"35mm tape based workflow"  by em arun 

This workflow uses 35mm film which is scanned to Videotapes.This work flow will based upon my experience. The process what i did explained, There are a number of stages, from the negative that is brought from the shooting spot upto the release print. After shooting the negative is sent for developing to the processing labs, form the lab the negative is sent to the negative cutting room where the negative punch happens. NEGATIVE PUNCHING process :- 400 ft of film is used in the film cameras which will have a running duration of apx 3 to 5 according to the mode that it is shot on (it may be 4 pref or 3 pref) this 400ft cans cannot be run on the telecine machines as it not economical, we join these cans to 2000ft add leaders to the negative, so that it easily threaded during the Telecine. 5x400ft cans are joined together in this to identify each 400ft can the negative is punched in the beginning with a two punches and one punch in the end  for more of this http://emarun.tumblr.com/ ...

"The man who sculpted his life"  by vivek r 

 “I have sculpted every single day, every minute & every second of my life” Not just for David Billa, these lines would well hold good for a certain enigmatic individual called Ajith Kumar.  Having had the pleasure of meeting him, spending quality time with him over a cup of coffee, I must admit that I was bowled over by his charm, charisma, attitude & style. A plain white shirt neatly tucked in a Khakhee colored trouser,  he made his way into the coffee shop of a posh hotel. As the guard opened the doors for him to enter, Ajith thanked him, shook hands with him & enquired about him. Calmness prevailed as he walked down to us & introduced himself. He bowled us a yorker talking personally to me about aero-modelling ( A hobby that we share), praising an IPS aspirant..Oh I would go on & on with this.  The “Proud & Happy Father” glow was evident on his face when he took out his mobile phone & showed us photographs of his daughter.  The way he requested the waiter for the...

"Why we are all proud to be Ajith fans. "  by Sriram Ilango 

  I've always been an Ajith fan right from the Vaali days. In the early 2000s, it was tough being an Ajith fan. His movies were not doing well, he was hated in the media for his comments, and he was seen as the arrogant young man of Tamil Cinema. Still, I remained an ardent Ajith fan all these years. But things have changed over the years. Now a day, being an Ajith fan is considered a proud thing, a thing that makes you sit erect and be proud.   Why this sudden change? What has Ajith done so differently over the past 5-6 years?   Well, his movies have not been blockbusters other than Billa and Mankatha. Although Kireedom was really good, it was not well received. Other flicks like Asal, Aegan and Aalwar all were miserable. So, stating that his good movies were the reason why he has so much fans is bogus. Then come to acting. Now, Ajith is a really good actor. But, he is the not the one who you associate with mind blowing acting. People like Vikram and Kamal Hassan are way better and more versatile than A...

"Gautham Vasudev Menon takes on a ..."  by udhav naig 

I recently recieved a mail from Gautham Vasudev Menon's media representative in which Gautham Menon had released a statement that a newspaper had wrongly accused him of blaming actors. Here is the statement from Gautham Menon.   With reference to the article that had me reportedly blaming my actors: 'Reportedly', is the key word here. I have not blamed my actors for my films not doing well. In a recent interview to a Tamil weekly, I spoke about all that went wrong with my Hindi films. There were a whole lot of reasons I had talked about, beginning with the direction, the translation to Hindi, the script not being liked, the critics reviews, my own choice of casting that finally went wrong and Prateik not being as adept as Simbu. Similarly with my first Hindi film and I had even mentioned that I had no clue what I was doing in Hindi that early in my career. I had also said that I went completely with madhavan's conviction about the film and that I kept telling him that it won't work. And that there were rev...

"Logic of representation"  by udhav naig 

  Representation of women in mainstream commercial Tamil Cinema has always been problematic. But, what is the problem, anyway?   The recent blockbuster, Ko, which had Jiiva, Karthiga and Pia provides a good insight into the way love triangles work in Tamil films. For a moment, let’s ignore the politics paraded in the film. I would like to focus on the gender politics that is played out in the little triangle between one of the male protagonists, who has to choose between two female lead characters as the love of his life.   A few months ago, a Tamil Blogger had made a remark about how the Tamil filmmakers and actors, who espouse the greatness of the Tamil land, heritage and its culture in their films and their political life, almost always, cast non-Tamil, fair skinned ladies as the lead in their films. The Jiiva starrer, Ko, provides an interesting twist. Despite it being a very commercial film with adequate number of songs, Ko has a dark, very South Indian woman playing the lead. A very rare instanc...

"3 - Masterfully thought, Arro..."  by Sriram Ilango 

3 - Masterfully thought, Arrogantly executed and Dhanush all the way!     When Aishwarya Dhanush announced that she will be making a movie, people never expected a subject this heavy. May be that's why I chose this title.     It is very hard to replicate or reincarnate Selvaraghavan. When I saw Mayakkam Enna, I was blown over by it. The movie had such an appeal despite its failing climax. Aishwarya Dhanush now has tried to recreate another episode in the life of Karthick Swaminathan, the protagonist of Mayakkam Enna.     First things first, 3 is a decent flick for any director. If not for Mayakkam Enna, it would have been plausible. But now, it looks like an ordinary rip off.     It looks as if Aishwarya wanted to have the best of both worlds – Rom-Com and Psycho Thriller but as fate would have it, she has failed to master either of them. The first half of the movie revolves around the school age love of Dhanush. The scenes that follow involve humor and sense and that makes you light. It often rem...

"3 - Tamil Movie - My View!"  by Karthik Nagarajan 

Movie: 3 Cast: Dhanush, Shruthi, Sundar and Siva Music: Anirudh Direction: Aishwarya R. Dhanush Genre: Character Depiction  Drama (Not romance, comedy and thriller as stated by many) Inspiration: Martin Scorsese’s (Raging bull, Taxi driver) Story Inspiration: A Beautiful Mind   Review:  This movie is a very complex and new of its kind in Tamil cinema, many complained that there is no story in this film. This genre is meant to be that way, it is not a film that deals with story, it is a film that deals with how a character of a person flows from one sequence to other and how he reacts to reach situation. By keeping this in mind, let’s review the movie.   The character of Ram is a very complex one which needs to be done with a careful prior study on the character. They have done a good ground work, but missed the in depth character analysis, which should have been done for a film of this genre. The main character of Ram is introduced in the latter half of the film which is a drawback, which made...

"Wrath of the Titans-disappointing show"  by M.harsha Varthan 

This movie is the sequel to the "Clash of the Titans" which was enjoyable in parts..In this episode Zeus (Liam Neeson)is captured by his brother Hades(Ralph Fiennes) and his godly son Ares(Edgar Ramirez) and held captive in the underworld under the command of Kronos.Perseus(Sam Worthington),The demigod son of Zeus ,embarks on a mission to save his father and save the world from the clutches of the Titans and Kronos. What works against this movie is there have been to many movies with the same godly theme,and this movie has a very weak script.The saddest part of this movie is that leading actors such as Liam neeson and Ralph Fiennes  hav'nt been given any scope to perform. Sam worthington and Rosemund Pike have done decent jobs,but they are more capable actors.. The few pleasant things about this movie are its visual effects and soundscore ,had there been a better screenplay,this movie would have been good.There seems to be no continuity as well..overall this movie is strictly for those who defy logic and st...

"3 - nalla plan panne loss"  by Sruthi Kannath 

 ‎3 - no expectations before and after the film. Same old theme - a stolen attempt from "A Beautiful Mind" (once again). The dialog that the doctor says - this is not the usual bipolar - i ve never come across such disease in my life -saar, that is why this is FILM. All said and done, the film lacks intensity - both in the love angle and the emotional stuff. Too bland like a spiceless mutton chukka. Enna thaan azhuthaalum, kiss pannalum, lovea hug panni kamichalum, oru Virumandi love effect illaye. It just felt like well-planned stage drama. The kick was missing from the beginning. Otherwise, the much-expected Kolaveri was well-shot. I'm sure we can't think of anything better. Thank god it wasn't a club song. I still don't want to say - it's a well attempt by a debutant. After watching so many better films directed by debutants, come on. However, Dhanush is someone we need to watch out for. Sema acting - climax specially. Shruti paravala. Still summa azhuthaan mattum podhuma? But still I don't want to say ...

"Short notes on Peranmai"  by udhav naig 

         ·      While I was watching Peranmai, Arundhathi Roy’s interview with Karan Thapar flashed in my mind. When she was asked by Karan Thapar whether she really thought that the Dalit and Adivasi people fighting the Indian paramilitary and police forces in the jungles of Central India actually understood the economic and the political games played by their government and the corporate companies; she unflinchingly replied, and I am paraphrasing: They know about these MOUs (memorandum of understandings (between govt and corporate companies)) better than you and me. This probably why the film’s politically aware and intelligent protagonist never struck me as odd. ·         Contrary to the popular opinion, commercial interests need not necessarily be the only reason that there are 5 glamorous women in the film along with Jayam Ravi. Could it be that the writer/director thinks that women empathise better with those who are oppressed, since they themselves are an oppressed lot? Â...

"Vengayam --> Food for thought"  by Sabari Sridhar 

“Vengayam” , as the name hints , deals with superstitions especially how people’s lives get altered irreparably due to unscrupulous astrologist’s irresponsible predictions. Though the movie is shot amateurishly & acting of the cast leaves a lot to be desired , still it makes an engaging viewing. Sankagiri Rajkumar who has written & directed the movie deserves all the accolades for the hard-hitting writing which elevates the movie inspite of all its mediocrities. There are very few movie nowadays which make the viewers to think & introspect , that Rajkumar has managed to make the viewers do it is a great achievement in itself.Screenplay is engaging & keeps the viewers glued to their seats. No point in time that one feels bored which the function of the crisp & appealing storyline & neatly woven script. We have not come across such a bold , hard-hitting movie so far in Tamil. Usually those who venture into such a theme include certain elements which they justify as for commercia...

"செங் (வெண்) காயம் - வலà..."  by Ragunaath Rathnam 

ஒரு படத்தை விளம்பரப் படுத்துதல் மற்றும் சந்தைபடுத்துதல், இவை இரண்டும் இல்லை எனில், எந்த நல்ல படமாக இருந்தாலும் மக்களைச் சென்றடையாது நசுங்கிவிடும் என்னும் நிலையை நாம் அவதானிக்கிறோம்.இயக்குனர் சேரன் காயமாக மறுவெளியீடு செய்து செங் காயமாக மாற்றியிருக்கிறார். சேரனின் இம்முயற்சி மிகவும் பாரட்டுக்குறியது. இன்றைய தேவை ஊடக விளம்பரம். அரசியல், சினிமா, பொதுத் தகவல் இவ்வாறு தமிழ் இணைà...

"Alaipayudhey ..."  by udhav naig 

Mani Ratnam has been considered as Tamil Nadu's foremost liberal and progressive filmmaker, but is it really the case? Alaipayudhey was released when I was in my 9th grade. I vividly remember how my mom’s friends were talking about Mani Ratnam’s impressive ability to make “realistic” films, and how even people of my age (back then) must watch this film without fail. Apparently, Mani Ratnam, a quintessential realist, has made a real film about the second half of the romance tale – about how young couples handle the marriage itself. This very important aspect, conservatives remind us, is often left out from the fictional world of movies. In this context, Mani Ratnam’s Alaipayudhey is precisely this: a warning against marrying whom you wish. But why, I recently wondered, this so-called progressive and a liberal filmmaker would want to warn young couples of going against the wishes of their parents and lead the lives they always wanted? Have the traditional arranged marraiges never failed? It is o...

""The Vow " , Missed oppurtinity"  by Sabari Sridhar 

What if the love of one’s life wakes up one fine day having forgotten everything about the one she has loved day in day out & behaves totally like a stranger? How hurtful it would be to the other person who has loved her more than anything else in this world & has no one except her as his family? This is the crux of what “The Vow ” is all about. With a material like this one would have liked the makers to have made a movie which should have been an emotional roller-coaster. But sadly something seem to be missing as a result the movie doesn’t stir the emotions of the viewers. “The Vow ” does have its moments but they are drowned under the larger mendaciousness which is an offshoot of derivative writing & not so great direction. Movie comes out a collage of events that we have seen in many movie of this genre & theme , especially clichéd things like a adulterous & conniving father of the amnesiac , protagonist who is a romantic old world guy married to a rich girl who has moved...

"Whistle Hustle."  by Manoj Govind 

A few days back, I had gone to the theatres to watch John Carter (4th row from behind the back, I think, accompanied unfortunately by family) and as soon as Taylor Kitsch jumped up the air to interfere in that Barsoom mid-air war scene, set in a pretentiously kitschy setting ,whistles started to whiplash from around the back seats. Now, at that time, some part of me wanted to whistle is another matter (you see why I said "unfortunately by family"?). (That these same whistles made entry during Deja Thoris's (Lynn Collins) entry is another matter -note:  iron-clad skimpiness) , but these whistles were the same ones that filled the hall when I watched Surya in Ezham Arivu and Ajith in Billa and Vijay in umm.. (it's been a long time since I watched an Ilaya Thalapathy's movie), well never mind, but by now it's obvious that it's just not about the whistles.   Although, what was interesting in the John Carter film is that it reminded me of the wide Transformers (also replace Deja Thoris with Megan Fox...