I am currently in India working on the production of
8 short documentaries made by new and emerging Indian filmmakers. All of the
films are themed around independence to celebrate the 60
th anniversary
of Indian Independence from British rule that will fall on 15th August 2007.
We
have just held a four-day workshop at the British Council in Delhi
for the 8 selected filmmakers that has given them an opportunity to work on
their films and learn about the requirements of UK broadcast. The sessions have
gone really well and have given filmmakers from all corners of the country; from
Bangalore, Delhi,
Kolkata and Uttar Pradesh the chance to meet and discuss their work.
So, some observations about working on documentaries here in Delhi…Union regulation in India requires camera, sound and lighting kits to be
rented with attendants, which along with assistants and operators can easily
push crew size into double figures. This is vastly different to working in the UK where directors
are, in the main, encouraged act as multi-skilling taskhorses. It also creates difficulties
in limiting obtrusiveness which may not affect a big Bollywood production but is
something that documentary filmmakers are very sensitive to. These are just
some of the differences that we have to work around in order to get the films
made in an appropriate manner and stay within budget. Luckily we are working in
partnership with an Indian production company who are able to work around our
needs and there have been few outlandish requests from the filmmakers. (However
I did have to deny one filmmaker of a production assistant to work solely on gaining
permissions for one three-minute film.)
Which leads me to the wonderful world of Indian bureaucracy
that makes permissions to film in numerous public locations a rather arduous
task. Despite having the correct forms printed in triplicate, numerous phone calls and leaving a number
of weeks to contact the Ministry of Defence or the Architectural Survey of
India has left us waiting until the last minute for final access permissions.
I hope I don’t sound too jaded by putting these observations
first because Delhi
is an exciting, buzzing, dusty capital which is always on the move. There are
fascinating scenes of daily life at every corner and the Delhiites are friendly
and accommodating. A whizz round in an auto-rikshaw will leave you with numerous
images and glimpses of stories that inspire or shock (as well as white
knuckles!).
To be continued…