| Rajiv Jain ICS WICA, Indian Cinematographer - | | | | This unit allowed us to get a crane, jib, and dolly all in |
| Director of Photography | | | | one. It helped us keep rental costs down and allowed |
| Inside View | | | | us to easily keep the camera alive even when moving |
| By Christine Markee | | | | quickly. |
| Rajeev Jain's DP credits include Army, Badhaai Ho | | | | Markee: Kalpvriksh - The Wishing Tree is about a old |
| Badhaai, Carry on Pandu, Kadachit, Kalpvriksh – | | | | tree. Did Cinemascope lend itself particularly well to |
| The Wish Tree, Mirabai Not out and Pyar Mein Kabhi | | | | that content? |
| Kabhi 7 full length feature films, 5 Short Films, 1032 | | | | Jain: Yes, I believe it did. The film has a lot of deep |
| commercials, 6 TV Series, 43 music videos, 105 | | | | conversations and tight environments with a lot of |
| documentaries & infomercials. | | | | detail; a lesser format would have not given us the |
| Markee: You recently shot the independent feature, | | | | depth and detail we wanted. Manika and I had always |
| Kalpvriksh - The Wishing Tree, in Cinemascope, a | | | | wanted to shoot the film in a 2.35:1 ratio to give a |
| format that had its heyday in the 80s. What prompted | | | | classic Cinemascope look, and the Cinemascope |
| you to use it? | | | | format proved great for it. The wide screen frame |
| Jain: Kalpvriksh - The Wishing Tree was the first | | | | allows for the picture to be layered showing the |
| collaboration between [director] Manika Sharma and | | | | environments each character is surrounded by. We |
| me. This was a low budget project, but we didn't want | | | | also moved the camera a lot to give the film nice |
| it to look like it. Manika's a big believer in shooting film, | | | | rhythm. Shooting 35mm also allowed us to shoot more |
| as am I, but trying to convince producers to spend | | | | quickly and efficiently: We didn't have to worry about |
| most of the budget to shoot 35mm was a hard sell. | | | | HD monitors, clipped highlights, or ND'ing windows. On a |
| 16mm looked to be our only option until I brought the | | | | low budget film time is something you never have |
| 3-perf 35mm idea to the table. After costs were | | | | enough of. |
| compared it [appeared to be] the same cost as 16mm | | | | Markee: Did you have to use special film stock? |
| but with all the qualities of 35mm. | | | | Jain: No, the stock is no different. We chose Kodak |
| The problem was that there were no 3-perf cameras | | | | 50D, for our day scenes to get a very classic, colorful |
| available in Mumbai that time. I was at a post house | | | | and high-contrast picture. For interiors we used Kodak |
| when someone in the lab said they'd heard I was | | | | 500T, a high-speed stock with great range and sharp |
| looking for a 3-perf camera and had heard Prasad | | | | detail. Both stocks have a very classic yet natural look, |
| had one. We got them, took them to Mumbai on a test | | | | something we were definitely trying to achieve. |
| shoot and they were fantastic. The image gave us | | | | Markee: You seem to have unleashed a new wave |
| everything we had hoped for and Kalpvriksh - The | | | | of Cinemascope production since Kalpvriksh - The |
| Wishing Tree became the first 3-perf film to shoot in | | | | Wishing Tree wrapped. |
| India in quite some time. | | | | Jain: About the time we finished principal photography |
| Markee: Did you have a learning curve? | | | | Aaton was finally ready with its new Penelope |
| Jain: The non-forgiving negative size. What you see in | | | | camera body for 3-perf, and ARRI called to tell me |
| the frame is exactly what's photographed on the | | | | they could now modify any of their Arricam or 535 |
| negative, no more no less – there's no ‘wiggle' | | | | camera movements to handle 3-perf. |
| room at all. With 3-perf, a hair in the gate is a very big | | | | There's been a lot of buzz. Cameramen want |
| deal. | | | | alternatives to the costs of 35mm and limitations of |
| Manika and I did a lot of prep, but even with that we | | | | digital. Cinemascope is a great alternative for films |
| still had a tight schedule: 55 days of principal | | | | looking to shoot 35mm but needing a cost-effective |
| photography and two days of pickups. We used | | | | option to bring to producers. Although I'm now shooting |
| every tool we could and called in every friend and | | | | my first RED feature, Getting Back to Zero, in Nairobi |
| favor to get the best film we could. One of the cool | | | | and next is a 3D action film in Dubai, I'm looking |
| tools we had was a Jimmy jib, "The BMW of cranes." | | | | forward to shooting Cinemascope again. |