No BOSS no GIRLFRIEND!!!

I don't know why I have this weird habit of having 'unusual' titles. The title actually means,

No PAIN (boss) no GAIN (girlfriend)!!!
Funny story. This weekend it was our first shoot for Love Struck Smart! Everything was planned to the 'T'. I had my main actors, Gagan, Gunjan, Prashant and Kimsi ready (with proper make-up). The equipments were set. My new, portable, 7-inch LCD television was working perfectly, for viewing the action (Yeah, we are adding more technology to our shoots, and I love to show-off. Ha Ha). My assistant director, Raj M. Shah, was geared-up. Nupur, was charged up (for the first time on a movie set). Before I could say ACTION, some mysterious power was directing the entire first day. Things started to go wrong, terribly wrong!!! First blow - Few people, I was expecting them to come, couldn't come. As a result behind the scenes work, started to go haywire!!! This was still manageable. Thanks to Raj!!

Somehow we managed to get our shots till lunch. Second blow - When we resumed, to our SHOCK, the camera didn't start at all & the cassette was stuck. Our entire half-day shoot was ruined. We didn't do ANYTHING to the camera. It just stopped. It just wouldn't turn ON. Disappointment was all around. The entire effort of getting ready, rehearsing the lines, sticking posters, pamphlets to the background walls, the shots, everything was in vain. Being a Saturday, nothing could be done/repaired in the camera. We decided to postpone the shoot for the next weekend. Saying pack-up at 2 in afternoon was heart-breaking. Trust me!!

I and Nupur then decided to go for some shopping (Whenever Nupur is sad/upset, her stress-buster is shopping :-) and it's positively the opposite for me. We then casually entered Best Buy and saw the HUGE Avatar DVD poster at the entrance (it rocks)!! Anyways, so I went to the camcorder section. After the camera incident, it struck me, that if I am making short digital films and call myself a filmmaker, then I should at least own a reasonably good camera. I thought Sony HDR 500 V camera suitable for my-kind-of digital film making (there is no limit to better quality cameras though). In no time, I started to see its reviews online. It was on the expensive side (but who said filmmaking is easy :-)) and after one hour, I came out with a big smile and a camera!!!

BACK ON TRACK!!! I was now, again, ready to shoot on Sunday. Everybody in cast and crew were also excited. Our second day started at 9 am. Same location, same people, same story, same scenes!!! After dedicating 2 hours for make-up and set preparation (Yeah, it's funny that we tried to decorate the already decorated SJSU Student Union area), I called the first SHOT. Exactly 20 seconds later, the security guard came up and said that the entire building is reserved by some group and we will have to leave!!! Again, all efforts before the first shot were in VAIN!!!

It was raining outside. We had to move the entire set up to a different building!!! Actors with full make-up had to walk (2-3 minutes), with loaded bags, camera, tripods, etc etc. It was a joke. The entire scenario looked as if someone is forcing us not to shoot the movie!!! Ha Ha.

But the credit goes to my entire team - Raj, Nupur, Gagan, Gunjan, Kimsi, Prashant, Balli, Sudhir, Priyanka - for their incessant efforts!! Finally, we found a classroom, a college-look that we always wanted, had a camera that gave us a HD video-quality, and we completed 90% of the shoot (only college scenes) in a marathon 11-hour shift.

That's why -- Today's mantra -- No pain no gain!!!

I will post the pictures soon!!!

Regards,
Akshay Prem Vyas
http://www.apvmovies.com/