Lights! Camera rolling! Speed!

Almost everybody has at some point or another rejoiced in the excitement of hearing (or saying) those words... I am no film buff, and my appreciation of cinematography is at best basic. Yet I can say that the above words are very deceiving in and of themselves as they hide beautiful, exciting albeit technical and complex series of tasks. Long days, sore muscles and exhaustion are also part of the mix!

I can say that the height of my month of November was participating in Yann's and Anders' short film project.

For a film that is expected to be between 12-15 minutes in length the amount of work that went into it was formidable; and the people who partook in the project friendly, passionate and talented!

Notwithstanding the invested in the story creation, to the casting and organisation of the production. The actual filming was an quite a hectic project. One in which everybody needs to know the part he or she is playing. And no matter how insignificant a task can appear to be, it never is!

After all the all the actors have been cast and crew hired; after the costumes have been sorted and the preferred filming spots chosen -and permissions for filming obtained; after the order in which the scenes will be shot has been determined; (and I am probably missing out on chunks of work), only then can the "production" start.

The Condition (2010) film set. Photo courtesy of Yann Caloghiris.

Then there's the creative dialogue between the director and the director of photography before each shot/scene is filmed-which at times may appear interminable.

There's getting the right lighting; making sure the image is in frame and focus; that the actors get in the right mood to get in character and tell the story... Oh and then there's the "sound guy", whom from what I hear may at times be taken for granted, but who is responsible for catching not just the dialogues but all the sounds without which the setting would fail to feel real.

The whole process is art (technique) and creativity. But above all it's a fantastic example of what can be accomplished when individuals work together towards a common objective.

Now we just have to wait for post-production to come to a conclusion - Yann has to put it all together and allow us to relive the magic that went on behind the scenes...

And 'Action'!