Acting all day long...

Soumee resumed her shoot. Kirti was on the sofa. Sumana, the cinematographer for the day, moved the lamp besides the sofa to light up Kirti’s face. I was growing restless to point it out that there won’t be any lighting continuity. Mr. Tanmay said let her make her own mistakes and learn. More or less that is all that we are doing right now. I was playing the part of an emotionally distant lover. Not being a trained actor, I took pride every time I was told I did well. But that happened less often as the day progressed.

It is so difficult for actors to stay focused when you have to wait between shots for hours. I recalled how my actor friends always complained about acting for films. They always said it was such a test of patience. At times one even has to wait between takes, at times for the lighting to get right, or art, etc. Moreover I could not differentiate my acting in the good takes from the bad ones. I started walking up to Soumee every time the shot got over. I would not ask anything. I would just make some gesture, and she would tell what went right and what not.

Sumana freaked me out when she asked me to change small nuances, some of which I did not even realize was happening. Put my hand a little more to the left, bend down to the laptop screen a little more, try and catch the light there; I burst out saying this is unreasonable, I can’t be standing like this. Soumee came to the rescue. She completely changed my action, and showed it herself. It was an OK take.

Post lunch Jubaraj started his shoot. Ashok was the cinematographer, Soumee was recoding the sound. I was acting again. For the first shot I had to walk with a bag, one that can be run on wheels. Ashok had to pan with the wheels, as I walk past. I walked a little slower as I came closer to the camera. With decreasing distance between me and the camera, Ashok would need to pan faster. I walked slower to make it easier on Ashok. An actor should always let the camera move with him. Jubaraj rushes to me at the end of the shot. He points out that I was not supposed to walk as slow. I was short on patience. I burst out at him about why I had walked slowly. He checked the shot with Ashok and was OK with it. I walked up to him and apologized in public.

Mr. Tanmay thought that it would now be a good idea to make us familiar with the studio lights. We spent the next hour picking up various lights, mounting them on the stands, etc. He said we could think of dramatic lighting, instead of just simulating practical lights.