the rent. In case of areas provided by the production house, they need to make sure that there are sufficient outlets for power and extension cords for the same.     

3. Backdrop - this is required if space in which the audition is being held is too noisy** or is too cluttered, like when auditions happen in offices, an ideal space would have a single coloured clear back wall or the use of a backdrop is required, this helps in keeping the viewer's attention only the actor giving the audition and not get distracted by the space around it. Not always can one have a backdrop to audition in such cases a clear back wall with almost nothing on or around it is an ideal space. If a backdrop is being rented out then it could be either in a light colour, white or offwhite are usually used some cases a completely dark backdrop also gets used like grey in those cases it makes the actor stand out from the space, provided that they are in bright clothes and have been lit well. 
A backdrop is a clear piece of paper or cloth with no print on it, same as the ones used in photo studios but large enough to cover the actor's entire action, sometimes cover even 3 people in the same scene. It should be ideally large enough so that the camera captures only the actor and nothing else around. Production houses that do casting quite often and don't have a clear wall usually keep these backdrop's which can be put up easily with the help of 2 stands.. even chroma cloth gets used at times

**noisy - too many things in the background like pictures on the wall, clock, table furniture etc..

4. Props (if needed) - in the scene to be auditioned there would be props that might be required, simple things like a cell phone, or a chair, table, etc can easily be arranged, but there are times when specific props are required, like a gun or a ball or a mask, etc these may have to be rented out or there has to be an agreement (the director should know about this advance) that the actor will make do of what even is available like use a stick instead of a gun. Depending on the rent of the prop, the producer would decide if it's required or not to hire that prop but there are cases when even expensive props have to be hired like in case of testing if the actor can act while riding a bike or driving a car or is the actor comfortable to act underwater, etc, in such cases it makes sense for the producer to spend the money on these tests rather than have the shoot stuck because the actor can not ride a bike.

5. Any other special requirement  - any other special requirement is similar to that of special props, like maybe the actor has to talk while eating or the actor has to do something unique like a summersault or some specific stunt then depending on what is required to that situation. If there is a piece of costume that is required for the test like a hat or a specific kind spec frame etc.

6. Stationary - this includes a slate and a marker for the actor to hold with his details at the start of the audition, some casting directors still use paper here and that is a pure waste of resources. Beyond this, there is the script printouts, paper/book for making a cue sheet, tapes if a dv camera is being used or Digital cards, transfer cables, CD's,  DVD's or any other storage and transfer device, most of the time these are included in the casting directors fees as these are usually really small figures. If they have to be charged it is at actuals against a bill that the casting director should collect while buying the same.

7. Conveyance and food - if the casting is happing for a few days then this figure is small and is easily taken care of but in the case where casting is over a period of time then most of the time the producer sets a limit to how much of money should be spent each day on food and travel of course bills would have to be produced for calming of the food at least and accounts would have to be settled from time to time. Conveyance is for the dropping of casting material to the production office or director's house. 

8. Phone / Net Bill - here if it's a short casting then usually there is no charge that is passed on to the producer but in the case where casting has to happen over a period of time then either the producer gives the casting director a phone to use for all official calls or takes care of the bill at the end of each month especially if the casting is happing in another city or country. 
With social media catching on and with the latest apps even these figures are getting to an ignorable amount, like most casting directors would post the requirement on a social media page, tagging a few people who they think need to come, also used is here are services like BBM or Whatsapp where a group is made over time and a single message gets delivered to all what the requirements for the audition are and people who think they suit the requirement go for the auditions.

So depending on who is paying for what finalises the casting directors fees, although the most common practice would be to charge a fee and the rest at actuals. It is also best that the casting director reads the script or the storyboard before meeting for the casting brief so that he knows what his requirements would be in advance.

 

For answer to the previous question see
Q5:- Budget?

Read on for the next question
Question 7: Is there a contract to be made?

For the entire list of casting questions go back to

Casting Brief

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Casting Brief- Q1: Casting of how many characters?

For the entire List of casting questions go back to
Casting Brief

Question 1: Casting of how many characters?

Each film would have multiple characters to be cast, in case of not too many people to be cast one meeting or even a brief over the phone would do, (like in commercials where some times there are not more than 2 or even 1 character at times) but in cases where a lot of casting is to be done, there would have to be multiple meetings both for briefing and for presenting the cast in batches. Casting where there are a lot of people involved, which is mainly in feature films is broken down into Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, and Background cast.

Primary Cast also know as Main Cast being your lead actors which includes hero, heroine, villains, etc,

Secondary Cast is your supporting cast which also has an important role to play, like friends, parents, etc, i.e. people who rally around the Main Cast.

Tertiary Cast are people who have a small but yet important enough role to play, mostly tertiary cast are people who appear in a scene or two. like shopkeepers, cab drivers etc.

Background Cast are generally not cast, they consist of people who appear in the background like office staff, or the crowd at a stadium, or people at a restaurant etc.

So why would a casting director have to ask this question, well for the simple reason that not always all characters in the script need to be cast, like in case of commercials where one role could be that of the brand ambassador so casting for the rest is required. Also, this question would pertain to what it always boils down to - MONEY. The no of people to be cast decides the no of days it would take to caste these characters and therefore costs on the studio, camera hire, assistant, food, etc. All this needs to be kept in mind at the brief and of course the casting directors fee. 

Once the no of characters that need to be cast are fixed, the casting director along with the producer fix on a schedule as well as the expenses and other details.

Read on for the next question - 

Question 2: Age of each of the characters?

or go back to Casting Brief page to read the other questions.

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Godrej AER - All 6 films

Recently did some work for the launch of Godrej AER. These videos and a few others were made for their sales and marketing launch across India. Inspired from the Mac vs Pc videos each of these were made in such a manner to highlight a feature of the product while comparing it to its rival products. Do let me know what you guys think of the execution.

"Long Lasting"

"Options?"

"Good Choice"

"On & Off"

"Sweet Smelling"

"Leaking?"

CREDITS

Client: Godrej
Product: AER
Director: Auggie Ferns (me)
Production House: DancingElephant PictureCo
Producer:Dipak Kapadia Bhushan Pednekar Rahul Kale
Asst. Directors: Mayank & Gurmandeep
Line Producer: Sunny Shah

DOP: Santosh Tripaathi
Costumes: Chaitrali Dongre
Post House: After Studios
Sound: Chester Misquitta
Agency: Creativeland Asia

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Producer Creativity

At the rate that production houses are cropping up and the creativity used in their names I thought that I would suggest a few of them, hopefully, these are not already taken if so then I am sorry and if you decide to pick a name from here do send me a cheque to thank me...

FPS FILMS
PINEAPPLE FILMS
(ANY FRUIT) FILMS (some fruits and vegetables are already taken)
MONKEY PRODUCTIONS
JACKAL FILMS
DONKEY WORKS
(ANY ANIMAL) PRODUCTIONS (some animals already taken)
BIG FAT ENTERTAINMENT
SPF :SPARROW POOP FILMS
SMALL THIN PRODUCTIONS
OH FILMS
500DP - 500 Director Producer / 500 Dop's / 500 Direct Productions..
50DP
5DP
BLUE SKY FILMS
COVERAGE PRODUCTIONS
LIGHT UP FILMS
UFO - United Film Organisation / Untitled Film Objectives
BANGLE FILMS
i FILM
i PRODUCES
WHATEVER PRODUCTIONS
YOU DECIDE FILMS
OPTICAL PRODUCTIONS
FFF - Fast Forward Films
PP - Pause Productions
CAKE WALK FILMS
BP - Burn Productions
CURTAIN FILMS
BGF - Back Ground Films
SFF - Scratch Free Films
FILMY GUYS
OFFLINE PRODUCTIONS
ONLINE FILMS


CUTTING CHAI PRODUCTIONS
PPP - Pani Puri Productions
OMLET FILMS
BHEL FILMS
SARI PRODUCTIONS
BPP - Bhajiya Pav Productions
VPP- Vada Pav Productions
(ANY INDIAN FOOD) PRODUCTIONS


If you have any more suggestions, or if there exists a production house that is up on this list then do let me know I will gladly add or delete it.

So first suggestion come is
Feni Productions (courtesy Nigel) or Feni Films
could also go with a few Goan ones
Dodol Productions
Bebik Films
Sorpotel Productions..


See more in the comments below



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“Toto, I've (got) a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." – The Wizard of Oz.

STORYBOARD

Love drawing cartoons, then storyboarding is for you. Storyboards work for all - features, Tv serials, AD films, and even for animation. It helps some more than the other.

What is a Storyboard?

A Storyboard is a way of pre-visualizing the director's thoughts or ideas (mainly scripts) into illustrations or images so that the director and the team can see what he plans to shoot or do.

What does a Storyboard look like?

A Storyboard is a series of still images or illustrations put in story order to explain to everyone what the director's vision is. They could just be images put in order which explains everything, or usually, there is a description alongside which describes the camera size (like wide, mid, etc) and the dialogues that go along with the frame. The dialogues could also be broken up based on the edit pattern that the director has in mind. For presentation the general norms are to have the image on the left and the description on the right, these could be 4 per page or if the other pattern of 2 a page is used then the description is put below the image. Sometimes this pattern is used to put as many images in one sheet as possible so that the entire story or scene is on one sheet so that the overall idea could be seen faster.

Storyboards can be done differently from 2D to 3D they can be done in black n white, or in colour, even still’s are sometimes clicked to make one. Storyboards can be done in detail, with as much information in it as possible, which means that camera lensing, set area, props, etc all included. This detailing helps all departments to plan what needs to be done by just looking at each frame. Sometimes there is not enough time or money to get the entire film boarded so key scenes or just keyframes are boarded. Further lack of time also calls for just doodles to be drawn by the side of the script to be a quick fix.

Where and to whom is a Storyboard the most useful?

It gives the directors, producers, cinematographers, commercial advertising clients, etc a tool to visualize the scenes and find potential problems before they occur. It helps in planning story flow for the edit and move shots around if need be. The AD’s can go ahead and plan the shoot accordingly to the board, which would help in saving time so that set up of shots don’t have to be repeated.

In commercials, the storyboard holds quite an important place in the process. Besides the shooting crew which follows the board quite closely, the first use of the storyboard starts at the pre-stage where the board is shared between agencies client and production house, here at this stage mostly each frame gets studied and based on this board changes are suggested based on brand guidelines and the image of the brand. Like the use of certain colours which match the brand, or the non-use of certain objects because of legal issues. All of this helps so that all corrections could be made before going ahead with the shoot which helps in saving of reshoots or any surprises left on the day of the shoot. The meeting which happens with the agency, production house and client is called a PPM - Pre Production Meeting, this is usually a few days before the shoot which gives enough time for the changes to happen, sometimes there are more than one PPM as either there too many changes or too many levels of clients to go through. (like when the main brand team belongs to another country)

The process of putting stills or a series of images along with a rough audio or a track together s called Animatics. This tool is increasingly used by advertisers and advertising agencies to research the effectiveness of their proposed storyboard before committing to a 'full up' television advertisement.

History of Storyboards?

It is said that the storyboarding process, in the form it is known today, was developed at the Walt Disney Studio during the early 1930s, the first storyboards at Disney evolved from comic-book-like "story sketches" to illustrate concepts for animated cartoon short subjects. Websitesand other interactive media projects are the most recent known use of Storyboarding during the design phase.

When and how does a Storyboard come about?

Well first obviously there needs to be a script or a screenplay, in advertising, this is usually coming from the creative team, in films is the script or screenplay writer from where this would come. Then the director has to break it into the no of shots or cuts that he wants to put into the film. Referencing through images is one of the key factors during the making of the board. Key things to know before starting are live location vs set, look of key props, the way the camera moves in certain cases and sometimes look of the costumes are also needed. If it’s a live location then a recce of the place before or pictures of the place in detail, or if it’s a set then a proper layout design of the place helps, here a meeting with the production designer (if there is one) or the art director, where a brief is given (along with the references) and then they draw up a plan based on which a storyboard is done. This holds true for most cases but sometimes the director may want to make a board and then brief the art director what all details he is looking for in the set. Either which ways the director has to have references of the kind of look of furniture or style of house etc to show the storyboard artist (Most of these references are chosen keeping the target audience in mind that is intended)

The key to a good board is how much it helps each department, so the more detail in the board the better, the no of cut one wants to have decided the no of frames to be drawn, a fast-paced film will have more number of cut’s, therefore, will have more frames. Montage, Action are usually the times when you have a lot of frames for a short period. For animation usually, almost all keyframes have to drawn as the team can then follow the direction correctly.

Different ways of making a Storyboard?

Besides the normal 2D drawing there is also 3D way of making storyboards. The advantage of 3D storyboards (also called 'technical previsualization') is they show exactly what the film camera will see using the lenses the film camera will use. The disadvantage of 3D is the amount of time it takes to build and construct the shots. 3D storyboards can be constructed using 3D animation programs or digital puppets within 3D programs. Some programs have a collection of low-resolution 3D figures which can aid in the process. Some 3D applications allow cinematographers to create "technical" storyboards which are optically-correct shots and frames.

Making of storyboards are also helped with a number of tools, StoryBoard Quick, StoryBoard Artist, Storyboard Pro, FrameForge3D, etc all these software basically helps a common man to make boards and not have to wait for a professional artist to come to work for you. They offer usually a range of sets and shapes of houses, cars, etc, some of these lets you import your own pictures so you can use the pictures from your location to see what you film would look like. Most of these come with customizable characters of male, female, age, height, colour, etc, etc.. you could also add audio to some of these and watch them back in proper timing.

If there is still doubt and clarity is required then shooting the script on a home camera or cellphone and then editing it down also helps in clearing the doubts, this could be done with the help of the actors as a rehearsal or with assistants, in any space. This edit helps all to see the problems that one may encounter in the final shooting, like the timing of actors, the number of cuts required, more or fewer shots to be taken, etc.

Lastly for live locations or usually when the set is ready, (on the tech recce) what also could be done is a what is called a walk thru, wherein the cinematographer or the director uses a still camera (ideally with different lenses – like the ones used in the board) and does a run through all the shots in the same blocking that is intended for the final shoot. If one has the budget then even the film camera with the intended lenses can be used and the rehearsal could be recorded on the video assist. (not rolling the film) This process is usually called blocking and is the first time a Storyboard can be seen in the semi-final state before the shoot. These stills if it is shot properly could be used as the final board before the shoot.

In Television serials and Feature films where time and money do not permit the making of detailed storyboard, just stating camera cuts at the side of the script Like dialogues are marked at the side from which to which is Wide and what dialogues go as a close-up, etc. So whatever you do, a detailed board or a doodle, having a shot breakup at least in your head is important.

Auggieism:- What would you say if Auggie got wet in the rains...

Ans:- Soggie..

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