Created around the end of semester in the spring of 2006 I was going to be saying goodbye to several friends who were graduating. Starting my university career in 2002 I should have been graduating then also, but my evolving plans and a couple wasted classes determined otherwise. As a student I found inspiration in a lot of things outside of the classroom . . . still, with the snow thawing and things rapidly changing that semester, I could appreciate the milestone of how the absence of friends was going to alter my experience and so I thought about making a video. What I decided to do was collect a few of the home video clips that I'd shot over the semester to include with a photo collage of the university - kind of creating a time capsule on DVD of what the place was like then. You may think that you'd have to wait a decade or so to really see some major changes, but we actually all came to the University of Regina when things were just about to shift. Regina, Saskatchewan had been awarded the Canada games for 2005 and in 2003, still in my first year, ground had been broken on an expansive new phys. ed building and a set of twin tower residences. Those residences have since become the focal point of the new campus and dramatically altered the green space that the university centered around. By 2006 the games had passed and the buildings were all in full operation, however, construction had begun on a brand new lab building right next to College West - now the old residence - that we all lived in. It was probably this that inspired the photo collage more than anything. I knew that in just a few years the building would be complete and it would instantly date the footage and remind us all of the semester that that giant crane and construction created so much noise. I even mentioned the new lab building in my retrospective short, Quirks, as the park location we shot at in 2004 was now covered by a lecture hall.
I gave out my DVDs as everything concluded in the winter semester of '06, ending my collage saying 'may our time at the U of R serve as a reminder that we are always working to better ourselves'. A bit cliche perhaps, but true nonetheless. In 2007 I found myself staying in Regina over the summer for the first time. Not really intending to make a project necessarily, I ended up shooting a lot of pictures of the campus with the weather being so nice. It's worth noting that when you're in Saskatchewan for predominantly winter months it can be tough to fully appreciate your outdoor surroundings. In any case, I created a secondary video of the architectural details of some of the campus buildings - which are actually quite notable, as both the modernist/minimalist library and classroom buildings were designed by Minoru Yamasaki, the architect behind the World Trade Center. What came out of all these photos was essentially what I had hoped in 2006. Time has passed and with each year the landscape and tone of the university that I attended changes. I'm really happy to have both these videos to remind me of a location that I not only lived in, but experienced in so many ways. Just as the University of Regina evolved so much when I was there, it continues to inspire my nostalgia as it reinvents itself for new students. It was only a few years ago, but as far as I'm concerned these shorts now represent a completely different time.
Having been to the Calgary Zoo numerous times, I'm almost always surprised by how different your experience can be each time. Short of going on safari, it's actually the next best thing to capturing candid and spontaneous shots of animals that you otherwise can't see in Canada. Over the summers of 2005 and 2006, I made several trips to Calgary and spent the afternoon at the zoo.
There's potentially more footage to be shown here, but I thought it was about time that I at least reorganized the original short edits that I uploaded back in 2007. To refresh the quality of the videos (which were originally quite pixelated) I re-uploaded the three short clips that I had cut from several longer travelog type videos I'd made titled, At the Zoo.
Intended to be slice-of-life, observational type shorts - these mini clips are no different than the longer projects really. What I enjoy about seeing some of this footage now is how my shooting technique still spoke to my style as an editor. You can see by the shots that I was thinking how I'd cut for a transition, for example, how shooting the skylight of the African Savannah exhibit outdoors, and then zooming out from the skylight indoors was a simple way to move through space. Some of these things seem so obvious when watching, but most amateurs (and film students even) don't always think about how their shooting style translates - or that they even have a style for that matter.
There are a lot of clues here to how things have evolved in nearly 5 years time. However, editing aside, these are fairly casual, fun, and upbeat vids. Animals are easy subjects, and certainly energetic enough to make for lively clips. Enjoy.
To feature the talents of other artists and gain their unique perspectives has long been the motivation behind a lot of what is posted on Editing Luke. To encourage interaction, involvement, and feedback is vital, and I can think of no better way to do this than to allow other motivated filmmakers to share their views in their own words.
I first came to know Bhaveek through the Yobi.tv Film Contest in early 2009. He had submitted a video project that also became voted through to the semi-finals, and it was there that I got a glimpse of some of his work. Through a series of casual comments on each others videos and over facebook, I came to appreciate his ambition in making himself known to others throughout the contest.
At 18 years old, Bhaveek is just at the beginning of his prospective career in filmmaking and I for one am excited to see where his story will go next. Loyal viewers, Cinematic Acrobatic Presents: Bhaveek Makan.
1. Who is Bhaveek Makan?
I'm a South African born 'brown guy' who loves skateboarding/snowboarding and of course . . . filmmaking.
See Bhaveek and Jashan Makan's YouTube channel for Rendering Glint Films here. View the Rendering Glint Films blog here.
2. What is it about movie-making that interests you most?
Post production like editing is the most interesting part of filmmaking to me. I don't think its as IMPORTANT as the other aspects like scripting/storyboarding(since these elements are vital for editing to even take place) but it is obviously great to see something so simple be put together in the way you imagined the film to be.
3. Passion, Creativity, Drive - choose one.
I pick creativity. Without creativity, there is no passion, thus no drive. When being creative with something, passion comes automatically.
4. If you had to choose a single project you've done or participated in that best reflects your individual style, which would it be and why?
Probably my film "Eat Ghee" since it really shows a true exaggeration of an Indian boy facing new challenges in a new country. It made me more interested in my own culture as before I made this film. I watched countless amounts of Indian Soap operas and Bollywood movies so I can get a sense of style.
5. Is there a unifying message to the movies you like to make, or is every project a fresh start?
Most my films are never serious. But if they are, there is no "in your face message"...its mostly subtle. SO a fresh start for each project. I like all my films to be insanely different.
6. What is the best piece of advice you've been given or come across?
Best advice would be "avoid shoe leather". Shoe leather meaning if I had to show someone getting from point A to B, I don't show his/hers every move to get there. I found this interesting as most my older films had this which makes things super boring and long.
7. In a utopian world, what would you like to achieve with your work or what would you like it to say about you individually?
I would like to hope that one day, my work is shown to the world. I would want my own Indian community to appreciate my work as well...because most Indians have really the same jobs: Engineer; Doctor; etc. I want to let my people know that there are so many other things out in the world that can be considered as a job. I would want to be known as someone who loves filmmaking.
Created around the end of semester in the spring of 2006 I was going to be saying goodbye to several friends who were graduating. Starting my university career in 2002 I should have been graduating then also, but my evolving plans and a couple wasted classes determined otherwise. As a student I found inspiration in a lot of things outside of the classroom . . . still, with the snow thawing and things rapidly changing that semester, I could appreciate the milestone of how the absence of friends was going to alter my experience and so I thought about making a video.
