For the first time in the history of non-fiction shows in India, episodes of a reality show titled ‘Super Singer’ are being completely shot on mobile phone camera. A new episode of a Bengali serial titled ‘Ke Apon Ke Por’ too has been shot on mobile for their special Poila Boishakh episode.
After lockdown came into effect, Star Jalsha had requested director Subhankar Chattopadhyay to record a cappella version of a music video with his mobile phone. After its success, the next step was to shoot two episodes of ‘Super Singer’ at home using mobile phones. With no tracks in place, participants played their own instruments and sung alongside. The judges recorded their reactions after watching these recordings before Jisshu U Sengupta shot his portion at home.
Shooting involved a lot of coordination with judges Jeet Gannguli and Kumar Sanu being in Mumbai and Kavita Krishnamurthy in Bengaluru. The participants, meanwhile, were spread across various parts of Bengal. “This is the first reality show I shot where participants had to understand lights, audio and camera angles besides concentrating on their own performances. A family member was told where to stand and record the video. Shooting of a reality show requires multi-camera setup. Here participants use different mobile phones with various kinds of resolutions. Matching the resolutions of individual cameras and audio clarity is tough. The editor has a tougher job in editing the individual videos to fit them into an episode format. No ambience sound should be present during the shoot,” said Chattopadhyay.
According to Sengupta, “Instead of a shooting with a unit of 200 people, we are doing everything at home. Unlike the usual process, the first two episodes were completed scripted. For the third and fourth episode, musicians are recording the tracks and sending them across to the participants. They will sing to those tracks and then record their portions.”
For the viewers, watching a programme shot on mobile phone camera gives a new kind of experience. “The viewer gets to see the interior decoration of the stars’ houses and that of the participants. During telecast, multiple windows pop up on the screen to experience the simultaneous reactions of everyone in the show. The grandeur of the set is missing,” Chattopadhyay added.
Meanwhile, Sudipa Chatterjee is also keen on shooting fresh episodes of her cookery show — ‘Zee Bangla’r Rannaghor’ — on a mobile camera. “I am ready to do it if the channel requests. In fact, if Artists Forum and our Federation has no problem, I will be more than happy to shoot this way in my own kitchen,” Chatterjee said.
Chattopadhyay, who is also directing ‘Dadagiri’ and had started pre-production work for ‘Mirakkel’, is keen to experiment with the mobile-phone shooting for this popular quiz show. “Currently, we do not have the logistics to shoot a quiz show where six participants and Dada can be seen together on the same screen during the buzzer round. But if the channel wants, I am ready to experiment,” Chattopadhyay said.
Source: Times of India
