A sharp, short training in short-film making

One of the students framing a shot at the Bonsai Short Film Society’s training workshop in Tiruchi on Friday.This time last year, S. A. Subramanian was not much into the idea of involving amateur short-films.“I’m against the idea of taking filmmaking as a hobby. I wanted people to consider short-films as a serious medium. I thought amateurs usually took to this just as a pastime.”That was before he had a discussion with his likeminded members of their Bonsai Short-Film Forum, a Chennai-based film club.

When one of the members mooted the idea of training visual communication students in the budding genre, Mr. Subramanian got into the act.“It sounded so inspiring. Short-films can be razor-sharp medium to reach the masses. And what better way to popularise it than involve students into it.”That’s how the magic of moving pictures was unfurled at the four-day training workshop for short-film making in the city.Along with his member-friend Ramachandran, he invited filmmakers, journalists and assistant cinematographers to train the 45 participant team consisting of over 40 students and few working men.

After their dynamic first day stuffed with ice-breaking sessions, seminars and short-film screenings, the participants took to camera on second day of their training.“No tripods, please,” Mohamed Farhan, an assistant cinematographer to Ravivarman, began his class, to the students who took shelter in the available tree shades of seared grounds.“Short-films are mostly taken without tripods and sophisticated equipments. These people should learn to balance the camera on shoulders and hands,” he explained.It is striking that how some seemingly simple shots could actually involve neck-wracking off-camera works. He made the participants run, walk, crouch and pose for the swinging angles of the camera, handled by their counterparts. More to follow in practical training, Mr. Subramanian says. After the string of sessions on filmmaking on rest of the days, the sessions would wrap up on Sunday, with certificates of participation and an extra dose of filmmaking tips.