Sunday, October 31, 2010

Day 345: Back with a Bang!

30 October, 2010

I think the continuous work in the office followed by the film work had finally gotten to me and I was in a bad shape the last couple of days. Back pain, stiff shoulders, migraines etc. etc. I was so sick of being so tired that I couldn't get myself to do anything on the film for two days. The mere sight of the computer was making me angry.

But today I was back on the editor's chair, and that to with a big bang! OK so the day started with a dubbing session which I had dragged myself to in spite of yet another headache. That was followed by lunch at my favourite Swadishth and a solid 2 hour nap. Post the nap, I was at another dubbing session and a footage-viewing & discussion session with my cinematographer.

And then, at about 10:45 pm, I felt rejuvenated! I felt that there can't be anything better than editing in my life! So over a banana and a bottle of my favourite Starbucks Frappucino, I started to edit. The time now is 4:36 am on 31st October and I am super duper happy about the progress so far! After two days of cribbing about the film, now I can go to bed feeling good about it once again.

Awesomeness.

655 more to go.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Day 344: "Hi-Lo"

29 October, 2010

In my continued efforts to improve my fitness level prior to the trek, today I attended my very first "hi-lo" class. Obviously the name doesn't do much to tell you what the class is supposed to be for, so I went in with no clue on what to expect. But it was all pretty good stuff! The first half was high intensity aerobics and the second half was pretty hard toning exercises with light weights. Felt super good after it (and very much in pain).

Another wonderful new class option after kickboxing and step!

656 more to go.

Day 343: A Reason to Smile!

28 October, 2010

Today was one of those utterly crappy days at work. It was such a long and tiring day with absolutely nothing to write home about that there was a serious risk of no blog entry. Then late in the evening I got an email from an independent film screening venue in Singapore. They had heard about Mausams and were offering their venue for its premiere at a good discount.

Now that really perked me up! It is always a happy thing to see someone else interested in the film apart from me! And also to see that the word on it is spreading!

I am not sure whether we will take this offer up because we already have another venue confirmed, but their email did give me a good reason to smile at the end of the day! And the day was no longer just a long, tiring, crappy one.

657 more to go.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Day 342: Step!

In my continuous attempt of building my fitness prior to the trek, today I tried out the step class at the gym. I had taken one around 4 years ago and had enjoyed it and this was total fun too! It's almost like dancing, which I love anyway. So I had a great time moving to the beats, remembering all the moves and of course sweating it out. Awesome!

So here is to both kickboxing and step! Very cool exercises, both!

658 more to go.

Day 341: It's Magic!

26 October, 2010

Today was a day I had been waiting for, with a reasonable amount of apprehension. Because today was the day that one of my short films was supposed to be screened on the big screen, with more than a 100 people watching it. It's the first such experience for me and I was not totally looking forward to it.

Here's some background. More than a year ago I made a 6-minute film called It's Magic which I then put up on the internet for my friends and family to watch. When I got some decent feedback to it (which could have been highly biased of course), in a very ambitious moment, I jumped straight to make a feature film, Mausams. And needless to say, after that I completely forgot about It's Magic.

Until a couple a of months ago, when the curator of Sinema, which is the Singapore Independent cinema organization, contacted me and said that she would like 'it's Magic' to be part of this short film showcase called Sinema Showoff. Sinema Showoff is a monthly showcase of independent films from Singapore as well as overseas and it usually follows a theme every month. For the month of October the theme was to be "Masala mix" by which they meant a film that had something Indian about it. Six such films were chosen for the showcase and somehow 'It's Magic' became a part of it.

So the deal was that these 6 films would be screened and that would be followed by a Q&A session with the directors. I was totally convinced that I would make a thorough fool out of myself at the event. Firstly, all the other directors seemed to know what they were doing based on their bios and secondly, I wasn't really sure what it would be like to have more than a 100 people watch your movie in front of you and then ask you questions. Jeez! That was a bit scary.

But there was nothing to be scared of really. Not only did the event go smoothly for me, I actually had fun! I had some great company in the form of my 12 supporters (comprising primarily of the hubby and the Mausams team) who made it all very relaxed and fun! Oh and the audience was pretty good as well. In fact a few of them even came over and said that they liked the film... so that was pretty encouraging!

And it was really a very interesting experience watching the crowd watch my film. How their attention gets distracted when the film drags a bit, how they focus during the critical parts, how the music brings about a change in the mood, how they react to certain lines, etc. etc. was all very new and exciting to observe!

Also the Q&A session was not as hard as I thought it would be. I gave out the best of answers I could come up with at that point in time and the general opinion is that I didn't come off as a complete idiot. For the few moments when I was seated at the panel with the other directors, sharing my film making wisdom, I think I actually felt like a real director! Ahhh!

So yes, it was a new experience. A great one at that. Awesome!

659 more to go.

Day 340: 19.9%!

25 October, 2010

I have a weighing machine in my house. That measures not just the weight but also the body fat percentage. It might not be all that accurate but it gives you something to track your fat obesity.

When I graduated I had a ridiculous 40% body fat (highly obsese, considering 21-25% is considered average for females of my age and 16 - 20% is considered "fit"). This dropped down to about 25% - 27% a year ago thanks to hot yoga. But my biggest dream was to be "fit" according to my weighing scale. That is to drop below 20% one day.

And today was that day! Today, for the first time ever, the scale dropped below 20%, officially declaring me "fit"! Yay! OK fine, if you really want to be super specific, it was 19.9% exactly but STILL. I have finally dropped a whole 20 points in body fat!

And I think it's pretty goddamn awesome! Woooohooooo!

660 more to go.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Day 339: Jhootha Hi Sahi

23 October, 2010

After yet another day of back breaking editing, dubbing, website, sound design work etc., I decided that I needed a proper break. So in the evening we went to catch Jhootha Hi Sahi, a hindi movie that has been getting mixed responses from the critics (actually skewing more towards the negative).

The cinema hall was almost empty, which was rather sad because the film was really quite enjoyable! Sure, it has some ill placed songs and a over dramatic climax but otherwise it's really a very cute film and definitely worth a watch! I found it the perfect break from my work and had a lovely 2 hours!

Post the film, in spite of the fact that it was well past midnight, the hubby and I walked over to a 24-hour Starbucks and had a Chai Latte each! Ah! That was the perfect end to a very productive weekend!

661 more to go.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Day 338: 3 Priorities

23 October, 2010

I have 3 priorities these days, other than the obvious ones such as work, family etc. One is very evidently Mausams post production work. The other two are my fitness level and my preparation for the upcoming trek in November.

Thanks to my ridiculously extreme hectic schedules these days, I am not being able to hit hot yoga anymore. So I try to do a bit of running, a bit of swimming, a bit of walking etc. every other day. This is also to ensure that am in way physically healthy enough to take on the trek.

But the trek needs not only good health...I also need to ensure I have all the clothing and other necessities that would make me comfortable enough during the trek. As such I had written a packing list of all that I have to take with me (which had then resulted in the wonderful handwriting conversation I had written about here) but had not gotten around to actually acting on that list.

Today I managed to make some progress in ALL 3 priorities.

1) I had a few hours dub and the whole Mausams gang was in for dubbing for their "group" shots. It was an extremely annoying and at the same time, fun experience. Annoying because they couldn't stop chattering about everything under the sun other than what's really needed for the dub, which resulted me in screaming "KEEP QUIET GUYS" a million times. And it was fun because....well, it just was. In all their craziness, this bunch is still quite fun!
2) I climbed my 35-storey apartment up and down. That made me feel really good because I was going crazy from no physical activity since last Monday's kickboxing.
3) While the hubby played tennis with his friends in the evening, I went out on a shopping trip and bought some of the pending items on my trek packing list. But more importantly, once I got back, I actually PACKED everything! This is a major achievement because in the process of packing for the trek, I ended up doing the long overdue unpacking of my 2 suitcases that I had carried on my business trips.

Nett, it's one helluva productive day!

662 more to go.

Day 337: 'Happy Mausams'

22 October, 2010

I wrote the "Director's Note" for the Mausams website and sent it to a friend (who is also a cast member) for his opinions. He said that the note is quite a happy one, it shows how much I have enjoyed this whole experience behind the film. In his own words, he said "It's almost like you can end off saying 'Happy Mausams'"!

And guess what. After a brief hiatus, my life is completely revolving around Mausams again. I spent the Friday night editing as well as having music and sound design discussions way past midnight. So if you ask me what exactly made the day special, there's nothing new to write but that. Bad needless to say, to me, it was one kick-ass beauty of a day!

It's indeed "Happy Mausams"!

663 more to go.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Day 336: Back on the Editor's Chair

21 October, 2010

I used to do the editing for the film in its early stages until my eyes started to crumble under the pressure (in other words, it started to tear like nobody's business) and the doctor asked me to give them some rest. Then came my life saver of an editor, a friend who was based in UAE then. He took over the editing fully and did a brilliant first cut. But due to the geographical distance between us we could not collaborate as much as what's necessary. So for me to give feedback to him is a very painful process.

Today, I thought, well... maybe it is easier to edit on top of his edit and use that as a feedback instead of a hundred emails. And thus I was back on the editor's chair today and it was so much fun! Editing is seriously a very satisfactory thing to do. Working at snipping away all that's not needed while keeping the good parts intact to ultimately get the perfect product, is very very fulfilling.

So I did about 6 hours of edit in the night and had a great time doing it!

664 more to go.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Day 335: Sound Design & Music Production

20 October, 2010

Super cool day! Via a friend, who also happens to be the genius composing the Mausams soundtrack, I have gotten help with sound design for a quote that's simply a steal as well as sponsorship for the music production! The contract was settled today and the work has begun. With this hopefully the Mausams budget has come to a close, within our target!

The excitement is too much I tell you! Very, very happening days!

665 more to go.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Day 334: Music!

19 October, 2010

Today I got to listen to the very first draft of the very first track of Mausams music. And I LOVED it!!! Ahhh!!!! It was only a minute long but I knew we have gotten it right. We are very much on the right track!

I am currently SO excited that I am still up (it's well past 2 am). The work for me on the film has been going on for more than a year... and now finally, everything is falling in place! It's such a beautiful process!

And now I can't wait for April (premiere)!

666 more to go.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Day 333: Kickboxing!

A colleague wanted me to accompany her to lunch-time kickboxing class at the nearby gym. I thought, why not! So I tagged along with her and took a high-intensity, adrenalin-pumping, heart-thumping, kick boxing class! As expected we kicked and boxed like nobody's business. For about an hour. It made an otherwise drab Monday rather enjoyable! It definitely has the ability to turn all those blues into glees and I feel stronger already!

Looking forward to making this a habit - Monday Kickboxing!

667 more to go.

Day 332: Surprise from School!

17 October, 2010

Today I woke up to a big surprise! As soon as I got out of bed and did my routine check of my email, I saw a note from a teacher from my old school - she had commented on this blog! It was SUCH a big surprise! I haven't seen her in ages and to think she had heard of the blog, took time to read and then comment - it absolutely and completely made my day!

668 more to go.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Day 331: Vanity Fair

16 October, 2010

I consider myself less vain than the average woman (and my super pretty and well dressed colleagues from SK-II, the premium skincare brand I used to work on earlier, would vouch for that - they used to have a hard time getting me to look decently made up). I usually avoid dressing up and wearing make up and the last time I got a manicure and pedicure was about 4 years ago, for my wedding.

But after looking like crap for months on end, once in a while I do have a craving to dab a bit of foundation and smear a lip stick.

Today was one of those days.

Looking good had been the last thing on my mind ever since I started to shoot for the film about 6 months ago. As a result, almost every behind-the-scene picture used to have me looking like I haven't eaten or slept for weeks while all my actresses around me looked incredibly pretty.

Today I found myself with a free evening, having completed the dubbing exercise earlier than expected. So it was decided that the hubby and I would grab dinner from Clarke Quay, one of the hippest night places in Singapore. So I put on one of my nicer dresses , put on a bit of make up and went out. (FYI, I still avoided heels. Those are painful and not really worth the effort unless under pressing circumstances).

And it was a good outing! It's like I got in touch with my feminine side!

Back at home, I experimented a few different looks with different make up colours I had bought over time but never used. It was quite a fun exercise for a while. But then when I started looking like a devil and scared my husband (and also self, in the mirror), I decided it was time to wipe it all off.

So yes, today was a vain, fun day! Until the next one!

669 more to go.

Day 330: Training Begins!

15 October, 2010

I've already mentioned here several times about my upcoming trek to Sandakphu & Phalut (in India). Obviously I am super duper excited about it! And also super duper nervous because we are covering an average of 15 kms per day on hilly terrain. GULP! I have never done that kinda thing before!

So I got myself a brand new pair of hiking boots and decided to walk in it as many days as possible and as far as possible. First day (last Tuesday), it was only a pathetice 6km that I could cover and my target was a minimum 10km.

Today however, I covered the targeted 10Kms... yay! Of course this is still less than the ideal of 15km which is going to be all the more harder when you have to do it 7 days in a row. But at least I have begun my training and am mighty pleased with it.

So yes, training has begun. Shopping has begun. Packing has begun. SO looking forward to it!

670 more to go.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Day 329: Website Work Begins!

14 October, 2010

Now that we have a tentative date for the premiere of the film, we are officially starting on some publicity work. Three friends and I met up today to go through all the details of the website, that should be put up within the next one month. After a very fun and productive discussion, one of the friends and I had some really cheap but awesome Mexican food over some great conversation!

A productive and good day!

671 more to go.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Day 328: Handwriting

13 October, 2010

It was a very normal day of work. It didn't even have the highlight of some exercising because I was too lazy for it. The day would have ended with pretty much nothing to write about, until yet another intellectually-stimulating, jaw-droppingly enlightening conversation took place between The Hubby and I. Over Handwriting. His and Mine.

It all began like this. While he was packing for yet another business trip to Korea, I was writing down my things-to-pack for the upcoming trek. After I was satisfied with the rather long list, I showed it to the hubby, partially to get his opinion on whether I might have missed out something and partially to show off. After all, I am going on a rather adventurous trip and he is not joining. Ha!

He glanced at the paper and commented (rather uselessly, if I may add): "Your handwriting sucks."

Me: It's better than yours.

He: No, it's not.

Me: Erm... yes, it is.

He: No, it is not.

Me: OK....like how?

He: Mine is like hmmmm....aaaahhhh. Yours is like uuggghhhh....eeeuuuu.

Me: Oh. That makes sense.

He: *shrugs*

Me: Why don't we test it out? You write something on one page and I will write the exact same thing on another page and we can compare the two pages!

He: *shrugs*

Taking the shrug as an acceptance to the challenge, I started brainstorming for the ultimate sentence which, upon being written, would determine whose handwriting rocks and whose sucks. Finally a sentence was agreed mutually agreed upon: "I will be travelling next month."

I wrote the sentence first. He wrote the sentence next. We put both the pages side by side.

"See? This one is SO much better", both of us synchronized...each pointing at his/her own writing.

Me: Well.....how is yours better than mine?

He: Your "u" and "v" look the same.

Me: Your "n" and "v" look the same.

He: So?

Me: Erm...so that would be a bigger problem!

He: Still.... yours just doesn't cut it.

Me: And yours does?

He: Of course. Mine is like... it... you know... it just... it just Flowers Out!

Me: Am sorry what?

He: You know it just Flowers Out?! (he is very excited by now and is indicating some flowering action with his hands)

Me: Erm. Do you mean "blossoms"?

He: Ah... blossoms... that's what it is. It blossoms!

Me: But you called "blossoms" "flowers out"?

He: Of course. "Flowers Out" makes so much more sense than "blossoms". These English had nothing better to do than make new words for things that ocould already have been expressed with current words. (Looking rather exasperated with the English for their stupidity but at the same time pleased with his own contribution to the English vocabulary). "Flowers Out!" Ahh!

Me: Fine. so why does your handwriting "blossom" or "flower out" and mine doesn't?

He: You look at mine. It says "I've arrived". You look at yours. It says "I'll never make it in life."

Me: Huh? You are telling me that I'll never make it in life?

He: No. Not you. Just your letters.

Me: What?

He (sighs, then gently places his hand on my shoulder and gives me a rather patronizing look): It's OK my dear. I don't expect you to understand it. (Significant pause) Your handwriting is alright. If that makes you happy.

With that he went back to his Korea packing.

672 more to go.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Day 327: A Nice Weekday

12 October, 2010

Today was a weekday I actually enjoyed more than normal. I left home early and took a bus to office as usual. The hubby was also expected to go through his usual routine - wake up relatively late, get ready in a super rush, take a cab and go to his office. Only thing was that today, instead of doing his usual stuff, he called in sick with a headache.

On such rare occasions when the hubby calls in sick, I buy lunch back for both of us and work from home for the rest of the day. And that's what I did today too. I bought back lunch and worked from home for the rest of the day.

After lunch, some medicine and some rest, the hubby was completely fit, so he planned for a tennis session with his friends while I went for a long swim.

Then I started fiddling with my new camera. Shot the boys playing tennis in as many variations as possible. It was quite fun and I already feel like I will make a decent photographer after some trial and error!

The day ended with dinner with the tennis boys, which was also quite fun.

So there. I can't really put my finger what exactly about the day made me feel good but all of the above did play a part. Enough to say that I was happy!

673 more to go.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Day 326: Freaking Gorgeous Day!

Yup. Today was more than a beautiful day. Two things that happened that made me super duper happy!

Firstly, the date for my feature film's premiere has been fixed! And we have an offer for venue sponsorship by one of the independent screening venues in Singapore! While the offer came in a couple of days ago, the date was finalized only today after further discussion with them. This doesn't mean we are ready to go ahead and screen the film yet, there is still tons of post production work remaining but if all goes well, we should be premiering Mausams on January 20th, 2011!

So obviously that got me really very excited!

And then I got an even better news!

I had written here about how I came across an old, ailing beggar lady when I was in India and was disappointed with myself for not having helped her sufficiently. After having written about it on the blog and feeling miserable for a while, it kinda went off my mind after a few days.

But what I didn't realize was that my super cool mom, having read the blog and realizing that the experience had really gotten me down in the dumps, had made some arrangements to track down that old lady! The event had taken place at a tailor's and my mom went back to them to check whether the lady goes there often. They told her that she does come once in a while and the next time she comes, they would let my mom know.

Today my mom called me up saying that she got a call from the tailors'. They had gotten the lady to wait and my mom rushed there to meet her! She gave the lady some money (and this time it was sufficient for medicines) and clothes, much to the her surprise and delight apparently! How freaking awesome is that?!

That was seriosuly like the best news ever! Who would have thought she could be tracked down! And who would have thought my mom was masterminding this whole thing behind my back! Am so very happy!

In short, two (very different) things that I really wanted, have happened today - the possibility of a decent premiere for my film and a chance to help that lady.

Here's to the team of Mausams!

Here's to the old lady and to my fantastic mom!

And here's to wanting something with all you heart that God is left with no choice but to conjure it up!

674 more to go.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Day 325: Dub & Dinner

Another long day of fruitful, fun and extremely tiring dubbing.

I was so exhausted post the 7 hours that I just collapsed and slept off for a couple hours. After that, it was time for dinner at a close friend's place. He and I have been making dinner plans forever and somehow it never materialized. But today's the great day when it finally did happen!

Over a good meal cooked by my friend's lovely wife, I pushed the dubbing and the movie out of my head for a while and sat back and enjoyed the conversation. Felt great!

675 more to go.

Day 324: Dubbing Begins!

9 October, 2010

Today was the first official day of the dub! To get myself energized and prepared for it I went swimming in the morning. It's been more than two weeks with any kinda exercise, so that was a good start to the day. Then began dubbing. 13 hours straight with a couple of short breaks. No less.

And we have are just the tip of the iceberg really. The amount of work this takes is mind boggling! But I do feel good about the progress so far. It's slow but very steady.

So yeah, Mausams post production is in full swing! And more than anything else, it was great to be back with the team again working on the film! That fun is definitely worth all the dubbing pains!

676 more to go.

Day 323: Anweshana

8 October, 2010

Once upon a time, I used to be a Bharatnatyam dancer. But as time passed on (or in other words, once I graduated from uni) I kinda gave up on it. But once in a while I love watching a Bharatnatyam performance and feel nostalgic about all those days with the jingles.

Today was one such day. Watched the show "Anweshana" which was put together by a good friend of mine. It was held in NUS, put up by NUS students, and so it felt really good watching it in what's supposed to be my home ground. I also got to meet several old friends from my previous "dance life" and that was nice too!

677 more to go.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Day 322: A Dubbing Studio & A Camera

7 October, 2010

What a super duper exciting day!

Firstly, I have a dubbing studio set up! With a proper mic and Mac interface, it's working brilliantly! I also did an entire scene's dubbing with the hubby and my personally biased opinion is that its perfect! Perfect sync, perfect quality (and of course, perfect emoting by the hubby). Dubbing officially begins on Saturday when some of the others join in and I am well prepared for it now! So looking forward to it!

Secondly, I got a Canon 550D! Yippiee! It was supposed to be my gift to my hubby for his birthday this year but he was being really a tough nut about it, saying that he didn't care too much for cameras. So the idea was dropped then. But now that my first ever backpacking trek to Himalayas has been confirmed (YES!!!!), it was time I got a good camera as well. Thus begin my preparations for what I believe would be one of the most memorable experiences of my life!

SO excited!

678 more to go.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Day 321: Mausams Second Phase

6 October, 2010

Now that the first cut edit has been completed the ball is in my court as far as the film is concerned. And thus began the second and the last phase on Mausams, in full swing. I had already started a bit on it over the weekend but today I really got neck deep in it.

I spent 8.5 hours at work and 5 hours on Mausams. I was working on editing corrections, website work, dub requirements, screening details (yes, am starting to think about how and where to get this screened) etc.

Looks like it's back to the groove.

679 more to go.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Day 320: Unwinding

5 October, 2010

Today was the end of a really long journey. A journey at work. The past couple of months had been tough with severals deliverables and today all of it came to a successful climax. I will not get in to the details of what the successes were exactly, but basically all my work has been well accepted and appreciated. After the final presentation to the management, which was also approved, I told my manager, "I can quit happily now. What a culmination!" To which she rolled her eyes and walked away. OK then.

Post the final meeting at noon, I could literally feel my brains and body loosening. I just sat around chit-chatting with different colleagues, not really being able to get myself to do any solid work. I even had grand yoga plans which I happily pushed off my mind and instead just came home and watched 4 episodes of Glee back to back.

Major winding down. Felt so good. A super hectic but super satisfying time has come to an end!

680 more to go.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Day 319: Thanee Vazhi!

Now that we are in the Enthiran/Robot wave, everyone seems to talking about Superstar Rajni. (For the uninformed, Enthiran or Robot is the biggest film in Indian cinema till date and the lead dude is Rajnikanth, who is mostly referred to has Superstar Rajni by his adoring fans).

OK so there is one super dialogue by the superstar from one of his earlier super movies, which is pretty much the most famous tamil dialogue ever. It goes like this: "Enn Vazhi...Thanee Vazhi." That kinda means "My path. A separate/individual/unique/solo path". I have put all the different articulations I could think for that. But you get the point. It means, in a way, that you gotta figure out your own journey.

I decided to put that principle into my life today.

You see, I had formed the conclusion that I have worked really really hard the last one year and that I do need a break. That was when the hubby broke the news that he has still 10 days of leave left for the year as well. That was great! Immediately, the decision to take a holiday was made and my heart longed for a trekking trip. I did a ton of research, had several communications with several travel agents and finally zeroed in on the week long Singalila trek that starts from Darjeeling in November - during the one single week that my darling hubby seemed to be able to choke out of his busy schedule.

Today, after all that planning I did, the hubby broke the news that even that one free week is gone, because he will now be going to US just then. Oh well. There goes my trekking plan, I thought. I was disappointed to say the least, because I was really really looking forward to this.

Then I thought, wait a minute. Why should all be lost?! One one hand, the hubby was not very keen on this in the first place - his concerns were mainly about the lack of other human beings around, lack of TV, phone network, proper washrooms and the works. On the other hand, my dad has expressed interest in joining and we could very well have a nice dad-daughter outing even without the hubby. Now even if my dad too cant make it, this is something I can do perfectly on my own. After all, I have guides, porters etc. with me and it is all a properly planned trip from a reputed agent! So what really stops me here?

You see why the blog is called Thanee Vazhi now? Yeah, the decision has been made, I will go on this trek no matter what. (Disclaimer: unless of course, God decides otherwise for some reason). As long as the decision is in my hands, I will make it. Even if alone.

Having made that really cool thanee decision, I felt awesome! I immediately set out for shopping and checked out rucksacks, thermals, sleeping bags and down jackets and have successfully narrowed down where I can buy them at reasonable prices! Great progress within a day.

Now really looking forward to going there. Fingers crossed!

681 more to go.

Day 318: 13 hours, Edit & CWG!

3 October, 2010

I just slept. With the fatigue from the travels, the flu and the drowsy medicines, that's the best thing I could do. So I slept straight on for 13 hours. And woke up refreshed.

Then began work on the editing second round for Mausams. It's gonna be good, I feel.

Then watched the lovely CWG opening ceremony. After all that crap surrounding it for the last few weeks, it was heartening to see something that wow-ed me.. and the world. They really did pull everything together. Inspiring stuff!

682 more to go.

Day 317: Enthiran!

2 October, 2010

Got back Singapore after another week of travel and straight away went to bed for hours and hours of sleep. And then, it was time for the much awaited, most expensive Indian movie ever made featuring the one and only "Superstar" Rajnikanth! With the Mausams cast for company, I watched the 3-hour visual extravaganza.

To be honest, I prefer some of the superstar's earlier films, but this was quite a watch nevertheless. I had an enjoyable 3 hours! Later we sat together for some coffee and I gave a quick debrief to the team on the edit of our own little film.

After India's biggest movie, it's time to get on with the second phase (further editing, sound, dubbing, music etc.) of work on our own movie! Exciting times ahead!

683 more to go.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Day 316: M.E.T Brothers & Mausams Edit!

1 October, 2010

This is a historic day, to say the least! Today's the day me, the founder of Kathaah productions, got to meet the three brothers behind M.E.T films - the guys who are working on Mausams editing, sound etc! I met one of them, my main editor now, about a year ago online. He had gotten hold of my short film and commented on it online and I had replied back. What started from there led to full fledged chats on films until we were sharing scripts and films with each other for feedback and inspiration. Finally, when Mausams happened and I was neck deep in production, direction and editing etc., my eyes started to fail and I realized that I was not meant to edit this film. It will have to be my friends in M.E.T films.

And so after a long play of fate, today I got to meet them personally. I had not even spoken to them over the phone previously, all over conversations had been over chat, so this was incredible!

After a breakfast meeting with my colleagues followed by our last round of consumer work for the visit, we returned to the hotel. Then two of the three M.E.T brothers came to pick me up. We had 1.5 hours of journey through Mumbai's notorious traffic which was made rather pleasant with the hilarious conversations that took place.

They took me to their uncle's place where, over some ordered Indian-Chinese food, I got to watch the first edit of Mausams! That was MY film... running to a good 120 minutes... put together after a painstaking month by my editor! It was surreal to say the least. I believe it took me quite a while to really absorb that THAT was end product of almost a year's work! And to think my editor has done such a fine job even without anything to help him other than the script and the raw footage is incredible! Sure there is a fair amount of work remaining on the edit (this was only the first draft), but it's really a very promising start!

After the film viewing and a detailed discussion with my editor on what changes are to be made, the three brothers dropped me at the airport after another 1.5 hours of a hilarious journey.

So yes, my India trip has ended very successfully... after a successful presentation, finally meeting the M.E.T brothers and leaving with a hard disk that has my first ever feature film draft edit. Feels SO good!

684 more to go.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Day 315: Presentation

30 September, 2010

That presentation that I had been working on and has been driving me crazy the last couple of weeks, has finally been presented and accepted well! Am SO relieved! Also had a great day with colleagues, even though it was a really long day. Productive! Now am looking forward to watching the first FULL edit of my feature film Mausams tomorrow! SO super excited!

685 more to go.