Are you fond of watching movies? How about creating one, on your own? 

We effortlessly watch a film oblivious of the sweat and time a team had to put in to make one. Next time you go for a movie, do give it a thought and I assure you that the movie would feel more dynamic and interesting.

Making a movie is not an easy task. My friends and I attempted to make a short film at Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology (SVNIT) Surat. The first difficult milestone was brainstorming an idea for the film. After quite a few eureka moments, we realised that the notion of execution also demands clarity. After a long discussion, we decided upon the theme: ‘A group of friends arguing upon where they shall go when they are free’. One wants to go to a theatre and another just wants to eat. We decided to end it with a traditional happy ending. 

One of the mornings we assembled near our academic complex to start filming. We prepared a base for the dialogues and used a DSLR camera too. Obviously, that wasn’t enough. All of us realised how difficult it is to shoot a film without planning in detail and in advance. Every second of screenplay is to be premeditated. After about fifteen minutes we realised that we were shooting three dialogues in one take without taking close ups. Though we lacked structure and technique, we continued unabashedly and completed the shoot within four hours. It was evident that when we do it next time, it would be executed far better. It is a lot of homework.

The shoot was over but a major task was still remaining. Every movie goes through the process of editing, where audio and video are synced, scenes are arranged in order, music and effects are added. We explored the glory of our actors, edited the scenes and put them in an order, even dubbed the whole video for clarity of sound. 

Although it wasn’t an easy job, we had a lot of fun doing it. I wonder how great directors like Christopher Nolan, Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese and others pull off their masterpieces. Their efforts are highly admirable.

The End!

This article is part of PaGaLGuY’s innovative internship certification programme for engineering students. Currently, two such programmes are on – one is an Internship in Creative Writing, and the other is a Certification in Digital Media. If you are interested in partaking and bagging a certificate, besides learning the nuances of effective writing, write to us at [email protected]