Days 15, 16, 17 & 18: Productions & Page 3

Welcome Folks!

Get ready to hear all about another wheely good week in India, but before I go any further... fasten your seatbelts, pull on your crash helmets and join us on the Delhi roads of rage...

Okay, so you're probably wondering what all the fuss is about? But trust me, what you've just seen is the Delhi Daredrivers on the very best behaviour (although you can hear the frequent blowing of horns in the background!). The above clip was filmed on Day 18 (Thursday) but before hearing more about the old town shoot, lets transport ourselves back a few days...

This week, like last week, has been very busy and almost routine-like in structure (although there isn't really such thing as a routine day in Delhi). Monday to Wednesday was set aside for shooting for our collaborative film projects with the Indian students. All three groups were able to finish principal photography on schedule within these days, so we will hopefully have three entertaining films after post-production. However, the main intention of the projects was, of course, to gain experience through working together with students from different countries and to sharpen our technical abilities.

As with most filmmaking endeavours, there were both good times and bad times along the way, but the negatives can be turned into positives by learning from them and not making the same mistakes in the future. Personally, it's been fascinating to see students from a film school in another continent at work, and to get a feel for how they operate. Here's a selection of behind-the-scenes snaps from 'Snapshot' (the film my group was working on)...

Filming had taken place during the day so we still had time to enjoy in the evenings. This was mostly spent relaxing at our accommodation having been out in the (almost intolerable) heat all day. However, amidst the relaxation, we also found time for production meetings (in order to prepare for upcoming filming for the Preston/Delhi project) and walks/rickshaw rides to the local market. The little market actually came up trumps on Tuesday as I was able to successfully hunt down a bar of chilled Dairy Milk (it remained chilled for the first bite at least...).

Thursday was much less conventional than the other three. The members of the group who had been bestowed with the important task of editing our group films departed for the post-production suite's first thing in the morning. The rest of us attended a 'Print Media' seminar at the film school which featured a panel of industry professionals (and some insightful international input from our very own Chris Leonard). The seminar was reasonably interesting and we soon learnt that 'page 3' (something that was frequently talked of with high regard by the Indian speakers) was nothing to do with the sort of content typically associated with 'page 3' in UK tabloids. In fact, 'page 3' in India refers to a popular entertainment supplement that appears in most papers.

As soon as the seminar was done, we quickly got ourselves organised to film two scenes for our Preston/Delhi film. The first involved taking some brief 'filler/back-up' shots near to our hotel. The second, as mentioned in the video blog, was set in the Old Town region of Delhi; one of the most unique places I've ever had the pleasure of visiting. Centered around the famous Chandi Chowk road, the web of streets in this area of the city are some of the most vibrant and busy in the world. It wasa an ideal setting for the scene we were filming and will add some splendid variety to the film. Practically, the only option was to film from the rooftop and balcony of a local contact - otherwise, we would have received a lot of hassle and curious enquirers down on the street (and perhaps some trouble).

Now then, whilst on the subject of Delhi Old Town, I come onto the latest 'Commenters Challenge' (which takes the form of more of a game this time). Fans of 'Where's Wally?' and 'Where's Stig?' rejoice as I invite you to play 'Where's John? - Delhi Old Town Special Edition'. The objective is simple; try and find the curly haired Brit (me) amongst the crowds in these two photos... (NOTE: Click images to enlarge them)

Photograph 1 (Difficulty Level: Novice)

Photograph 2 (Difficulty Level: Guru)

Thursday evening was spent with a well-earned wind-down at, believe it or not, the local TGI Friday's. Chilled cocktails and western music went down a treat and a great night was had by all. Following Friday's we returned to the hotel where we danced and sang along to classic Disney tracks (led by the hidden Disney-musical phenomenom that is Joe Johnson).

It seems strange that we only have 4 days remaining now (lets hope that volcanic ash cloud clears before next week!)

All the best,

John

x

PS. Here's a great group shot from last weeks visit to the Taj Mahal...