FAQs
Q: What was the production budget of the film?
A: Lalit Paryani: Our initial aim was to produce this film with the lowest budget possible. Even though we knew that realistically it is not possible to produce the film without spending a single Dirham, we came up with the number of AED1,000 as our budget, excluding the cost of equipment since we already owned all the equipment used for this film.
Q: Was the film shot in a chronological order? Why or why not?
A: Tarun Pancholia: During pre-production, we broke the screenplay down, chronologically, to the shots that would be required to tell the story. Since we had initially planned to submit the film to DIFF and only had two weeks to submit, we re-sorted the shots and made a new list which allowed us to shoot the most number of shots on any given shoot day. This way we were able to finish our principal shoot in 12 days, leaving enough time for post-production before the deadline.
Q: What was the main inspiration to create this film?
A: Lalit Paryani: To be honest, just the idea of being involved in the process of producing a film was our main inspiration since this is our first such undertaking. In addition, we have tried to incorporate the styles of a lot of filmmakers we look upon in an attempt to pay homage to them, not just in the actual film itself but also the promotional material. We're obviously not going to reveal the techniques used since we prefer if the viewer figures it out themselves.
Q: How long did filming/production take?
A: Lalit Paryani: Principal photography took around 12 filming days, and the post-production (including the composition of music, editing, and visual effects) took another 44 days. In all, it took close to two months to film and produce.
Q: What were the major obstacles during the production?
A: Lalit Paryani: The fact that me and Tarun took up all of the responsibilities of production before, during, and after filming meant that we could not give proper attention to all the little details which required attention. On the plus side, it give us a lot of hands on experience about the entire process and helped us learn a lot. In addition, it also made us realise the value of operating with a bigger crew.
Tarun Pancholia: Post production and preparation of marketing material took more time as well since it was only the two of us. When we had initially planned the film we had kept a target of finishing the shoot in 5 days and post production in 10 days but we took almost double the time on both accounts. Even the estimated length of the film was 7-8 minutes initially but the final cut ended up being 14 and a half minutes. The experience from this film will help us to better plan future projects.
Q: Was the entire film shot at a single location?
A: Lalit Paryani: Yes, the entire film was shot at Gerard's Patissiere in Downtown Dubai.
Q: What was the reason of shooting the entire film with a Canon 550D?
A: Tarun Pancholia: The 550D was chosen because I already owned one and we had a tight budget constraint of AED1,000 which ruled out purchase or renting of additional equipment. Besides, the 550D shoots in full HD and was perfect for this project. Even though the film was shot mostly at night, we didn't need a better camera or additional lighting since all the scenes were shot in one, well lit location.
Q: Is there an extended cut of the film?
A: Tarun Pancholia: An initial cut of thirteen and a half minutes was screened privately and we felt that a few scenes could be cut tighter. The final cut is approximately eleven and a half minutes long. Although, none of the scenes from the original cut have been excluded, just the length was shortened.
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