The Results | Between Breaths

And The Winner Is... | Between Breaths

Between Breaths Results are here. Unlike last year when we had some good contest, this year thanks to voting and insights from our Jury, we have a clear winner. However, before we can go ahead and open the box to reveal the winner, lets have a look at the different entries...


Break Even was interesting effort. As Anish pointed out 'there are plenty of positives in this movie. For once there is no talk of Love, Drugs and Career pressure in a movie set in campus.' This was a high. Most of the time we see these stereotypes and they are big turn-offs. Background score was a let down. Ali noted a few interesting things about how subtitling was done. If one gotta shoot... This is a realistic take on networking based businesses which always had a grey area. Its very contemporary and language doesn't look alien. The body language is interesting and very close to reality.

On The Blindspot, Gyandeep noted that... 'Nicely done. Ironic. But needs some trimming. Also, could have done away with a lot of meandering shots like the guy getting dressed up and using the camera as a gimmick at places. Message is nicely driven through. Good effort.' Anish was a little upset about they way aping of 'Delhi Belly' was done, though not affecting the feel, it has become a sort of trend. Blindspot was good but an outdated idea.

Romance Not Again attracted two opinions. Sujoy felt that the story had two plots and should have been seperated. Harish found a nice blend among both. However, everyone agreed that it was decent feel good sort of movie that had a charm of its own. Camerawork was a letdown... The high was the acting performances and overall feel.

Pushkar's (untitled) evoked mixed opinions. This guy has really high standards. Gyandeep said... 'Deft direction and crisp cinematography' to sum up everything. Cinematography wise it was definitely one of the best in the event. Concept was interesting but the bottomline was rugged. And fonts, they were a little out of place. The sync between scene and music was really applaudable... though we would have appreciated original than copyrighted material.

Johnny Gaddar was a two headed monster. It drew sharp contrasting views. Harish remarked, 'You got to have guts when you are attempting something like JG. The climax is very much kind of expected but overall this has come out very well. Nice tribute to JG indeed.' On the other hand, Gyandeep felt differently. He remarked'The weakest entry in this fest, in my opinion. Don't mean to be harsh but what's the point in doing this, really? This is just a fraction of the entire synopsis of the beloved 'Johnny Gaddaar'. The camera tries TOO hard to get our attention and it does but in all the wrong ways. To be honest, I had expected the moon when I read the title. Turns out, I was horribly wrong.' Anish tend to support Harish on this while Ali and Sujoy were not sold out to the concept.

Cold Feet didn't attracted much attention and applause. It was a weak entry. Sujoy remarked, ' One can see the point behind the story. Camera work is more random... either its experimentation or job gone kaput. Music... is definitely overdone. Concept should have been developed more.' Anish wondered how FB is attracting cine-enthusiasts.

Payanathin Mudivil attracted favorable reviews. Sujoy noted 'One word wow. Initially it was ok but the way it summed up... brilliant work. The performances and the use of voice over is really good. I would definitely pick a few things :) Camera work was really awesome in some pieces. Direction is pretty decent. The plot came out well. Bravo' Gyandeep too felt the same and remarked, 'Fresh is what I'd like to associate with this movie.' Anish was not much happy with the direction and acting while Ali noted a void.

Between Breaths 2012 witnessed some amazing entries. Special note for (untitled) and Johnny Gaddar. They added the 'thriller' flavor to this season dedicated to Alfred Hitchcock. There was one outright winner. No other video came close. Just to give an idea, it got almost 50% of over all votes. Before I spill the name, TRM would like to thanks Anish Singh, Harish Mallya, Gyandeep Pattnayak, Ali Naqvi and Sujoy Ghosh for their valuable time as Jury Members.

The winner of Between Breaths 2012 is Manikandan's Payanathin Mudivil. Congrats to Manikandan and his team.

Between Breaths 2012

Voting

Find Entries Here: http://www.thereelmag.in/2012/04/entries-between-breaths-2012.html 

Entries | Between Breaths 2012

Entry 1: Break Even
Jury Member Anish Singh says 'there are plenty of positives in this movie. For once there is no talk of Love, Drugs and Career pressure in a movie set in campus. And for me that's half the battle won.'


Entry 2: Cold Feet
Sujoy Ghosh commented 'one can see the point behind the story. Camera work is more random... either its experimentation or job gone kaput. Music... is definitely overdone. Concept should have been developed more.'


Entry 3: Johnny Gaddar
Jury Member Harish Mallya remarked  'you got to have guts when you are attempting something like JG. The climax is very much kind of expected but overall this has come out very well. Nice tribute to JG indeed.'


Entry 4: Payanathin Mudivil
Sujoy Ghosh noted... 'One word wow. Initially it was ok but the way it summed up... brilliant work. The performances and the use of voice over is really good. I would definitely pick a few things :) Camera work was really awesome in some pieces. Direction is pretty decent. The plot came out well. Bravo'


Entry 5: The Blindspot
Jury Member Anish Singh remarked 'good, pertinent message. A bit over cooked though. Gets predictable after a while. However, this is one movie I could totally identify with having known many people who have a "blind spot" like the protagonist here.'


Entry 6: (untitled)
Jury Member Gyandeep Pattnayak commented 'the best of the lot. Starkly shot... Deft direction and crisp cinematography. The end credits made me want to whistle and hoot.'


Entry 7: Romance Not Again
Ali Naqvi quoted... 'This one connected the strongest at story level... it made me smile and connect to characters... camaraderie between friends feels genuine... as does the love story.... actors are very comfortable on camera... and the twist finally brings a even bigger smile :)'

Note: The comments here reflects the belief of Jury Members in the makers. In depth Analysis would be uploaded in coming days.

Between Breaths Schedule

Between Breaths 2012

Length:

Permitted Length of the short film (or short) is from 30 seconds to 15 minutes, excluding starting and end credits

Copyright issues:

Any use of copyright must be avoided at all costs. Use of copyrighted material will lead to loss of marks.

Entrance Fee:

Entrance fees is Rs. 0, as Between Breaths is all about inspiring you to make your first short or being the push to make one more short.

Awards:

For best shorts we’ll give away mementoes and a citation of merit. All selected shorts will be uploaded on soon-to-be inaugrated Between Breath’s Youtube Channel with due credits. (Your participation will be considered as your consent)

Jury:

Jury consists of cine-philes who will debate the merit of each movie before reaching on a decision. TRM team will take a call on the Jury.

Submission Date:

Date of submission is tentatively at 26th March, 2012.

Submission method:

You can submit by one of the following ways:

1) Send us the movie as an attachment in the mail to thereelmag.between.breaths@gmail.com . It will be further uploaded on Between Breath’s Youtube Channel.  

2) You can provide us the link if it is already hosted in video sites like vimeo and youtube. It will be further uploaded on Between Breath’s Youtube Channel.

In all of the above methods drop a mail to us in the following format:

########################

Subject of Email: Entry for Between Breaths 2012

Name / Role : <Your Name>

Name of the movie: <Your Title>

Link of the movie: <URL of video hosted> or Attachment

########################

We are looking forward to your participation. If you have any clarification, please leave your query in comment section and we’ll answer ASAP.

Regards,

TheReelMag Team

DK Bose... Under Belly Logic | Editor's Pen

The word DK Bose is a masquerade for an abusive word. Everybody knows and understands this. If I am not wrong, it was first used in Tusshar Kapoor-Riteish Deshmukh starring sex-comedy Kya Kool Hai Hum. It instantly became a part of college slang however faded soon. Cut to 2011. The slang is back. A desperate Imran Khan is smeared in dirt and singing in a broken shriek-style rock.

Frankly speaking, I don’t have any issue with usage of slangs/abusive words in cinema provided that censor board can beep them or give a proper certificate. You always have a choice of avoiding any movie which might offend you. Also, sometimes you can’t avoid usage of f-words. If they are removed, the scene remains incomplete.

Arun Ravindran | Avatars

But I have some problem with public exhibition of such songs on TV where kids and youngsters watch it. It’s not like that they don’t know them. It’s not like that they don’t use them. It’s just that by putting them on TV, one ensures that every one catches the term. The word becomes a fad and causes unwanted embarrassment to many. The youngsters learn it quick and pass it on to toddlers… much to parent’s helpless angst. Deep down even Mr. Khan would accept that this is a shame. We want our children to be sensible and mature but not by means of learning words like these.

I know someone whose name is D.K. Bose. I can’t imagine how he might be feeling…

Anyways... the pic here is of Arun Ravindran who won the second prize at Between Breaths. The smile on his face tells it all...

Kudos... great work mate.

Regards
Sujoy

Results | Between Breaths

Finally the result is in our hands... Our Jury members really had a very tough time in deciding the marks and thanks to our readers, we got exception amount of votes. Could it have been better...

• Four movies were very close in marking by jury. Difference of just 6 cumulative votes. Heck.
• There was a tie too in Jury's marking.
• One movie was definitely loved by our readers... and the contestent did a lot of publicity.
• At second spot, two movies were very close in public votes.
• Two movies high on jury's marking fell short in impressing the readers.
• And last one... the difference of marks between last three entries was just 2 points.

After long discussions, we realised that the difference between last three movie is too less to for evaluation. We declare three second-runner ups:

• Vitesse, Amaranth and Zakhm (not in any order)

A citation of Excellence would be provided to all three participants. :-)

First runner up gave stiff contest to the winner. It was 2nd on Jury's list as well. Its...

• Avatars

Congrats Arun. So... its not a secret? Yes... The winner of First Between Breaths Short Film Fest is...

• End

Pushkar Kulkarni... you rocked Between Breaths. Spectacular performance. People loved your short... So... open the champagne...

Thanks to our amazing jury members Gyandeep, Yajur and Ali for their cooperation. Thanks to people who voted and retweeted our tweets.

To winners, we will get back to you in a while. Wait for our mail...

Yours Sincerely...

My Short Review of 5 entries of Between Breaths

It has been a decent start to between breaths. Hope next year we will have much more participation and of course we hope this years’ short competitors will up with even better films next time around.

Here’s my review of the shorts, in alphabetical order.

Avatars- ‘Avatars’ talks about how our online identities, help us tackle our busy schedules, to manage our personal lives. ‘Avatars’ completely succeeds in conveying its theme and does it with technical brilliance. I especially liked how it employs multiple roles of the same person in same frame. Also how character uses facebook to choose his glasses, surely a reflection of our times.

Amaranth- It starts out with good premise but didn’t work for me because I as a viewer was not sure what Amaranth was aiming at. Is it horror or horror comedy or message based film. My impression of ‘Amaranth’ is it has come out slightly cheesy mainly because it does not set a consistent tone to the short. Technically it is well done, with ghostly white effect towards the end. But I am sure ‘Amaranth’ team can dish out better short as they are not lacking in finish of the film.

End- Hmm what can I say!! This one is my personal favourite. Love the way it adds tackles a relevant message along with a good story. It affects you as a viewer. It does a good use of music and I could definitely see some homage paid to super films. I was impressed right from the start where blade highlights when surrounded with blood. Great effort, keep more movies like his coming!

Vitesse- Set in bustling Kolkata, and with music to add the feel of liveliness, Vitesse dedicates itself to people who can never be a part of this rush. You can feel that he maker is genuinely touched by problem these people face. I also like how music was used to contrast between two portions of the movie. In fact even if you notice, the lively face of Kolkata is shown not through posh frames but only using downtrodden people, and I like the irony implied here.

Zakhm- Adaptation of famed Kite Runner novel, the movie fits in as an extension of the novel. It squarely rests on script and acting, to which it delivers. Zakhm has good dialogue, as they feel real coming from a tortured man. I am actually interested to see how the same team would have adapted the whole film.

That’s all folks from this edition of between breaths. Results will be out in matter of minutes. Lets see who wins the 1^st edition of Between Breaths.

Written By Ali Naqvi

Thoughts On Entries | Between Breaths

Yajur on Amaranth:  Gritty but original.

Ali on End: Excellent attempt, has relevant message along with a good story. Good choice of music (including Watchmen theme), competent voiceover. In short, excellent...

Gyandeep on Vitesse: Relevant documentary. The jazz goes well with the facts.

Ali on Avatars: Interesting concept, technically very well executed.

Gyandeep on Zakhm:  A bit theatrical but still a solid adaptation of Khalid Hosseini's beloved novel. Only if the theatricality were toned down a bit. As it is, it is a good effort. Nevertheless.

VOTE PLEASE | Between Breaths

Watch these shorts at: http://www.thereelmag.in/2011/04/entries-between-breaths.html

Make The Short After A Thought | Candid Krishnan

First think if you can make it. If it’s a YES, then make it. If it’s a NO… forget everything else and give in your all to make it. You will realise how wrong you were… Shorts can also surprise the makers.


A good short is like a good sex tape. You don’t need celebrities/professional to make it perfect. You don’t need extra visual effect. You don’t need to invest a lot. A handy-cam is enough. All you need is to get the theme correct and everything else will fall into place. Now, before you jump into conclusions, I must warn you about two things… First, short is LIKE a sex tape but both are two different poles of creativity. Keep this in mind while hiring the actors. Second, short might have a smaller audience base and even fewer people to appreciate the details you worked hard upon. So, keep your expectations low.

I guess we have the context right.

Before jotting down the names of actors you might want to act with, get the script done. Once the script is written, sleep over it for a weekend. Like a wine it will mature and you will be able to shun your initial naïve thoughts about actors. You might change a few scenes or add some shades in the characters as well.

Once you are done with script and cast, do a small workshop with everyone on-board including your technical team. Discuss each character and each sequence, unless you intentionally want to keep things under wraps. Make it a point to discuss your story thoroughly with editor and cameraman. They are the most important people in your team.

Get a camera but don’t let the lack of resources become a show-stopper. If you don’t have a great camera, don’t bother. Many extremely popular videos on Youtube were made on mobile. Once you have a cam… say, action.

Post production work might consume upto 60% of entire span. It’s not about just cutting from rough cuts and adding them. It’s about getting each frame correct. Each second will have a minimum of 25 frames. So, you know how serious job editing is. If you are planning to go for dubbing, I will say ‘Go For It…’ but be ready for many problems ahead. Getting background score correct, getting the mood and flow of dialogs right and lip sync. Unless you can afford a specialist, dubbing is not a million dollar idea.

Now when everything is done… put the video on Youtube or social networking sites… or send to contests. And never forget, nothing beats word of mouth… coz… Short is just like a *******

Written By: Candy Krishnan

Intro To Entries | Between Breaths

Avatars: Ranjan is a smart IT guy whose work pressures are adversely affecting his relationship with Jo. As a desperate measure to make their relationship work, they plan a trip together. But Ranjan has an important client meeting that day. Thanks to a last minute breakthrough, their trip suddenly becomes possible. But Ranjan barely has any time left. All he has at his disposal are a few gadgets that are windows to his online identities. Will he make it? [Arun, Maker's Note]

Zakhm: The movie ‘Zakhm’ serves as a companion piece and extension, to the much acclaimed novel “the Kite Runner” by Khalid Hosseini. Zakhm is set after the ending of the Novel, where Amir tends to ailing Sohrab and confesses his guilt. [Ali, Jury Member's Note]

End: An interesting watch. Has bits of brilliance in concept and treatment of brilliance. [TRM's Note]

Vitesse: Life is all about speed. The best example of speed is the city and its daily chores, which symbolizes life is all about moving ahead, speeding ahead. However, there are people who in their lifespan never enjoy the thrill of speed on their own feet. This film is dedicated to them. [Shubhankar, Maker's Note]

Amaranth: Starts like a hard-hitting crime movie which opens itself to a very positiveambience of a part. As the story unfolds, you realise why its titled... Amaranth. [Sujoy, Third Person's Note]

Watch these shorts at: http://www.thereelmag.in/2011/04/entries-between-breaths.html

Some Amazing Shorts | Between Breaths

• Cashback: 2004. This short deals with fantasy of a person drawing people in a supermarket. The models of his work are real people frozen in time. The movie was made into a movie with the same title.

• Smooth Criminal: A short film on song by the same name from album Bad by none other than Michael Jackson. Its story of a woman who is attacked by an assailant.

• Stand Up For Justice- The Ralph Lazo Story: Humane story of a person who stand for a Japanese-American friend struck in a bad situation after Pearl Harbour.

• Tag 26: A highly appreciated story of two people who almost survived a biological hazard. When one of them is dying, the other removes his security gear to share moments of death.

• Doodlebug: An interesting work by Chris Nolan reflecting existence of multi-dimensional universe, each affecting other in a deja-vu sense. Technically strong, there is not much in story but is compensated by great concept and brilliant execution.

• Precious Images: Directed by Chuck Workman, this movie is a montage of American Movies. The scenes were sorted genre-wise and was highly acclaimed for its cinematic value.

• Purge: A brilliantly directed short speaks about a girl suffering from sexual abuse and her way to handle the trauma.

Amazing Short Makers | Between Breaths

• Anurag Kashyap: Poster boy of Indian new parallel cinema, Anurag is more known for his movies like Black Friday and Dev D. However, his shorts like Last Train To Mahakali are also highly acclaimed. Over the years, he has promoted short film making in India. With Thumbhi he is working on a series of shorts.

• Andreas Samland: Brilliant German short film maker who is known for his works like Tag 26 and Der Blindgänger. His movies have a humane side. The sensibility of his works have won accolades from everywhere his works has been shown.

• Ashvin Kumar: He shot to fame with Oscar nominee short Little terrorist. His shorts include acclaimed Road to Laddakh as well. His works usually have a larger than life moral told very subtly.

• Sean Ellis: Director of short Cashback, Sean is well known for his interesting thoughts and their cinematic adaptation.

• Christopher Nolan: World-wide acclaimed for cerebral value in his works like Memento, Prestige and Inception. His short Doodlebug reflects nothing else. His works are smart and needs some grey cells.

Between Breaths | The Wait Is Over

Entries | Between Breaths

Amaranth by Elango



Zakhm By Sujoy

Vitesse By Shubhankar



Avatars By Arun



End by Pushkar

Introduction To Jury Members | Between Breaths

We have three cine freaks on-board. They have one thing in common... immense love for cinema.

Ali: As co-editor of TRM, he has been doing an amazing job. His understanding of cinematic detailing makes him a perfect candidate to judge the quality of shorts. He tweets at: http://twitter.com/AliNaqvi86

Gyandeep: One word describes him... AMAZING. He amazes you with his indepth knowledge of cinema. Not everyone earns admiration of Rajeev Masand. He tweets at: http://twitter.com/gyandeep4a

Yajur: He is smart and quick. His blogs are interesting and shows his love for cinema. He tweets at: http://twitter.com/YajurKochhar

The Invitation | Between Breaths

The moment is closing by… Between Breaths is waiting for us with open arms and a smile…

The idea of a short is very complicated though it seems very simple. A layman may say, ‘what’s the heck, just pick some cam and get some buddies… and shoot.’ But in a way, shooting and editing a good short is almost as complicated as crafting a good scene for silver screen. Between Breaths celebrates all such efforts.

We at TheReelMag (http://www.thereelmag.in/) invites you to the Between Breaths Fest…

Reserve Your Calendars:

April 1^st                 Participating Videos Will Be Uploaded

                              Jury Members Would Be Introduced

                              Discussions On Short Making On Public Forums Like FB &
                              Twitter

April 2^nd                Introduction To All The Videos

                              Article On Some Highly Acclaimed Shorts

                              Article On Some Highly Acclaimed Short-makers

April 3^rd                Collage Of Some Interesting Comments

                              Article On  Short Film Making

                             Concluding Remarks By Jury Members

April 3^rd-14^th        Voting Window To Select The Best Short

April 16^th              Results

                             Analysis Of Each Participating Video