Master of Light: Conversation with Contemporary Bollywood Cinematographer Rajeev Jain

Master of Light: Conversation with Contemporary Bollywood Cinematographer – Rajeev Jain ICS WICA
Rajiv Jain – Indian Cinematographer / DOP - The Complete Interviews, Vol. I

The Shape of Light – Rajiv Jain Paints with His Camera
Rajeev Jain (Born: 1968, Lucknow) started working as a director of photography in 1993, after serving an apprenticeship as camera assistant and camera operator. Since then Rajeev has worked as director of photography with some of India’s most esteemed directors, in some cases establishing a close and intimate association. We met up with Rajeev Jain in India, on the occasion of a five day seminar organized by the Delhi Film Club on The Shape of Light, an event which saw the participation of hundreds of students, filmmakers from across India.
How has cinematography changed in the last fifteen years?
I went to the Bhartendu Academy of Dramatic Arts (Bhartendu Natya Academy) in Lucknow during the period of the new wave. We were witnessing a cinematographic quality which had ‘unchained’ itself in many senses in films from the period until the end of the 1980’s. Even the montage was much more liberated, and Cinematographer/ Directors, with Gautam Ghose at the forefront, were searching for greater liberty. Even when it came to shooting, using hand-held cameras, using natural lighting, or lighting in a way which seemed natural, such as through open windows, etc. In other words an absolute freedom whether with camera movement or lighting.
And in our country?
In India there was still a more classical style of photography, and I am making reference such as Subroto Mitra, Sudhendu Roy, who worked with Satyajit Ray up until Agantuk (1991). Meanwhile other new cinematographers with different ideas were also emerging, like Ashok Mehta (36 Chowrangi Lane), especially with black and white. But this black and white image with its own proper aesthetic beauty had a characteristic quality of merging lighting to atmosphere or ambience. Hence from this point on maybe cinematography acquired a more important significance, a complete symbiosis with the film and the narrative.
Can the meeting between director and director of photography influence the career of one or the other?
During the seminar a meeting of a good director of photography and a great poet. With the cinema of Ray, on the other hand, there was without a doubt a decisive turn with the arrival of Pather Panchali (1955) onward.
Which filmmakers have made a particular impression on you?
The rapport with Shyam Benegal on Tota Maina (TV Series) certainly was for me an event which I remember with great emotion until this day. I meet people who confide with me that they decided to become a director of photographer after seeing that serial, or directors who decided to enter cinema thanks to Tota Maina. For example, one day there was a kenyan boy who happened to be at my house that decided to come to India to make Tv seial after seeing Tota Maina. So it has been an important film for many people, and much more for me because I was lucky to work with Shyam babu.

How did you meet?
It was quite by accident. He was looking for a director of photography who was also mentally prepared for this adventure, and through various sources my name came up. A friend of mine who worked as assistant director introduced me to Shyam babu. I remember when he called to tell me that Shyam Benegal wanted to meet me. We met at his office for tea, and at the end of this encounter he takes out a script and offers it to me. I can feel the emotion of that moment right now.
Can you tell us about the TV Series’s ‘dynamic photography’?
Shyam babu used to tell me that TV uses time like a narrative element, while the photography normally remains constant for the duration of a sequence. It is precisely time that the ‘dynamic photography’ exploits to render a different consistency to the film. An example is the atmospheric conditions within nature: if during a cloudy day the sun comes out at a certain moment this will modify the condition of the light. In an interior space if someone enters a dark room and turns on the light this will change the condition of the light. However, this is all tied to precise actions. This discourse is amplified in Tota Maina, where in addition to variations in natural light were added variations which correspond to emotional motivation rather than any sense of logic.
During some scenes you also used different shutter speeds, sometimes barely noticeable.
During the filming Shyam Babu would ask for certain precise frames a slight increase in shutter speed, hardly noticeable, and therefore far from the slow motion effect we have been accustomed to seeing in many TV Series. This was solely to have greater suspension, therefore always in the service of a certain atmosphere in the serial. Technically this variation in speed consisted of a slight adjustment of the diaphragm. Shyam babu was very precise and exacting with his choice of photography, and not only myself but the whole troupe was so impressed by his personality that we complied voluntarily with his every request.
In the course of this seminar you have lamented the fact that it always gets more difficult to shoot a film in India with careful attention to the cinematography. For what reason?
Principally because there is a lack of respect for the profession in India. In the few films I have shot with foreign crews and production I actually discovered a greater professional respect. Then certainly there is the lack of preparation, because if films are not well prepared you will end up improvising on the set. Another reason is the understanding of shooting schedules, because if you shoot a film in ten weeks or in five weeks the result will be clearly different. With the advent of digital editing there is also the tendency to pass the complete negative through the telecine and then in AVID, without printing the so called ‘dailies’ which I think are very important for controlling possible technical problems. This happened with a film shot abroad, where an entire scene had to be reshot after only discovering an exposure problem during the montage.
Strictly technically speaking, why is it that Indian films are no longer made with the same care as they once were?
Maybe what is missing is an actual love of cinema. The problem is that there are no longer understanding producers who invest in projects they care about. We no longer have the person who loves the film so much that they want it made as fine as it possibly can. The operative now is to make the film only with the budget in mind, sometimes regardless of whether the film is good or not.
AUTHOR’S BIOGRAPHY: Tony Parsons (born 6th November 1953) is a British journalist broadcaster and author. He began his career as a music journalist on the NME, writing about punk music. Later, he wrote for The Daily Telegraph, before going on to write his current column for the Daily Mirror. Parsons was for a time a regular guest on the BBC Two arts review programme The Late Show, and still appears infrequently on the successor Newsnight Review; he also briefly hosted a series on Channel 4 called Big Mouth. He is the author of the multi-million selling novel, Man and Boy (1999). Parsons had written a number of novels including The Kids (1976), Platinum Logic (1981) and Limelight Blues (1983), before he found mainstream success by focussing on the tribulations of thirty-something men. Parsons has since published a series of best-selling novels — One For My Baby (2001), Man and Wife (2003), The Family Way (2004), Stories We Could Tell (2006), My Favourite Wife (2007) and Starting Over (2009). His novels typically deal with relationship problems, emotional dramas and the traumas of men and women in our time. Many believe the content of his work is weak.
Tags: bollywood, cinematographer, director photography, dop, india, indian, jain, kalpvriksh, mumbai, rajiv, rajeev, videographer
Making of Ras Star – Indian Kenyan Cinematographer Rajiv Jain
RAS STAR IS CURRENTLY FEATURING AT THE INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN FILM FESTIVAL.
Raj next job was on a short film, Rasstar, based on the life of Kenyan rapper Nazizi, which was aired on M-Net.
Synopsis: A teenage rapper, Amani, from a staunch Muslim family teams up with her brother Abdosh, an emerging con artist to figure out a way to make money and get her into the talent show finals. As the story unfolds, Amani and her brother get caught up with a local gangster and a stolen phone incident and use her brother's glib tongue to get them out. Through absolute blind luck they manage to find the money they need only to come to blows with their Uncle Shaka, the family patriarch and Mlandimu, the local gangster who finally saves them.
Rajeev Jain, a well-versed Bollywood Cinematographer and Director of Photography, discusses his new Award-winning film, Ras Star, and the unique camera approach he used specifically for this film about one young woman’s quest for life. With a background as director of photography for features such as Army, Badhaai Ho Badhaai, Carry On Pandu, Kadachit, Kalpvriksh – The Wish Tree, Mirabai Not out and Pyar Mein Kabhi Kabhi, Rajiv has had more than enough experience behind the lens to make the leap to cinema. He also has cinematography credits for the Award winning Kenyan TV Series Heartbeat FM.
Where are you from and how did you become a cinematographer?

[Raj] I am from Lucknow in the North West of India. My first degree is in Science and it took a while to find my way into a more artistic world. After several meanders I ended up at the Bhartendu Academy of Dramatic Arts (Bhartendu Natya Academy) studying drama. I managed to direct a few short plays and did camera for many more. Since then I have enjoyed both documentary and drama camerawork with each informing and advancing the other.

How did you approach the cinematography of Rasstar?
[Raj] Through discussions with Wanuri, finding films we both liked visually. We wanted to find separate looks for each story and a different look for the present day. We found a visual 'theory' for each section ( for example a deep red and black colour scheme for Amani story, long lenses for Abdosh story and very wide lenses for Mlandimu). The looks had to be able to implement quickly (then aided in the grading) because of the very tight schedule. We then applied the visual theory to a shot list (which we often had to do this the night before due to locations changing or not being found yet)

What was it like working with HD for the first time?
[Raj] With a 35mm camera you are looking directly through a beautiful lens and seeing the scene in colour and can trust your eyes as part of the photographic process. With an HD camera you are looking at a tiny black and white image through the viewfinder so you need a large (ideally 24") HD monitor to properly judge what you are filming. This is huge and totally impractical with such a small crew and low budget so we managed with a 14" monitor a fair amount of the time but up a mountain or on a remote beach only a small battery monitor is possible. This was very frustrating and led to some things that could have been better.
HD is horrible looking if any area is overexposed. This proved most problematic in outdoor which we chose to shoot on very wide lenses meaning there was a lot of sky in the shot. Unfortunately the skies were particularly flat and overcast but relatively bright white.
The biggest advantage to HD was being able to travel a lot lighter with a couple of zooms up the town for instance and being able to film 2 hours worth of material with no worries ( which would have been roughly 12 huge cans of 1000 feet of film to carry and load). It also meant Wanuri and I could go off at weekends and film city shots and pickups very easily.

Does storytelling matter?

[Raj] Storytelling is a huge part of life from an early age. It’s a way of finding meaning in the world. For a child it’s a way of understanding the world through metaphor – not that a child thinks of it in that way.
If the world blew up and the few stragglers met up it wouldn’t be long before they gathered around a fire and someone started telling tales to make sense of things. Stories entertain, provide an escape or catharsis, stimulate thought and debate and make you laugh.

What was the best thing about making Rasstar?

[Raj] The best thing was being up in such a beautiful part of the world working on a script that used the Kenyan slum as part of the story.

What was the worst thing?

[Raj] The first day of the action sequence in market. The crowd took so long to get onto the location that we on the camera crew were reduced to making beards out of moss and a feature length documentary on clouds (some very fine clouds though).
Can you tell us a couple of interesting/little known/behind the scenes things about the making of Rasstar?

[Raj] Wanuri is certainly one of the hardest working directors I’ve worked with but I think I found her limit one Saturday night. We were filming in pub (climax performance) and pick-up shots and had a choice to go to the local pub where some of the crew were tucking into lamb shank and downing some fine beer or head off. The light looked too tempting though so we headed off towards and thank goodness we did because the light over was astonishing. Deep red light was bouncing off them making them glow against the black background. There were so many midges we had to set the camera running and run around to draw them away from clustering around the camera. We shot for ages and the light was low but still great approaching. I tried to get one last shot with long DJ console in the foreground when Wanuri suggested we had enough and should go, words I never thought she’d say! (The shot was a nice one and made the final film).

Have you worked on anything since Rasstar?
[Raj] Since Rasstar I’ve filmed the film Kalpvriksh – The Wish Tree. It was a great experience to film in such a remote and interesting place. Mahableshwar I've filmed a half hour comedy for Channel : 'The Smallest Man in Town' and I’ve also filmed and edited a half hour documentary in Dubai about a cleaning lady who works in Dubai. I have recently been Dop on a low budget feature “Carry on Pandu”.
My Cinematography Style | by Rajiv Jain | Indian Bollywood Cinematographer
FIRST OUTLINE:
For some time, I've been meaning to put in writing my views on cinematography and my aesthetic style and now, here it is. This doesn't mean I follow them dogmatically - it's simply what works for me in broad strokes. As an Indian cinematographer, I should be able to give the director or production whatever look I'm asked. But within the visual and aesthetic constraints of any production - or the occasional lack thereof - an element of me is always there. Rules were meant to be broken - but only when you have a full understanding of the rules. While I can't claim to know all of them, I'm learning with each production. Here are some of my thoughts...
The aesthetic of a project needs to be established early to the audience. It's distracting to introduce a new aesthetic or editorial style too late in a story without a proper justification or motivation.
Often the coverage for a scene, whether a single person or an exchange between people, can have shots of the environment that the actors find themselves in. These are reflective moments for the audience and the images may not necessarily be pertinent to the dialogue that is taking place. It's a very Japanese thing - a device often used in anime. I liken it to the wondering thoughts that happen during a conversation.
Coverage without purpose is wasteful in time and resources. It's better to spend extra days in pre-production to focus on what's necessary to tell the story then to shoot a bunch of footage that ends up on the editor's floor. What's more, sometimes playing the scene from the master is the right choice. Let the actor's act and let the audience hold the moment by taking in the scene and by letting it breathe. The advantage of using just a master is that it lets the actor's determine the pace of a scene instead of the editor.
Another area that gets too little attention is on atmospheric shots - those shots that fill the space between scenes. It gives the audience some time to breathe and to think and can be a moment for the music to affect the audience.
I find graduated filters too fake and unnatural. It doesn't focus our attention and instead, usually calls attention to itself. I don't think I've ever used them and have yet to be criticized for my decision.
Light for the scene, not the actor. This is true for me most of the time and I've found it to be a view held by many European filmmakers. But, this can be a touchy area. The actors are paid well because audiences want to see them. And on more than one occasion, an actors facial expressions or gesticulations have created a stronger impact on a scene. Still, there are those times when a silhouette says more than seeing an actor's face.
Techniques such as handheld, dolly, Steadicam, and cranes must all be thought out carefully. Camera moves should be dictated by the scene and work to enhance the story at that time and as a whole. Movement for movement sake is sloppy. Each has a special and specific emotional connotation to the audience and should be used to move to follow or capture an emotion, or reveal or emphasize an emotional change. One way of looking at it is that the closer the camera operator is to the camera the closer the audience is in the scene. Hand held is the most intimate, while cranes and cable supports place the audience the furthest away.
Most directors cut too soon both on set and in editorial. On set, wait to say, "Cut". Sometimes an actor can give a gem of a moment at the end of a scene if you wait. It's worth it and I'm surprised how often a director will use that moment in the final cut. It's nice to hold on an actor at the end of certain scenes to allow the audience to take in the moment and reflect.
I love the eyes-of-god shot - with the camera straight down. It's so different from what we see in our daily lives. And yet, I'm not a big fan of extremely low-angle shots. They tend to be a "student filmmaker" aesthetic.
Low budget looks low budget, often because it is. If I can make a contribution to a production by making it look like more money was spent on it then that's a good thing. For example, often I avoid handheld in low budget projects because it can look like, well, low budget. I know there are times when "shabby chic" is cool, but most of the time directors and producers are looking to impress a distributor or agent or a judging board. Santosh Sivan can use handheld for a whole movie because he's Santosh Sivan - but if you're not him, shooting handheld can sometimes be looked at as being lazy or sloppy. Consequently, some of my decisions are made to avoid that view. If I can help a production meets their needs and look like a bigger show, than so much the better.
People change and so do their views. So I'm sure my views are likely to change, too. Till then......

 

Rajiv Jain ICS WICA is an Indian Cinematographer / Director of Photography based in Dubai ( UAE ), Nairobi ( Kenya ) and Mumbai ( India ). He brings years of professional films and video experience to every production. As Director of Photography he specializes in shooting television commercials and feature films in the 35mm motion picture film format. His body of work as DP covers 7 full length feature films, 5 Short Films, 1032 commercials, 6 TV Series, 43 music videos, 105 documentaries & infomercials. As a DOP and Camera Operator, Rajeev has a wealth of experience with specialty camera rigs, lens systems SFX techniques, Tyler helicopter mounts, cranes & jibs, probe and swing shift lens systems, blue/green screen, white limbo and HDTV. His freelance work has taken him to Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. A graduate from the Bhartendu Academy of Dramatic Arts ( Bhartendu Natya Academy ), Rajeev Jain brings energy, creativity and professionalism to every production.

 

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EXCLUSIVE! Rajeev Jain (Indian Kenyan Director of Photography)​

Indian Kenyan Cinematographer Rajiv Jain talks about joining Heart Beat FM and explains the meaning of the "Heart Beat FM wide shot" in M-net’s exclusive interview.

Rajiv Jain is kind, genial, funny, intense (in a very good way) and incredibly smart. Oh, and did I happen to mention, that he is a world renowned director of photography. Though he is a lot like his good friend, Matthew Robinson, he is his own personality, an individual and, a darned nice guy. As I talk with him it becomes clear why these two men work together so often and so brilliantly. They are like two halves of a whole. As Rajiv said to me during our interview, “Sometimes Matthew and I think so much alike, it’s scary.” Now that I have interviewed them both, I can see what he is saying and, it’s a very good kind of scary.

So, what do you talk to a famous director of photography about? Well, we talked about a little bit of everything. We talked about the support site and his work.

Rajiv is at the Kalasha Film & Television Awards in Nairobi, Kenya where he will soon be attending the closing ceremonies and we are struggling mightily with a bad SKYPE connection. Our originally intended vocal interview quickly becomes one done by text type messaging to remedy the problem. And, Rajiv, with all he has ahead of him at the festival, doesn’t hesitate for a second to spend the extra time necessary to type instead of speak the interview. I’m most appreciative. I owe him a great debt for the generosity of his time and spirit for this interview. Oh yes, and a glass of Vodka.

Q: What made you agree to come on board?
A: It's actually a cute story. I had done THE LONG ROAD for three years and I left that show because I was living in Nairobi that time and I was tired of flying back and forth to Dubai and Mumbai. I was looking for something in Nairobi because I wanted to stay there. So when they called me up I said, "No thank you. I'm not interested." And my gaffer said, "Rajiv, reconsider that. Have them send you the script. I've seen the script. It's what you're looking for." So, I sat down and my gaffer and I read the entire script basically in one sitting and I turned to him and said, "You did a really bad thing here. I can't say no to this show now." He said He knew what He was doing. Even though He didn't want to live apart and it was really hard. [To his gaffer] Isn't that how it happened? He said yes. He's smiling.

Q: You were the DP for the whole season. What's it like to work with a director who has a different vision almost every week?
A: Since I shot every episode, I did not have a chance to prep with director. So he would come up with a concept and come on set and rehearse the scene. If it rang true to me and I felt it was the way to go, I'd say, "Great, that's a good idea." If he wanted something that felt tangential to the style of the show we were trying to maintain, then I might make a suggestion to try something else. If you're a smart director you listen to the people that are there all the time. I tuned in very quickly to what Matthew Robinson wanted. I would call Matthew Robinson and ask if he saw yesterday's dailies, and what he thought of them. And that would give me a better idea as to whether I was on the right track or not. And after about three or four episodes I got what he was looking for, not 100 percent of the time -- nobody can do that -- but a good 80 percent of the time.

Q: What would you consider the signature Heart Beat FM shot?
A: The wide shots people refer to as Heart Beat FM shots. Directors will say, "Let's do the Heart Beat FM wide shot," which in television is not something that you very often see. Matthew Robinson really likes holding things in wider shots and I happen to really like it also -- it puts your character into a place or a locale, which tells you something about the character. So I look at it as a storytelling device. The other kind of shot that's somewhat characteristic of the show is when there is something big in the foreground and then something further away in the background wide. We call it wide and closed. You might keep the focus on the money, let's say, in the foreground and our characters are in the background, either out of focus or much smaller.

Q: Do you ever get so caught up in the acting that you forget to pay attention to the technical side of things?
A: That's what I am supposed to be paying attention to. My job is not just to do lighting and set up shots but to make sure the lighting and the shots reflect the scene in the most effective way. If I'm moved by what I see, then I know we've done well. I have people that operate cameras and lighting people and rigging people. All those people keep an eye on the technical stuff for me, and I'm concerned with the storytelling. That's what interests me about the job: Efficient, effective storytelling.

Q: What is your favorite scene?
A: I can't tell you because it's later in the season. You’ll know it when you see it. It gets crazier as the storyline develops. Here's one thing: What Matthew Robinson and the writers do is drop a single line in an early episode and then not mention anything about it until nine episodes later, and then all of a sudden there's an episode all about that single line. It's intriguing to me to work on something that is so well planned out and circular in terms of its storytelling. I think it's just brilliant.

Author Bio: Janet Majerus grew up in Quincy, Illinois, a beautiful old river town on the bluffs of the Mississippi. After graduating from the University of Illinois-Champaign Urbana, she started a career as a science editor, first with a scientific publishing house and then free lance. Tiring of correcting other people's manuscripts, she decided to try her hand at writing fiction. The result was her first novel, Grandpa and Frank. "I was extraordinarily successful--hard back, paperback, large print, and a movie," Janet said. "The movie, Home to Stay, a CBS television feature, was the frosting on the cake, particularly when I found out that Henry Fonda would play Grandpa. Then the drought hit and, except for a short story, I could not get anything else published." It was then that Janet completely changed her career path again and decided to devote her time to public service in University City, Missouri, a city of 40,000 people and a suburb of St. Louis. "I started out on the Traffic Commission then moved on the Planning and Zoning Commission. It was after that experience that I decided to run for elective office," she said. Janet was elected to the six-member City Council, but soon decided to run for mayor. Her tenure as mayor lasted for ten years. "It was an exciting, but exhausting time, and after ten years of phone calls, meetings, and political machinations, I was ready to step down." The result was a return to her early love of writing fiction and a published murder mystery, "The Best Laid Plans." The second mystery in the series, "Thicker Than Water," will be released in July 2010. "I've often been asked why I changed genres from a family story to murder mysteries," she laughed. "My experience in politics taught me a lot about intrigue, plots, misleading statements, and half truths. Seemed a shame not to use that experience." - http://www.janetmajerus.com/

Tags: rajeev, rajiv, jain, cinematographer, director photography, bollywood, dop, india, indian, kalpvriksh, mumbai, videographer

 

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