Principle photography-Day 1:

Its almost 2 am in the morning,or night..We have completed around 20 shots from my last scene..With a few shots left from the same scene,and my camera battery ran down,I thought that this is the best time to scribble my mind and let the world know that we are having fun!!And when I say "we",Let me introduce to my micro-film-crew..Handling photography,is my friend and room-mate Sameer whose passion and dedication towards his work has been challenging mine for the last few hours,to an extent that I am feeling insecure-slash-possesive about my work.. I feel like telling him, "Ey!Stop being so uncompromising and creative..This is my show! Lets make some mistakes"..Ok,I was kidding there,but thats the kind of work he is putting up..And there is ofcourse the actor,Imtiaz who impressed me while working with another friend on a short film..And then there is ME!!To be honest,I feel very lucky to be here with these guys,because what I am seeing here is sheer dedication..

The day,as expected started with pressure.. Lot of it.. I really wanted to get rid of it and get into that creative space.. I knew that I was slogging with the schedule, but I took my time.. From 10 am, I was just walking and talking to myself.. I was working out a lot of math in my head.. After a heavy lunch, we sat down to watch the India-Australia world cup match.. Still I took my time.. By around 5pm, I felt free.. I was like "Lets eat this thing alive".. Called up my mentor,Mr.Rajeev sir for wishes.. And we rolled..

Going on the technical side,We are equipped with a Canon 5d Mark 2, with a set of lenses, A manfrotto monopod, and some household lighting setups.. Its the first time we are dealing with a full frame sensor camera like a 5D. And we were quite ignorant about the compatibilty of the lenses from my APS-C sensor equipped Canon 450D with the 5D..C'mon,they both are from the canon family.. And Here comes technical glitch no 1.. Crop factor.. When we were using the 10-20mm Sigma lens on the 5D, The crop factor was a huge issue that,at 10mm,the frame was circular like in a fish eyed lens,and when pulled to the max,ie 20mm, we had to face some heavy vignetting.. Which means, my film is going to look different from my storyboard in which most of the shots were reaaaally "wide".. And the white dotted 18-55mm lens didnt even fit the Big Daddy 5D. To save the day, comes the 50mm 1.8 L lens,which I purchased yesterday.. I have to admit,that the kind of quality is enormous compared to its price,which is just 5000 INR and maybe the cheapest lens available in the market.. Almost 95% of today's shoot was done with this little baby.. The monopod was not used much today, but Sameer kind of used it as a steadicam on some shots which came out lovely.. Imtiaz wasnt hard to manage,eventhough a newbie to acting,but his experience in singing and dancing proved helpful as he was totally comfortable with the camera.. And I had fun directing him :)

Location of the shoot is my home in calicut,Kerala. Heard of the term "Feels like home"?! That is exactly what is happening here! Total support from my whole family right from my granny to my 2 month old nephew,everyone is inspiring and supporting..

Day 1 in few words?? Passion,technology,Family,Friends,Fun.. :) Signing off..A very BUSIER day ahead..

"No one is born on the cover page. Everyone has to go through pages"- Self.

Screenplay version 2

Crisis!!

While planning on the shot division,crisis strikes!!I found a huge hole in the screenplay which might just cause confusion and more worse stuff..So,here is the corrected screenplay..Changes are there in the conversation of frost and his dad in scene 3 and also the conversation of frost in the final scene..And also,some montage sequences added in the opening scene..:)

“CONFESSIONS OF AN ALCOHOLIC”

-Shaheer Rahman

Screenplay

Opening Scene:

INT.RESTROOM.NIGHT

Chapter 1:Mr.Frost

Frost is in a restroom of a very luxurious hotel. His dress suggests that he is at a party. His eyes are red and there is a glass of an expensive scotch in his hand which he spills every second.Drops of blood from his nose falls into his drink,slowly mixing with the alcohol.

In between this,a montage of shots showing two hands holding each other.

(V.O)

“marry me and I promise I wont drink again”

(montage continues)

a couple of kids playing,a camcorder clip of his son smiling half naked,

montage ends.

He can barely stand. His phone rings. He looks at it. (The phone says ANUSHA calling). He curses(Beep). And he picks up the phone. There is a female voice on the other side.(Some parts of this scene we show in frost's POV.So when he is talking on the phone,the female voice is heard on only the left speaker).The conversation is shown in Split screen with both the characters on each side.

Frost:

Yea..(Coughs)

Soft female voice:

Where are you?

Frost:

Restroom..

Soft female voice:

How is the party goin on?

Frost:

Huh?(Stumbles on something,kicks it away..We show that in a security camera POV)

Soft female voice:

I asked you how the party is goin

Frost:

Good..Can you send the driver?I'm not really sure I can drive..

Frost grabs his hair in fear.

Soft female voice:

Why?What happened?Have you been drinking?!U promised,you wouldnt..

(he takes the phone off his ears and looks at it.He tries to crumble it.Then takes the bottle and drinks a sip and holds the phone back)

Frost:

No..Are you crazy?I'm just having a bad headache..

He takes some water from the wash basin and washes his face in confusion.

Soft female voice:

I really hope so..If you come back here all drunk,I'm gonna take the kids and leave..

Frost:

Jesus christ..(Sighs)..Not the kids..You can leave if you want..(unclear)

Frost is now weak. He supports himself on the wash basin. He hits the wash basin

Soft female voice:

What?I didnt hear you.Your voice is breaking up..Hello..

Frost:(screaming)

I said you can leave if you want!!

He throws the phone away.While in air,we lock on the phone screen which shows "Call disconnected." and then "no signal"

He takes another sip and sits down(This we show in security cam POV).

(Fade to black)

Scene 2

INT.RESTROOM.NIGHT

Chapter 2:Entering the sub-conscious.

He opens his eyes.Realises that he has dozed off for a while.He looks at the time and slowly gets up.He tries to open the door.Its locked from outside.He tries to knock and bang,but ends up hurtin his hand.He searches for his phone.A flashback of images reminds him that he flushed it down the drains.He hasnt started to panic yet.A huge noise scares him.He sees the walls of the restroom closing in on him.He starts to panic and tries to barge the door open.Just before the walls crush him,he barges the door open and enters a non-realistic place.

Scene 3

INT.WHITE ROOM.MORNING

Chapter 3:Remembering the old monk

He enters a complete white room.In a distance he sees a man in his thirties sitting on a couch with an old television set in front of him.There is also a small table nearby which holds a bottle of rum and two glasses. Frost walks toward him.He sees that the person sitting there is himself.He is not amazed,because he knows that this is a dream,because its unreallistic.Frost sees that the other "him" is watching bob dylan on tv.The chorus of the song "Blowing in the wind" keeps repeating annoyingly.

Frost:

Who are you?

Him:

Well,son..I'm sipping The Good'ol monk and watching Bob dylan..Doesnt that tell you who I am?

Frost:

No way..!

Him:

This is all I did when I was your age.Your mom used to hate it.

Frost:

Dad!

Him(stands up):

Are you any better?(angry)Or just like your dad?(Smiling with pride)

He keeps his glass on the table and starts making a drink in the empty glass.

The TV is still playing Bob dylan.The picture starts to get noisy and warped as if the signal was getting weak.

Him:

That is wierd..

In the background,a phone ring starts to fade in slowly..

Him:

Is that coming from you?

Frost:

Huh?Yea..I guess..Thats my blackberry..

Him:Thats your what?(looking at Frost's crotch)

Frost:Nevermind.

Him:

Listen son..i died when you were 5.All these years,I've been here alone and I'm not quite liking this loneliness.You can join me here.We can catch up for all the lost time.

Frost:

I'm not gonna leave my family like you.

Him:

They might be gone by now.(smiles)

Frost gets furious and sad at the same time.

Frost and Him(simultaneously):

I need my son..!

As the ringing gets louder,the scene starts to disintegrate.Dad starts to look warped and TV noise appears over him.Frost and dad are yelling to each other,but cant hear each other.

Scene 4

INT.BEDROOM.MIDNIGHT

Chapter 4:The Final Act

Frost quickly gets up from his dream.His phone is next to him and it is showing a reminder named "anniversary".He gets up,snoozes it and covers his face.He cant believe it was a dream because it felt so real.He takes the phone and starts surfing the contacts(His POV).He stops at the name HOME.He starts speaking to her.(The conversation is fast-forwarded as in a VHS casette).He is now in the bathroom,looking at the mirror.

Frost:

Might be.But it just didnt feel like a dream.It was more like a hallucination.

Sharp,old female voice:

Are you alright now?

Frost Stumbles on something(in that jerk,The scene is reverted back to scene 1.From this point quick cuts causes transitions between scene 1 and the current scene,scene 4) Frost kicks it away...We show that in a security camera POV)

Soft female voice:

I asked you whether you are alright..

Frost:

I'm Good..Can you send the driver?I'm not really sure if I can drive..

Frost grabs his hair in fear.(a quick cut to scene 4,where he is doing the same action)

Sharp,old female voice:

What happened to you?What driver?Have you been drinking?!U promised,you wouldnt..(he takes the phone off his ears and looks at it.He tries to crumble it.

Frost:

No..Are you crazy?I think I'm having withdrawal symptoms..

He takes some water from the wash basin and washes his face in confusion.(a quick cut to scene 1,where he is doing the same action)

Soft female voice:

I really hope so..If you come back here all drunk,I'm gonna take the kids and leave..

Frost:

Jesus christ..(Sighs)..Not the kids..You can leave if you want..(unclear)

Frost is now weak. He supports himself on the wash basin. He hits the wash basin(in that jerk,The scene is reverted back to scene 4).

Sharp female voice:

What kids?You sound exactly like your dad! (Camera is locked on frost's face) Its me,son.Your mom..!(voice breaks up)

Frost:(screaming in anger)

AAAAAAAARGHHHHHH..!

He throws the phone away.While in air,we lock on the phone screen which shows "Call disconnected." and then “no signal”.

He sits down.But starts having flashbacks of his dream,scene 1)

He is scared that he might get locked up just like what happened in his dream. He looks at the knob.The phone is in the toilet.

His shaky hands slowly reach for the knob.

(CUT TO)

Chapter 5: (The cursor goes back,erasing the letters one by one)and types THE END.

Moodboard Design 1

Digging up some References

Almost a week of digging up books,my brain's grey matter,tv,youtube,music vids and cartoons for references,things are getting more interesting and inspiring.I remembered a music video by prodigy which shows the whole video from the character's POV.Very interesting stuff..

*contains explicit material*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BpfydZdTE0&has_verified=1

But the use of an ultra wide angle lens is very necessary for this type of production.And I still have to research on how that will afect post production like,keying and tracking..

ROUGH SCRIPT!!

Hello All,
After posting the opening scene script last night,things have been pretty confusing.I knew what I wanted and I knew how to get there..The problem?Well,which way to take..!But the clock,as usual is tickin and I've been sleeping half of my life,I decided to get rollin..This is my first rough script.I am very happy with it because I see a lot of potential for Improvisation later.I'm posting the script down. I'm adding the opening scene again,so that everything flows.Have fun!

Spec-script v 1.0:

Opening Scene:

INT.RESTROOM.NIGHT

Chapter 1:Remembering the Old Monk

Frost is in a restroom of a very luxurious hotel. His dress suggests that he is at a party. His eyes are red and there is a bottle of an expensive scotch in his hand which he spills every second. He can barely stand. His phone rings. He looks at it. (The phone says ANUSHA calling). He curses(Beep). And he picks up the phone. There is a female voice on the other side.(Some parts of this scene we show in frost's POV.So when he is talking on the phone,the female voice is heard on only the left speaker).The conversation is shown in Split screen with both the characters on each side.

Frost:Yea..(Coughs)
Soft female voice:Where are you?
Frost:Restroom..
Soft female voice:How is the party goin on?
Frost:Huh?(Stumbles on something,kicks it away..We show that in a security camera POV)
Soft female voice:I asked you how the party is goin
Frost:Good..Can you send the driver?I'm not really sure I can drive..
Soft female voice:Why?What happened?Have you been drinking?!U promised,you wouldnt..(he takes the phone off his ears and looks at it.He tries to crumble it.Then takes the bottle and drinks a sip and holds the phone back)
Frost:No..Are you crazy?I'm just having a bad headache..
Soft female voice:I really hope so..If you come back here all drunk,I'm gonna take the kids and leave..
Frost:Jesus christ..(Sighs)..Not the kids..You can leave if you want..(unclear)
Soft female voice:What?I didnt hear you.Your voice is breaking up..Hello..
Frost:(screaming)I said you can leave if you want!!
He throws the phone away.While in air,we lock on the phone screen which shows "Call disconnected." and then "no signal"
He takes another sip and sits down(This we show in security cam POV).
(Fade to black)

Scene 2

INT.RESTROOM.NIGHT

Chapter 2:Entering the sub-conscious.

He opens his eyes.Realises that he has dozed off for a while.He looks at the time and slowly gets up.He tries to open the door.Its locked from outside.He tries to knock and bang,but ends up hurtin his hand.He searches for his phone.A flashback of images reminds him that he flushed it down the drains.He hasnt started to panic yet.A huge noise scares him.He sees the walls of the restroom closing in on him.He starts to panic and tries to barge the door open.Just before the walls crush him,he barges the door open and enters a non-realistic place.(Probably a white room)

Scene 3

INT.WHITE ROOM.MORNING

Chapter 3:Falling into infinity

He enters a complete white room.In a distance he sees a man in his thirties sitting on a couch with an old television set in front of him.Frost walks toward him.He sees that the person sitting there is himself.He is not amazed,because he knows that this is a dream,because its unreallistic.Frost sees that the other "him" is watching bob dylan on tv.The chorus of the song "Blowing in the wind" keeps repeating annoyingly.

Frost:Who are you?
Him:Well,son..I'm sipping The Good'ol monk and watching Bob dylan..Doesnt that tell you who I am?
Frost:No way..!
Him:This is all I did when I was your age.Your mom used to hate it.
Frost:Dad!
Him:Are you any better?

The TV is still playing Bob dylan.The picture starts to get noisy and warped as if the signal was getting weak.

Him:That is wierd..

In the background,a phone ring starts to fade in slowly..

Him:Is that coming from you?
Frost:Huh?Yea..I guess..Thats my blackberry..
Him:Thats your what?(looking at Frost's crotch)
Frost:Nevermind.
Him:Its always better to keep the devil away than fighting him(The voice breaks up)
Frost:Whaaat?I cant hear you..

As the ringing gets louder,the scene starts to disintegrate.Dad starts to look warped and TV noise appears over him.Frost and dad are yelling to each other,but cant hear each other.

Scene 4

INT.BEDROOM.MIDNIGHT

Chapter 4:The Final Act

Frost quickly gets up from his dream.His phone is next to him and it is showing a reminder named "anniversary".He gets up,snoozes it and covers his face.He cant believe it was a dream because it felt so real.He takes the phone and starts surfing the contacts(His POV).He stops at the name anusha.He starts speaking to her.(The conversation is fast-forwarded as in a VHS casette).He is now in the bathroom,looking at the mirror.

Frost:Might be.But it just didnt feel like a dream.It was more like a hallucination.
Soft female voice:How is the party goin?
Frost:Huh?(Stumbles on something,kicks it away..We show that in a security camera POV)
A sharp female voice:I asked you whether you are alright..(this line is in a
different girl's voice,a sharper and older voice)
Frost:I'm Good..Can you send the driver?I'm not really sure I can drive..
Sharp female voice:What happened to you?What driver?
Soft female voice:Have you been drinking?!U promised,you wouldnt..voice(he takes the phone off his ears and looks at it.He tries to crumble it.
Frost:No..Are you crazy?I think I'm having withdrawal symptoms..
Soft female voice:I really hope so..If you come back here all drunk,I'm gonna take the kids and leave..(the old soft voice)
Frost:Jesus christ..(Sighs)..Not the kids..You can leave if you want..(unclear)
Sharp female voice:What kids?Why are you speaking like your dad?Its me,son.Your mom..
Frost:(screaming)I said you can leave if you want!
He throws the phone away.While in air,we lock on the phone screen which shows "Call disconnected." and then "no signal"
He sits down.But starts having flashbacks of his dream,scene 1)

He is frightened and looks at the knob.The phone is in the toilet.

His shaky hands slowly reach for the knob.

(CUT TO)

Chapter 5: (The cursor goes back,erasing the letters one by one)and types THE END.

OPENING SCENE

Spec-script:

Opening Scene:

Frost is in a restroom of a very luxurious hotel. His dress suggests that he is at a party. His eyes
are red and there is a bottle of an expensive scotch in his hand which he spills every second. He can barely stand. His phone rings. He looks at it. (The phone says ANUSHA calling). He curses(Beep). And he picks up the phone. There is a female voice on the other side.(Some parts of this scene we show in frost's POV.So when he is talking on the phone,the female voice is heard on only the left speaker).The conversation is shown in Split screen with both the characters on each side.

Frost:Yea..(Coughs)
Anusha:Where are you?
Frost:Restroom..
Anusha:How is the party goin on?
Frost:Huh?(Stumbles on something,kicks it away..We show that in a security camera POV)
Anusha:I asked you how the party is goin
Frost:Good..Can you send the driver?I'm not really sure I can drive..
Anusha:Why?What happened?Have you been drinking?!U promised,you wouldnt..(he takes the phone off his ears and looks at it.He tries to crumble it.Then takes the bottle and drinks a sip and holds the phone back)
Frost:No..Are you crazy?I'm just having a bad headache..
Anusha:I really hope so..If you come back here all drunk,I'm gonna take the kids and leave..
Frost:Jesus christ..(Sighs)..Not the kids..You can leave if you want..(unclear)
Anusha:What?I didnt hear you.Your voice is breaking up..Hello..
Frost:(screaming)I said you can leave if you want!!
He throws the phone away.While in air,we lock on the phone screen which shows "Call disconnected." and

then "no signal"
He takes another sip and sits down(This we show in security cam POV).
(Fade to black)

MOOD CHANGE!!

Ok,this is pretty scary..!I've decided to change the mood of the story..It was supposed to be a sad,emotionally powerful,no dialogue thing. But now,I feel that it would be cliche.(Even the word Cliche is a cliche these days).So as to pour some life into this,I decided to make it in a "guy-Ritchie" inspired style.Fast cuts.Montages.Hard transitions.Freeze frames,TV noise,lot of grains and multi-format cameras,Slapstick dialogues in foreign languages too! Like I said,a Scary thought!!

I just hope I dont wake up in the morning and decide to do a broadway musical!This is the problem if you are a cusp of 2 sunsigns!Its 4am..Signing off :)