Narration of a story by leveraging the power of moving images is an art that Shifft Films specialises in. However, working with a client who is also a storyteller, but of a different kind- a Muralist, was quite a fascinating experience for the team.
Earthen Symphony is a design and art studio that breathes life into workspaces through artistic creations like wall murals, decors and even art prints. Expression of thoughts and endowing a canvas with imagination in the form of art is what Earthen Symphony is all about.
Here in Shifft Productions, the team attempted to capture the journey of its founder, Madhu Chandrika and the essence of the company by way of a Corporate Film.
This project was kicked off with a quick review of the shoot location and the development of a script in accordance with the photographs of the products provided by the client.
In Deepti Tarakanath’s words (Founder, Shifft Films), “When you meet a client who is very sure about what he or she wants, the job becomes easier. The production team is empowered to stick to deadlines. The director would love to appease the client in the best way possible. Maybe throw in more than what is expected or promised (I have done this many times). But when a client is unsure, everything goes for a toss. Whose responsibility is it? Both parties. Educating or taking a client through the processes becomes mandatory irrespective of their experience in getting content done for their company. Even having a clause in the terms and conditions about this aspect is worth including. As far as clients are concerned, they just need to be mindful of the tedious process of filmmaking.”
Therefore, with a sound briefing given by the client, the project went off smoothly where changes in the scope of work and issues regarding the schedule did not arise.
This is why pre-production is a challenging process in any project and is considered substantial so that iterations and unplanned post-production work are avoided.
Talking about challenges, vendor selection is also one of the biggest challenges in a film-making process for if the right hand is not used, it could cause delays in the schedule that would be detrimental to the project.
Thus, for the 3D title animation that was designed for the Earthen Symphony AV , it was essential to tap the expertise and sensibilities of an animator who had deep knowledge in the said field.
As Deepti Tarakanath sees it, “3D is a very tricky thing, it is important that the animator and the director resonate in terms of sensibility. The sooner we crack the look and feel, the faster is the process, hence sketching, referencing and trials or scratches are key interventions. Very few professionals like to prepare, but this is where everything can go wrong. An ill-prepared team member can kill the project. ”
The professional who worked with Shifft on this project mainly specialises in creating animations for Kannada features. His work was very grand and befitted a big banner production with all the pizzazz.
In a way he was maybe even over-qualified, therefore directing him to develop something simple yet snazzy became a slight challenge. But the wizard that he was brought to fore a stellar piece of animation that blended beautifully with Earthen Symphony’s tagline, corporate copy and the music logo.
Madhu Chandrika, the Founder and Design head of Earthen Symphony, has designed and delivered her excellent artwork to a host of prestigious clients and the Shifft team deemed it best to film their testimonials.
The admiration they had for her valuable work, as a way of showcasing their company’s ethos was captured succinctly. “Testimonials are a powerful way to endorse a company, a repertoire of work or some highlights in terms of good work ethic and when they are put out, it gives a sense of assurance to prospects and also generates a good amount of leads for any product.”
Working with Earthen Symphony’s clients was an interesting experience as well as challenging at the same time.
“It takes patience to get people to ease up in front of a camera”, says Deepti Tarakanath.
Having experienced working with first time actors, Deepti Tarakanath rightly says, “It has a lot to do with the chemistry you share with the people you are directing. It is more of the director’s job to make people feel comfortable in front of the camera, as most people are not. One needs to factor in the ticking away of tight schedules and natural light when working with non-actors or those uncomfortable in front of the camera. Wrapping up the filming process of a video production at the earliest, in approximately one or two days for a project like this, was necessary in order to make the product cost-effective and avoid a rise in expenses.”
Out of the two short videos, the first captured the story of Madhu Chandrika and her roster of work, while the second focused on one specific piece of art to demonstrate the entire process of Earthen Symphony’s creative process and help the audience understand the dedicated efforts that go into every art piece.
The client’s installations at Manipal Hospital, Dwarka is a mammoth piece of art that embellishes a huge building and naturally involves a lengthy construction process.
The filming of the initial processes from conceptualising the design to the making of the different segments of the installation and their packaging was done in Bangalore.
Meanwhile, the assembling and installation process on the building of Manipal hospital through drone shots and photographs were captured by a local team and were received back in Bangalore for post-production work.
Another interesting detail in the videos was the originality of the orchestrated music that was specially composed for this project in order to give it a modern appeal and the feel of a symphony.
This music logo created by Shifft for Earthen Symphony is also used for their various video assets. The efforts of the team as well as the client’s cooperation made it possible to produce quality content.
“When we work with Shifft, we see a lot of thought going into making the film/s. No compromise is made on their promise of stellar content. Original music compositions, slick animations and brilliant shots bring out earthen Symphony’s prided product-lines brilliantly.” – Madhu Chandrika, MD Earthen Symphony.