My Experience Shooting a Film Funded by the BFI and HOME Manchester

As a cinematographer, I've had the privilege of working on a variety of film projects over the years, but the one that sticks out in my mind as the most challenging and rewarding is the film I shot last week as part of a collaboration between the British Film Institute (BFI) and HOME Manchester. In this project, I served as the director of photography, working closely with Ai Narapol, who was the director.

One of the most notable challenges we faced was the tight shooting schedule. We had just two days to capture around 50 shots, which meant we had to move quickly and efficiently to get the shots we needed. To make things even more difficult, we were shooting in a new format, ProRes RAW. This meant that we needed a massive set of hard drives to store the footage, as 44 minutes of footage equated to 1 TB of storage. It was a logistical challenge to make sure we had enough storage on set and backup drives at the ready.

Despite these challenges, we were able to work together and make the most of our time. With the help of a fantastic lighting team that I hadn't worked with before, we were able to create lighting scenarios that felt like natural light. I was very impressed with their creativity and expertise, and the lighting they created added a lot to the overall look and feel of the film.

As the cinematographer, it was my responsibility to capture the director's vision for the film and make sure each shot was framed and lit perfectly. I also had to work with the camera department to ensure that we were using the best equipment for the job. Shooting in ProRes RAW was a new experience for me, but I was excited to work with this new format and see how it could enhance the final product. It was amazing to see the details that were captured with this format, and I was pleased with how the final footage looked.

Overall, this film shoot was a challenging but rewarding experience. Working with a new format and a tight shooting schedule required us to stay focused and work together as a team. But with the help of a talented crew and a creative director, we were able to create a film that we were all proud of. I'm grateful for the opportunity to work with the BFI and HOME Manchester, and I look forward to seeing the final product on the big screen.

Shooting a Short Film for Sky Art's shortFLIX

Hello!

Last month I had the amazing opportunity to come on board as the cinematographer for ‘Left Behind’, a short film about two brothers and their response to grief within their family. Being part of SkyArts, the initiative was to provide directors who had less experience, not in full time employment or studying £10,000 budget to create a short. Having the opportunity to shoot a project with a large sum of budget was fantastic.

I was away in India during the weeks leading up to the project, despite that, Carrie (director) and I worked heavily into the project having constant chats and emails to prepare the days ahead. It was a two day shoot and a 13 scene script, this meant we had to be really fast when it came to shooting, and fast we were!

Ultimately, this experience has been a great opportunity for me and challenged me in a way that others haven’t. I was practically jumping into locations I hadn’t had opportunities to pre-visit, working with a less experience (but actually felt quite experienced) director and figuring out what kit we should order from the hire.

I shot a film on super 8mm in India

This film feels bittersweet.

My grandad passed away today and at the same time, I received these developed super 8 video files from the lab. I felt the need to get this film out today and dedicate it to him. I’m grateful that we were able to see him recently, and while he was well and able to see us too.

The last time I visited was when I was ten for my grandma's passing. I used to hate going to India, the smell, the heat, the humidity - it was all uncommon for me. Now I feel a lot more connected and grateful for that side of me and I feel blessed to have gone again, especially now.

Tread softly.

Darshan.