Specifications:
Software: Windows Movie Maker
Music: A-Punk by Vampire Weekend (no postcolonial pun intended), For the Widows in Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti by Sufjan Stevens.
Crappy subtitles: the PPCC's tenuous grasp of Hindi + a lot of guessing
Target audience: trendy hipsters, thoughtful international/art cinema market, the PPCC's mom
Film: Read the PPCC review! Read the Planet Bollywood review! Buy it for yourself!
Well, this was a bitch to make.
We wish we could say it was a bitch because of technical issues - the constrictive Windows Movie Maker, our sluggish RAM - but, in all honesty, it was just hard because our creativity apparently doesn't extend as far as movie trailers, as we previously thought. Those things are trickier than they look, man! Especially the whole musical changes - how the frick do you change the music in these things without making it incredibly jarring? How?!
Anyway, we assume the PPCC is the only entity on the internet right now making hipster-style movie trailers for old Hindi films, so at least we have novelty value. Our noble mission is to make some of our recently PPCCed, older movies more enticing for the average young person with the cunning use of fake trailers. Our secret, Crazy Person mission is that, one day, a Prithvi Theatre employee finds this, quickly goes to their boss and exclaims, "Boss ji! Boss ji! Arre, Shashi ji! We think we've found someone with fresh, raw talent, heaps of enthusiasm and a passion for learning Hindi! And it's not Gonzo! Maybe we should invite the PPCC to Mumbai in some sort of well-paid, creative (or even just peripheral) capacity?" That's looking unlikely, given how crappy the trailer actually is, but maybe we'll get charity points for trying?
Come on, we're advertising your movies for free, Shashi ji! FOR FREE.
11 comments:
***Applauds madly*** Way to go ppcc! You made me *almost* want to go turn it on right now :-) I think you have a winning idea here.
Wah! Wah! Very impressive, PPCC, despite your self-depricatingness. I think I want to watch it even more now.
I thought it was very well done. Great job, especially as it's about "making older movies more enticing".
To be honest your blog and Beth's have been instrumental in changing my views on Hindi masala cinema. When earlier I cringed in embarrassment at the fantasy and mediocrity of it all; thanks to you, I now applaud and enjoy (to a certain extent) the madness of the masala genre.
And yes, I remain indebted to you for re-acquanting me with the works of Sashi Kapoor et all.
All the best and some more!
Memsaab - You're too kind! I like the idea too, hence my stubborn refusal to accept that this may be beyond my abilities. Argh! But no! I can do better! I will do better!
Ajnabi - Thanks! I see all its flaws, but such it always is.
SingularOne - Thanks for the very kind words. Sometimes I wonder if the reason we young, modern things like these 70s masala masterpieces is some (mis)appropriated sheen of nostalgia? I don't know if I would have been so forgiving if I had been in the cinema, back in the day. But then again - different film genres are like different languages, you just gotta learn to speak the masala dialect!
Trailers are often the best part of going to the movies - yours makes me wanna see this one again! Editing is a GIGANTIC pain in the royal arse - a box full of vacation videos just begging to be edited is reminder enough. Keep it up as the quest to make these movies accessible for the movie fans of today is noble indeed :)
PPCC kya baat hai! Great promo for Shashi err... Vijeta (I am of course blind to everybody else in the trailer). I think Prithvi theatres would grab talent such as yours but would you be willing to slog to promote just anybody after having honed your skills on the master? ;-)
vaaah vaah vaah! kya khoob, this is one the coolest trailers ever!
The hipsters will certainly love the Muppets reference!
Seriously, yes, quite well done - exactly like the way we do things these days, isn't it? I can just see Laura Linney as the elder sister looking on tearfully. All we need is "trailer guy" voice to put in the thoughtful "..." in "a film about growing up...and going home."
I particularly like your snippets of Shashi rage.
I wish I could figure out why Sufjan can be so poignant - even in the songs that aren't about my home state (though I dare anyone to keep a dry eye during "Casimir Pulaski Day").
Oh and thanks singularone! That's a real compliment :)
Sanket - I used to love editing, until I had to tell an enticing story using changing music in under 1 min 30 sec. Then I hated it.
Bollyviewer - Shukriya! Well, since no one's paying me, may as well trailerfy what I feel like? And at the PPCC, it's Shashi Time, All the Time.
Rum - Thanks!
Beth - Hipsters = Muppet fans! Laura Linney actually is in the film, but I couldn't find any good shots of her crying, as you say. Oh gosh, I tear up during "Come On! Feel the Illinoise!" when Sufjan starts saying he cried himself to sleep. Oh, Sufjan.
It's great! How long did you work on this?
I don't even like making screencaps because it takes me a million years to get a good shot, so this is very impressive.
Spygirl - Welcome! Thanks. I'm too embarrassed to admit what the ratio of "Hours of Pain and Sweat" to "Several Seconds and Two Cuts" is. Let's just say I'm at the bottom of the learning curve at the moment...
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