<FONT COLOR="#FF0033"><B>Guest Article:</B></FONT> Writing for film? Mind the reality gap

This is probably the best time to be working on films. Practically anything one dreams up can be done. The only stumbling blocks are time and price

Vikram Singh

Vikram Singh Productions

"... the javelin thrower runs past the Red Fort and on towards the Ghanta Ghar, the crowd slows down and parts like the Red Sea parting for Moses even as it sees him running through the mid-day crush of Chandni Chowk. A collective sigh is heard when he releases the javelin, which flies in slow motion through the sky dotted with pigeons and hits the bull's eye, stopping the huge Ghanta Ghar clock. The VO says: 'And time stood still'."

The excited young copywriter was on a roll. He had conceived the perfect opening for a launch audio visual. I, 15 years younger (and much trimmer, but that's beside the point), in my first year as a director at the time, was equally excited about the visual possibilities of this scene. We set about working out a rock-bottom quote, as had predictably been requested by the servicing team. After knocking figures around for a while, we came up with our version of the rock-bottom quote. When presented with it, the servicing team fell off their collective chair. I couldn't tell whether they were laughing or crying. The target budget for the exercise was around Rs 60,000 and our rock-bottom number was off by quite a few multiples. I had to respectfully decline this "once in a life time opportunity" to make both cinematic and advertising history in one fell swoop of the javelin.

Cut to 15 years later: I hear another excited copywriter narrate his script. It involves a couple of days of shooting of live action which is to be married with an animated sequence in a seamless movement. Stuff that requires the skills of some of the best brains in the business and pretty elaborate work with motion control rigs and composting systems. Having aged a bit, I am less excited than the copywriter and ask if they have a budget in mind. "No" is the clear answer. When I revert with the budget, the servicing team does an action replay of the scene 15 years ago.

Clearly very little has changed in the last 15 years. Copywriters are still writing scripts without an iota of knowledge of how a film is made. While that may be great when writing a campaign for a mega-budget brand, it is not such a good idea when writing a script for a Rs 30 lakh media campaign, which is where most newbie writers cut their teeth.

What's the reason for such a complete disconnect with the business of film making? Could it be a lack of training or orientation provided by agencies? In fact, shouldn't this sort of on-ground reality check be a part of any serious advertising training? Most agencies hire art people fresh out of commercial art college, and writers on the basis of a passable proficiency in the English language coupled with an overactive imagination. Unfortunately, conceiving a workable film is a different ball game altogether.

Some agencies, mostly in Mumbai, have film departments that are supposed to provide the necessary knowledge base. Unfortunately, these departments, barring a few exceptions, function as post offices and don't really contribute to the creative/costing process. At best, their skills extend to scheduling. It is hard to blame the film departments though, considering the fact that they seldom get any respect for the work they do. Despite being a part of the creative department, they rarely get to be actively involved with the creative process. The result is that most enterprising film department guys last a couple of years before moving on to greener pastures. Training a newbie on the nuances of the business is simply not on the agenda.

With the electronic media accounting for the largest chunk of the advertising pie, this is a glaring lack of foresight on the part of agency administration. A lot of time is wasted at the agency level as creative people go around in circles trying to come to grips with the medium, and worse, go to clients and sell ideas that are quite literally out of this world. It also means that the clients are getting less than they deserve for their money.

This gap is all the more surprising as the very same agencies have a host of training programs in management, finance and HR for their people.

With the influx of newer, sharper technology this is probably the best time to be working on films. Practically anything one dreams up can be done. The only stumbling blocks are time and price.

Therefore, in addition to being up to speed on technology, a creative must be aware of the business side of making films. It is especially important to be aware of the client's budget and tailor the creative solution accordingly. This can also be a creative challenge that leads to some fantastic ideas executed on near-nothing budgets.

At a senior level, there are a number of writers who are writing films intelligently and are using their knowledge of technology and film technique to great effect. Having worked with some of them, I have come to the conclusion that their understanding of the business side is mostly intuitive and does not necessarily come from being well informed. Most creative people who belong to this club have a better understanding of the technological needs of their production than its budgetary needs. In any case, understanding the financial side is not very important for these guys as they have already crossed over to working mega-budget productions and have no need to get their hands dirty with the mundane stuff. Those who actually decide to get their hands dirty switch over to making films full time and set up their own production houses, because after all, the biggest kick for a CD is to direct his own film. That means that any chance of their knowledge being used within their agency is lost.

So, what is a newbie to do? Sadly, I think it's entirely up to him/her. As the industry continues to ignore training on film, I have yet to see any sustained effort in this direction. The best I can offer is – seek out a friendly film professional, (no that's not an oxymoron), and if you ask nicely you might just get to pick their brains over a beer and learn some.

In fact, ask me nicely and stand me a couple of beers, and I'll conduct a whole film basics boot camp for you.

(The writer is an independent advertising filmmaker. You can write to him at

vikramsingh@vsfilms.com.)

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