COWABUNGASRISHTI

Brian Nelson ../..highlands to lowlands

2011-03-31T09:51:00.000-07:00

HUSH - A GRAPHIC NOVEL - PUBLISHED BY MANTA RAY COMICS 2010

2011-03-25T21:15:00.000-07:00

"I got a certain little girl, she's on my mind/ No doubt about it, she looks so fine/ The best girl that I ever had/ She's gonna make me feel so bad/ Yeah, make me feel so bad ..." From Hush by Deep Purple.

Yeah, and should I feel bad? Not if I can help it!

I'd heard about this "graphic novel" called "Hush" put out by Manta Ray Comics, the new kid on the Indian comic books block. Word of it was out on the grapevine. I saw some references on Facebook.

Then, I was ordering William Gibson's latest book "Zero History" online one day from flipkart.comwhen I came across a reference to "Hush" in a blog - http://blog.flipkart.com/10-classic-alternative-graphic-novels.

What I saw there really pissed me off.

"Hush" was included among the top 10 "classic" alternative graphic novels of our times!

This dark deed was done by one Sailen!

If this isn't "insider marketing", I don't know what is!It is a blatant attempt at manipulating the sensibilities of those who care about graphic novels, "alternative" graphic novels and Indian graphic novels.

I've traversed Indrajal Comics, Raj Comics, Tinkle (always hated that stuff!), Amar Chitra Katha, Comix India, Virgin Comics India (now defunct), Fluid Friction (Devashard), Blaft Publications, Campfire, Corridor, Kari, Faluda, and more!

And I was never conned by the claim that Corridor by Sarnath Banerjee (published by Penguin) was India's first-ever graphic novel, having read River of Stories by Orijit Sen more than a decade before Banerjee appeared on the scene.

Hype is hype.

And we've got a long way to go, babe! To catch up with the Japanese, Chinese and Koreans.

Well, let's feel a bit more upbeat. The silver lining on the dark cloud that is the Indian comics/graphic novel scene is that at least there is stuff coming out into the market now that is not the mindless recycling of those boring, flaccid, ancestral mythological tales (wonder of wonders! Rama now has Thor's Marvel muscles!!!), nationalistic garbage or the Panchatantra/Jataka Tales.

Well, what am I saying?

"Hush" is partly hype, cleverly shoved down an unsuspecting audience's throat through "roaching" and a variety of other marketing techniques.

Fair enough.

So I ordered my own copy on flipkart.com.

What was in it for me?

A cover that in no way thrilled me but awoke a faint resonance of the cover of King Crimson's classic "In the Court of the Crimson King" .

Pretty good print job.

Black and white is classy, huh?

But the comic in itself is just 17 pages. Out of 36.

Price: Rs 195 (Flipkart sells it at Rs 144). In other words,, Rs 8.47 a page.

What about the other pages? Lots of white space for relief, I suppose.

A "gratitude" page. A "Manta Ray Comics welcomes you" page, hyperbolic in nature. A write-up by some journo.

("Leave us alone, hack, true comic readers know how to make up their own minds.")

A page for the "cast". Some "notes" from the creators.

Some pages full of character sketches, explorations, alternative covers, script excerpts. (Project documentation for NID?)

And a couple of cheesy posters I wouldn't put up anywhere, let alone in my room.

Ok. The comic itself.

Story-wise, it might be shocking for those from the cow-belt or the backwaters. But not for hardcore comic readers and collectors. Might be a first in India, but stuff out there produced over the last two decades beats the pants off this one.

In Hush, it is the abuse of a daughter by the father. But there have been some powerful variants on this theme and the ones that comes to my mind immediately are Daddy's Girl by Debbie Dreschler and Why I Killed Peter by Alfred and Olivier Ka.

And then, there is Paul Auster's City of Glass turned into a graphic novel by Paul Karasik as part of David Mazzuchelli's class at RISD, where the idea of "abuse" is frighteningly real, yet abstracted/metaphorised.

Which brings me to a crucial observation. While the art-work is acceptable, pretty strong, the representation is literal. Worse, this literal approach is visual in nature. What you see is what you get. There is little that is hidden for me to unearth or ponder over.

The creators of Hush, of course, project the comic book as a "graphic novel", an experiment, a purely visual (no text used) breakthrough in the history of "Indian" comics.

I admire the passion, the movement forward from concept to printed copies out in the market, and the ambition of these young fans and creators of the graphic novel genre.

But I am also reminded of how ten years ago, Vinayak Varma (a key player behind ACK's Brainwavemagazine) was the first to attempt a graphic novel as his final diploma project at the Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology.

Since then, there have been a number of talented students from Srishti who have done amazing comics/graphic novel projects - Somesh Kumar, Pia Hazarika, Urmila Shastry, Aashim Raj, Pratapaditya N Deb, Upasna Mehndiratta, Shakti Dash, Girish Ishwarya, Prarthana Gandhi, Viraj Circar, Sharvari Shah, etc.

Shakti Dash's graphic novel Ethereal was lauded by Jeff Smith, creator of the underground classic Bone, who was on his final diploma project jury. Somesh and Pia have been editors of Comic India editions. Sharvari's graphic novel Strange Touch is all of 64 exquisitely crafted pages dealing with the same issue Hush takes up -child sexual abuse. I have no hesitation in saying that Strange Touch, created in three months, is the superior product.

The way the comic publishing industry works in this country, it is impossible for this talent to find its way to the market. The industry's talent scouts do not exist. The young artists have to band together and create their own fora. Which is why I take my hat off when I think of Comix India or Blaft or Manta Ray. The better stuff ought to come out from these impassioned and independent fora and not Penguin! Where are the big publishers who will take these talented youngsters and their products and shape them for the emerging market for comic books and graphic novels in India? Does India hope to create a culture that is its own equivalent of manga? Then, the makers of Hush and other such emerging talent must be harnessed swiftly.

Yeah, well, good luck and Godspeed.

Yet, call me nasty if you like but, if you ask me specifically about Hush, don't buy it. Wait till someone makes a PDF of it and puts it out as a torrent. Download it for free when that happens.

Meanwhile, invest in Jamie Delano's Narcopolis or that book at the top of that "hyped" list on the Flipkart blog - The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers Omnibus by Gilbert Shelton or Robert Crumb's Genesis.

I could suggest another 20 must-haves for your graphic novel collection. But I will leave you to do the hunting for yourself based on your sensibilities. Hone them.

You will have no regrets. That's state of the art.

IT'S AMAZING!!

2011-03-25T21:03:00.000-07:00

Now when I look back and think of it, I wonder at the magic of it all. How all this amazing work was done across a course that technically lasted only ten days. I see how so many are deeply talented in creating narratives that are primarily visual and I also see how those who were weaker actually pushed themselves way ahead of themselves.
Much respect to the magical folk. The boring ones do not count.
Avy

CALL FROM KINDLE, KOLKATA

2010-06-07T05:50:00.001-07:00

Kolkata based Kindle magazine is looking for 4-page black & white A4 size comics
for their special graphic novel supplement.
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap will be the guest editor of the issue.

Kindle is an art, culture and politics youth magazine based out of Kolkata.

DEADLINE: 15th June. But its OK if you miss it by a few days.

PAYMENT: Rs. 500 per page. Max limit is 4 pages.

WHERE & HOW TO SEND: Individual pages scanned at 300 dpi in TIFF format, to
be sent to either of the following emails--> sayanb360@gmail.com
prithakejriwal@gmail.com

COMIC BY SADHVI JAWA

2010-04-11T02:02:00.001-07:00

by Digbejoy Ghosh

2010-04-09T10:57:00.000-07:00

Rima Graphic Novel

2010-04-08T20:30:00.000-07:00

rajasee: lips and sticks

2010-04-07T11:39:00.001-07:00

Varun - Passing by

2010-04-07T10:53:00.000-07:00

Unfinished- Anurag

2010-04-07T10:07:00.000-07:00

Sayantani- Adan Garcia in Forgetting

2010-04-06T18:39:00.001-07:00

LOVE STUCK - PALLAK GOSWAMI

2010-04-06T10:18:00.001-07:00

A Fork In The Road

2010-04-06T09:52:00.000-07:00

DEEP APATHY - HELLENE GAULIER

2010-04-06T09:20:00.001-07:00

Jojo's story

2010-04-06T09:01:00.001-07:00

PUT UP YOUR COMICS

2010-04-06T08:16:00.000-07:00

Hey those who have not put up your comics yet on the blog.
Go to http://issuu.com
Sign up at this site - upload your comic there in the right size (pdf format) and embed it on this blog.
Looking forward to seeing every comic up on this blog.
Those who have done so - Many Thanks.
FINALLY
THANK YOU
EVERY ONE OF YOU
FOR MAKING THIS A WONDERFUL COURSE.
LOVE YOU ALL

AVY-RAGHU-RAMANA

SHADOW PLAY - DIVYA GAITONDE

2010-04-06T07:07:00.001-07:00

Sargam : The Suicide

2010-04-06T06:06:00.003-07:00

Bharat - Final

2010-04-06T03:27:00.000-07:00

Akshataa: The Silent Watch

2010-04-06T02:16:00.000-07:00

Samvida-People In Grass Houses.

2010-04-06T00:39:00.001-07:00

verdict

2010-04-05T22:50:00.000-07:00

Shilo- Khoya

2010-04-05T13:38:00.000-07:00

Quentin's Dream - Mimansa Sahay

2010-04-05T10:34:00.001-07:00

Disha and Putki

2010-04-05T09:33:00.000-07:00

Khoj

2010-04-05T08:16:00.001-07:00

maanvi: to be politic

2010-04-05T02:46:00.000-07:00

The Fabulist - Devashish

2010-04-04T23:07:00.000-07:00

to be continued..

Viewfinder - Aniruddh.

2010-04-04T22:12:00.001-07:00

Sharvari comic book- Flight

2010-04-04T22:08:00.000-07:00

The Black Pill, Chapter 1

2010-04-04T22:06:00.001-07:00

Manasi: Graphic Novel :)

2010-04-04T22:05:00.000-07:00

Shilo- sneak peek a day before D-day

2010-04-03T07:11:00.001-07:00

FINAL SUBMISSIONS OF COWABUNGA COMICS

2010-03-22T09:24:00.000-07:00

Please ensure that all final comics are sent to me as low res pdf files of the entire comic book no later than 7 am on April 5.
I will not accept any files that reach me after 7 am as I am going to finish my assessments first thing on April 5.
If you cannot submit on time, remember I will not tolerate whining and weeping or excuses like my Internet was not working, my cat ate my comic, etc.
Take Care

Samvida-Final story

2010-03-22T08:52:00.001-07:00

.People in Grass Houses.

.Prelude.

The eye of the queen, was as still as the castle of which she was now a part. She was still alive. As alive as the walls that create a castle. Alive, as one trapped in a fixed form. The form of an ambition. Of a King’s ambition.

All the king’s people, were divided, into the Diamonds, his royal family; the Clubs, his constant army; the Hearts, the complaisant clergy; and of course, the Spades, his biddable workers.

They were mere cards to him. Not individual lives. Just building blocks for a wish. A wish to live in a card castle. A castle that reached for the skies. For it was in the skies, that one could see beautiful circular objects flying past ever so often. These objects seemed like another dimension. They were spheres flying overhead. The king did not know what they were. All he knew was that he had to reach as high as they did. He just had to.

So he started to build the castle.

Until recently, the queens, and kings and jacks of all sections except the Diamonds, were already part of the card castle. Thus preempting any disagreement of the idea of the castle. And recently, the Queen of diamonds had started to prove to be… disagreeable.

.Chapter 1.

The world was flat. A large circular flatland. It was edged with a wall of long strands of green threads that rose upwards. These threads marked the edge of the world. The Joker insisted on plucking these threads from the ground, and rolling them up before lighting them on fire and breathing in their scent. He called the strands, ‘grass’, and the name, like a Shakespearean word, became a part of their dictionary, just as the wall of grass had become a part of their lives.

The Joker inched along the wall.

His eye on the grass, he whispered, “I bet its greener on the other side.”

But before he could cross the border, two squealing cards came rushing through from the other side of the wall.

The three of them collapsed on the flat ground just as an ant appeared at the wall of grass. It moved swiftly towards one card, paused and rushed towards the Joker instead. The other two jumped up to help the Joker, but it seemed as though he did not need any help. Both the ant and the Joker were jumping around each other as if in greeting.

“What just happened?” said the timid voice of the 3 of Hearts.

“Do you… do you know the Ants Mr. Joker?” piped up a stronger voice of the 2 of spades.

The Joker, who had started to do a handstand as the ant clapped, looked sharply at the two cards.

He then relaxed into a smile, “What is it to know someone really?”

2nd of spades, “You have crossed the borders to meet them before? You know them?”

The Joker, “Well. Who defines borders anyway? They are just lines.”

3rd of Hearts, “But it’s forbidden! Its in the code!”

The Joker, “Well who defines this code anyways? They are more like guidelines.”

2nd of spades, “But…the king...”

The Joker, “The king is too busy building his castle. But what might two such upstanding cards as your self be doing on the wrong side of the grass eh?”

2^nd of Spades and 3rd of Hearts, “We ...err... That is to say…”

A circular object flies overhead and casts a shadow over them.

They all stare silently up.

The ant scuttles away through the grass.

“We should move from here before the Clubs find us this close to the edge of the world!” whispered 3 of Hearts.

In silent unison the three cards start to turn away from the grass when The Ace of Clubs discovers their prohibited presence.

3rd of Hearts, ”Any wise words Mr. Joker?”

The Joker, “Yeah. RUN!”

The classic getaway scene is interrupted by a clash with another card that is swathed in strands of green threads, and running toward the grass border. The new card gets entangled with the Joker, and in a mesh of paper cuts, and groans the Ace of Clubs gets the upper hand.

As he pulls the new card to his feet, the green threads fall away to reveal the Jack of Diamonds. Ace of Clubs steps back and bows, “Your Highness!”

A flash of irritation from the Jack of Diamonds, “ Don’t call me that. That is to say… That’s what you call my father… Right. So. Carry on soldier. I was just meeting my friends here for a... a…”

“A view of the great castle as we discuss the great merits of the great King of Diamonds!” finished the Joker for him.

The Jack of Diamonds looked around at the speaker as if that was a rather implausible idea, but he turned to the Ace of Clubs and spoke with the authority that comes with privilege, “Indeed. Perhaps you would like to join our discussion another time. You may get back to your duties for now.”

“Sire, it is my duty to make sure the workers work,” said the Ace of Clubs as he looked over at 2 of Spades.

“You may escort the cards back to their duties. But they shall not be punished for agreeing to be my footmen for the day of course,” said the Jack of Diamonds with finality.

As the pack of cards started to walk back towards the construction site, the

Ace of Clubs tapped the Joker sharply on the shoulder and remarked,” Yesterday, I find you trying to talk to the Queen of Diamonds, and today, I find you trying to cross the wall. Now. It seems as though you have a taste for trying forbidden things, Mr. Joker. I emphasize the word ‘trying’. You will not succeed. Do not cross me again, or I will have you consigned to the castle.”

“Really now Ace. That would make it much easier for me to talk to the Queen of Diamonds now wouldn’t it? Tell me, was it you who suggested she be ‘consigned’ to the castle as well?”

Ace of Clubs tightened his grip on his spear, and a harsh whisper escaped him, “Don’t try my temper Joker. The Queen of Diamonds was a just and fair queen. She tried to talk the king out of this stupid castle…”

“At last!! We agree on one thing! This castle is stupid!”

Ace of Clubs looked toward the construction site.

“Perhaps the king might still change his mind”

“Ha! Good luck ‘trying’ that.”

“You are starting to bore me now Mr. Joker,” said the Ace of Clubs, as he started to walk away towards the castle guiding the 2 of Spades and 3 of Hearts, “I suggest you do not repeat our conversation to anyone.”

With those words looming overhead, a tangible shadow seemed to fall on The Joker and the Jack of Diamonds as they fell behind a bit, and The Jack of Diamonds looked thoughtfully after the Ace of Clubs. The shadow seemed to be darkening, and then a yell of, “Look out!” and a flurry of movement that resulted in a third crash of cards that very morning. As the dust cleared, the darkening shadow proved to be a sphere from the skies. It now lay close to the edge of the world.

The cards picked themselves up and looked back to the construction site where mayhem was breaking out as the sphere had cut a path of destroyed card homes till it rolled to a stop at the grass border.

As one the cards turn to face the strange object. It is a sphere with a pattern of black and white hexagonals on it.

3rd of spades whispers, “What is it?”

2nd of spades shakes his head.

The Joker takes a step towards the sphere.

It towers over all of them.

The Ace of Clubs breaks into a run towards the main land of the construction site, yelling the arrival of the end. Armageddon.

As he runs, the main land can be seen. So many card houses have fallen, and the path of the sphere has become a path of destruction. And it is this shortest route of destruction that he takes to find the King.

Back at the crash site, the rest of them slowly approach the grass where the sphere is.

3rd of Spades, “The gods have sent us a message.”

The Joker, looking over at the destruction, “Well he could have just sent us a leaf instead.”

Jack of Diamonds, “The King. Someone must tell the king what has happened.”

The yells of the Ace of Clubs cut above the cacophony of chaos.

“I think he might have noticed,” remarks the Joker.

.Chapter 2.

The eye of the king, was on the construction site.

The king of Diamonds is sitting in his chambers and observing the building of his beloved card castle from his window.

The Ace of spades approaches and tells him what has happened.

The king looks out over at the broken houses and says, “The cards used to build them must be salvaged.” The Ace looks happy at the king’s suggestion. Then the king adds, “Yes… the salvaged cards must be used to add to his castle.”

The Ace’s face falls, but he ventures a question, “what is to be done with the alien creature itself?”

“Is it made of cards?” the king asks.

“No your highness.”

“Then it cannot add to my castle. Destroy it. If you want.”

.Chapter 3.

The Army prepares.

They gather their spheres. They face this alien threat in their midst.

They start to march.

As they reach the site of the crash, the high priest, the 10 of Hearts, meets them with an army of his own.

The religious numbers say the football must be protected and worshipped. The army relays its orders to destroy it.

The Joker and the Jack of Diamonds look on helplessly as the sphere lays ignored, and the pack of cards turn on each other.

The workers start to leave the construction site to join the foray.

Cards lay crumpled in the dust.

And all the while, the king sits at his window, and watches his card castle grow taller.

Slowly all the workers leave the castle building and join the fight. The Jack of Diamonds is captured by the workers. The 3 of Hearts finds sudden passion in protecting his god sent message. The 2 of Spades tries to call the ants to help the Joker as he gets pulled towards the castle to be added to the construction site.

In all the pain and loss, the Joker too falls silent to the whims of such a castle.

.Chapter 4.

The only two things left standing are the sphere, and the card castle. The king steps out of his chambers and towards the castle, when a large pair of hands seems to come from the giant person whose feet touch the ground and whose head seems to reach the sky. The person reaches for the sphere and picks it up ignorant of the chaos close to his feet.

As he turns on his heel, the foot of the person bears down on his castle.

STOMP!

The king lays crumpled on the ground.

But his castle is left standing.

The eye of the Queen blinks once.

And is still once more.

.FIN.

_____________________________________________________

thumb nailing for final frames in progress.

thats the next post!

cheers.

sam

Mimansa - final breakdown

2010-03-18T09:24:00.000-07:00

1-2: full page of night sky and little earth; intro to location.

3-4: intro to Quentin; activities of the day.

5-6: intro to Mili; activities of the day.

7-8: dreams of Mili and Quentin (as the years go by, and they become older).

9-10: Q visits ballet class; new dream for Q -world famous ballet dancer.

11-12: M leaves house for the weekend; Q arranges furniture, looks for and finds big pink tent.
13-14: Q puts on show in the cut up pink tent as a tutu to an imaginary audience.

15-16: M comes back home the next morning to find the living room in a mess, everything topsy turvy, furniture put aside and lights directed to one part of the room; finds Q sleeping on one end of the room, under the dining table wearing her pink tent and ballet shoes.

PS to whoever's reading this: i'm editing the thumbnails as i sail along so you'll keep seeing the sketches (daily i hope.) also, i'm sorry the scans are so shitty, i don't know how to fix em. avy, if you'd like to see finals, i'll mail them to you. i've got 2 spreads till now. 8" by 6".

Mimansa - sketches of finals

2010-03-18T09:19:00.000-07:00

sketches of pages 4, 3 and 2 respectively.

MITALEE : Frames/style/layout/sequence. WIP

2010-03-12T01:13:00.000-08:00

Akshataa: Character 3

2010-03-11T21:17:00.000-08:00

Farah

some in between thumbnails and finals. - aniruddh.

2010-03-11T10:43:00.000-08:00

here are the first four pages.

i was trying out basic color.

these are not the finals, i repeat,

these are NOT the finals.

i have drawn some more, but they're still in the very basic stage.

thats why they aren't up here.

aniruddh's FINAL final script.

2010-03-07T13:01:00.000-08:00

shot of a half-folded newspaper. its in full view. It seems to be lying on a table.
- we see a headline, and a large photo of a smallish art gallery under it. The headline talks about the success of a young photographer, and in the photo is the work displayed in the gallery. [full-page frame - page1]

The camera moves into the photo, the photo becoming the frame this time. It still has a newspaper texture to it. In the photo, there are people seen standing, looking at the work.[frame 1- wide- page2]
The photo now comes to life (different rendering) and the people have moved a little, to show the same.
- they seem to be appreciating the work, some have smiles on their faces as they look at the photos.
- the gallery is not very well-lit, but there is enough emphasis on the photos as each one has its own small light bulb looking down at it.[frame 2- wide- page2]

Now the camera moves, there is change in perspective, and we see a more establishing view of the gallery. Small though it is, the number of people is decently large.
-There are some people who are seen with cameras hanging from their shoulders coupled with bags, and they seem to be taking notes.[frame 3- wide- page2]

the previous frame has moved into a box on the right side of this frame, like an inset, and the reader sees that the frame is now a part of a news bulletin on a TV(7thChannelNews), and the news anchor is talking about the exhibition in the gallery.
-he talks: “..and those were images from the Town Art Gallery.. a totally new and fresh style of work there, something thats going to turn heads for a long long time to come..”[frame 1- wide- page3]

close-up of news anchor, gallery image is out of frame, he is still talking.
-he talks: “..and more on sports when we return, but don't forget to tune in tomorrow at 7pm for 7thChannelNews' exclusive live interview with the very talented, now world-famous photographer(her name here,haven't decided) as we talk to her about everything that helped her trace the path to this peak..”[frame 2- wide- page3]

more zoomed-out view, full view of the TV, it becomes a POV shot now.
- a girl's right hand is seen on the right of frame(just the hand with the remote in it), and she has just switched the TV off.[frame 3- wide- page3]

mid-close shot of the girl, young girl, she is sitting on her couch, her hand is still up in the air, and she looks like she has just woken up. Her hair is a bit messy, and her eyes are half-shut. [frame 4- wide- page3]
close-up shot of left hand, she looks at the time, its 9:15. in the background there is a coffee table, on which there is a phone and a magazine, but they're slightly out of focus.[frame 1- box- page4]
same shot, hand is out of frame now, and the magazine and phone are more into the frame and in focus. The magazine is called Photography Today, and on the cover is the same girl.[frame 2- box- page4]
same shot, hand is back in frame, she is reaching out to the magazine to pick it up.[frame 3- box- page4]
exact same shot, only the phone is lit up. Someone is calling her.[frame 4- box- page4]
exact same shot, this time her hand reaches out to the phone. She is picking it up.[frame 5- box- page4]
close-up of phone, she is holding it, on the screen the text blinks,'7thChannelNews calling..'[frame 6- box- page4]
mid-close shot of the girl, she has now answered the phone, the background is out of focus.
-voice on phone: “Good morning ma'am, I am calling from 7thChannelNews, just to confirm your presence at tomorrow's interview, I hope I am not disturbing..”
girl: “No, no. certainly not..” [frame 1- wide- page5]

mid shot, little more of the room is established, she has turned, her back facing us, she seems to be walking away from camera, still talking on the phone. In the background, on the wall, are framed photos that she has clicked, and there are some tall cabinets, a small, but expensive-looking dining table, and some other additions, overall, it looks like a rich person's apartment.
-voice on phone: “..we just wanted to let you know a few things. Your advance amount has been already transferred to your back account, and also, if you could please be present by 6pm here in the studio; we need to brief you about certain things, just the standard procedure..”
girl: “yes. Sure. I will definitely be there.”
voice on phone: “thank you ma'am, once again, thank you very much. We are indeed very lucky to have you with us tomorrow..”
girl: “oh, pleasure's all mine. Thank you. See you then. Bye.”[frame 2- wide- page5]

long shot, she is reaching out to one of the cabinets to keep her phone on it, her back still facing us. She seems to be moving towards the kitchen area of the big room. More of the room is established. Its a wide angle shot.[frame 3- wide- page5]
mid shot, she is standing at the kitchen counter. On the counter-top there is a mug of hot coffee, smoke strands are rising from the mug. Her right hand is holding the mug and the left is reaching for it, and she is looking at the mug.[frame 1- vertical rectangular- page6]
POV shot of hands holding the mug, seen from where she is standing.[frame 2- box- page6]
POV shot, she has lifted the mug, its dead close to the frame, showing that she is taking a sip from the black coffee.[frame 3- box- page6]
POV shot, different mug of coffee is put on a table, the hand is of a man's, the color tone suggests the shift to flashback.

-text box pointing away from man: “please uncle, just give me this one more chance. I promise it wont be like the last two times. Please.”[frame 1- box- page7]

mid-close shot of the girl, she is sitting in some office, she looks tensed, and is leaning a bit forward.
-she says: “..this time I promise I wont let you down, because my work is much better this time, and I am much more confident. Please uncle, please understand!”[frame 2- box- page7]

shot from over girl's shoulder, the man is introduced here. He is sitting across the office table, leaning back into his executive chair. He is dressed in semi-formals.
-he says: “..look, sweetheart, I really like your work, I mean..it interests me..but my business has to run. And it cannot run on your promises, love.” .. “..i mean..if I wasn't so close to your father, I probably wouldn't even have given you that second chance in my gallery, you know..”[frame 3- wide- page7]

shot of newspaper, half-folded, has a headline about the gallery agreeing to let the girl display her photos for the third time.[frame 1- wide- page8]
same shot, different days' newspaper, has a headline about exhibition opening. [frame 2- wide- page8]
shot of third newspaper, headline thrashes her work again, for the third time.[frame 3- wide- page8]
overhead shot, in the office, the man is yelling at the girl.
-he says: “i knew this wont work! I feel so foolish! You have yet again embarrassed me, yourself and your father!”[full page- page9]

mid-long shot of girl in her balcony, the view from the balcony is seen. She is leaning on the railing, pensive. [frame 1- wide- page10]
same shot, the view is seen again, only this time its almost dark. She is still leaning on the railing, in the same place.[frame 2- wide- page10]

one page gap – after this on the next page, the interview part begins.

12 boxed small frames show the build-up to the start of the interview here on page 12. some are establishing shots and some are action shots. The idea is to establish the commotion just before the interview begins.

1.POV close-up of interviewer adjusting his sleeves.

2.close-up of someone's hands holding the panning rod of the camera.

3.close-up of the interviewer's neck, with the handkerchief tucked into his collar.

4.close-up of the boom rod that records the sound.

5.close-up of the front of camera, with the prompter on the top.

6.mid-close shot of cameraman adjusting focus on the camera.

7.close-up of interviewer, he has worn his coat. Front shot.

8.close-up shot of glass of water kept on the small table on set.

9.POV close-up of someone looking at a yellow notepad full of questions and plans.

10.mid-close shot of guy next to cameraman showing 'three' on his fingers.

11.POV shot of same guy showing 'two', with his left hand, on the right is the girl in the distance, she is sitting, ready. She is also out of focus.

12.POV shot of interviewer, he sees the guy next to the cameraman point at him.

shot of a TV in some random living room, not much of the room is seen. On the TV is the same anchor who was there in the beginning pages of the comic. He is talking.
-he says: “good evening and welcome to 7thChannelNews' exclusive, live interview of one of the most famous things that walks the earth today!..”[frame 1- wide- page13]

long shot of a street, camera is outside an electronics shop, and there are quite a few TVs on display, stacked up on each other. All of them are showing the same interview. The interviewer talks.
-he says: “..considered the world's number one potential for best photographer, this girl has exceeded all her limits, broken all the rules, crossed all boundaries, and has emerged with a fresh mind and style, that is evident in all the exhibits of her work all over the world..”[frame 2- wide- page13]

mid-close shot of a monitor which is on the left of frame. In the monitor we see the interviewer talking. On the right of frame, in the distance and out of focus, is the girl, sitting and waiting.
-he says: “..so without further ado..please allow me to present to you...”[frame 3- wide- page13]

long shot of set where interview is happening. The two people are finally revealed.
-he says her name with a lot of excitement.[frame 1- wide- page14]

mid-close shot of interviewer. He is on frame left. He is leaning back and sitting.
-he says: “..people want to know the story of your journey to the top, and of course, how it feels, to be known as the best photographer in the world?”[frame 2- wide- page14]

mid-close shot of the girl. She is on frame right. She is leaning back and sitting too.
-she says, smiling: “..well I don't think I am the best, yet, and as far as my story goes, well, its a really really long one, so I am gonna try and put it together in short for everyone..”[frame 3- wide- page14]

mostly POV-type shots showing puzzle pieces coming together, the camera seems to be zooming out from the center of the puzzle to finally show the full thing coming together. The pieces themselves have images and text showing the things she describes in the interview to explain her story.
-she says: “..think of it as a puzzle I had to put together..”
-close-up shot of one puzzle piece, the center of the whole thing.
-mid-close shot showing four more pieces placed around it, some joined to it, some scattered.
-mid-long shot revealing the border of the puzzle, shown by three corner pieces defining the frame of the puzzle.
-mid-long shot showing puzzle with three pieces missing, and one hand holding one of the pieces above it.
-long shot showing one piece in hand, and one place left in the puzzle below.
-long, overhead shot showing the whole puzzle complete, and the girl will be in the frame, looking up at the camera.[frames 1 to 6- boxes - page15]

over-the-shoulder(girl's) shot. Interviewer is seen smiling, leaning a bit forward and sitting now.
-he says: “wow. So, without wasting anymore time I want to ask you, and so do a lot of people..”[frame 1- box- page16]

close-up of interviewer's face. He is leaning forward.
-he says: “..how did you do it?whats this key technique behind the brilliant photographs?..”[frame 2- box- page16]

mid-shot of girl. She is leaning back. She has a grave look on her face.
-she says: “..if I tell you ill have to kill you..”[frame 3- wide- page16]

mid-shot of girl again, same shot. She is still leaning back. This time she is smiling.
-she says: “..I am kidding..”[frame 4- wide- page16]

over-the-shoulder(interviewer's) shot. Girl is talking.
-she says: “..to be honest with you, it happened completely by accident..”[frame 1- wide- page17]

girl's POV shot(through the viewfinder). She seems to be looking for some kinda interesting frame.
-she says(voice-over): “..i was trying to click something interesting, in my kitchen, at some random hour of the night..”[frame 2- wide- page17]

girl's POV shot. Her right hand is seen putting the camera on the kitchen counter-top. The gesture shows a little anger.
-she says(voice-over): “..but I couldn't find a good frame, so I slammed my camera down on in anger..”[frame 3- wide- page17]

same shot as previous frame, only this time a photo has been taken by accident.
-she says(voice-over): “..and I didn't realize that my hand was on the shutter-release button, and it got clicked..”[frame 4- wide- page17]

girl's POV shot. Inside dark room. Her hands are seen dipped in a small tub, and a sheet of photo-paper in it with a half-developed photo.
-she says(voice-over): “..when I developed it, I loved the result, so I decided to take that route, and leave the results to chance..”[frame 5- wide- page17]

mid-close shot of her camera. The viewfinder is taped up.
-she says(voice-over): “..and all this work is a result of not looking into the viewfinder before clicking..”[frame 6- wide- page17]

close-up of interviewer's face. He is still leaning forward. He has a grave look on his face.[frame 1- vertical long- page18]
mid shot of interviewer. He is now leaning back into his chair, adjusting his jacket. He bursts out laughing.
-he says: “hahaha! You sure know how to get away smoothly! Haha! That was a good one!”[frame 2- vertical long- page18]
low-angle mid shot of interviewer. He is leaning back, has a smile on his face, and he looks confident. He is about to put forward the final question of the interview.
-he says: “..but before we close, I have one last question to ask you..”[frame 3- vertical long- page18]
low-angle close-up of interviewer's face. He seems to be leaning forward, as if coming with an attack.
-he says: “..your style seems to be getting repetitive and boring..” .. “..our statistics show that people are already starting to reduce in number in your exhibitions..” .. “..what is your plan?..”[frame 4- vertical long- page18]
close-up of girl's lower half of face. She is smiling, but it looks like its getting wiped off.[frame 1- box- page19]
same shot. This time the smile has been totally wiped off. She is now uncomfortable.[frame 2- box- page19]
close-up of girl's hands. They are showing complete discomfort.[frame 3- box- page19]
close-up of one hand picking up the glass of water in front of her.[frame 4- box- page19]
close-up of lower half of face, she is sipping on the water.[frame 5- box- page19]
same shot. This time she is wiping her mouth with a tissue.[frame 6- box- page19]
over-the-shoulder(interviewer's) shot. Girl has the smile back on her face, she seems to have regained control.
-she says: “..well you see, where I am, is because I did not plan it..”[frame 1- vertical long- page20]
mid-close shot of girl. She is now leaning forward, almost counter-attacking.
-she says: “..and this one, im gonna leave like that too..”[frame 2- vertical long- page20]
close-up of her face. She is almost determined, with a smirk on her face.
-she says: “..its all a matter of chance..”[frame 3- vertical long- page20]
close-up of interviewer's face. He is smiling. Like he knew this was gonna be her answer. The frame looks a little different. Looks like its in a TV.[frame 1- wide- page21]
long shot. Camera seems to have zoomed out. The interviewer is looking in the girl's direction. Girl is looking at him, smiling.
-he says: “..well, its been great talking to you..we hope that you keep doing such brilliant work and we wish you all the very best for the future..” .. “..thank you for being with us today.”
-she says: “..thank you.”[frame 2- wide- page21]
camera has zoomed out even more. We're back with the shot of the TV in the living room. And the TV has just been switched off, exactly like on page 3 of the comic.[frame 3- wide- page21]

one page gap – the interview part ends here.

mid-close shot of coffee table. There is a coffee mug kept on it. Girl's right hand is seen keeping the remote down on the table. - thought box: “fuck.”[frame 1- wide- page23]
close-up shot of remote. Her finger is seen scratching the power button of the remote. This will have three shots of the same thing. Basically one wide frame divided into three box frames. By the third frame the print on the power button is scratched off a little. - thought box: “..what the hell was I thinking?!”[frame2- wide/3- page23]
POV shot of coffee mug. Its half-full. She is holding it in her hand, looking at it. - thought box: “chance!? How can I leave something like this to chance!? I cant!” .. “..fuck. I need to do something quick..” .. “..before it all fades off..”[frame 3- wide- page23]
overhead shot of girl lying on her bed. Mid shot. She cant sleep. She is frowning in her sleep.[frame 1- wide- page24]
same shot, this time she has turned to the opposite direction. She seems uncomfortable, tensed.[frame 2- wide- page24]
mid shot from side of the bed. She is facing the camera, still eyes closed, but uncomfortable.[frame 3- wide- page24]
same shot, this time she has opened her eyes. There is a lot of tension in them.[frame 4- wide- page24]
top-angle close-up shot of her hand turning a page in a book. There is something written on the page.[frame 1- vertical long- page25]
Top-angle mid-close shot. She is on her bed. Sitting. There are books lying in front of her, some opened, some closed. On all the books the same line is written and is repeated many times, it says, 'have to find a solution in here.'[frame 2- vertical long- page25]
top-angle long shot. The books look more scattered. She looks more crazy. Behind her on the clock it says 2:13AM.[frame 3- vertical long- page25]
mid-close shot of hands, she is cropping some photo with a pen knife in the dark room. -thought box: “..why is this eating me up so much? nothing has even happened!”[frame 1- wide- page26]
close-up of face. She looks angry. And crazy. - thought box: “..i need to get rid of this shit somehow. Its slowing me down. 3 days and I haven't even moved from this damned house!”[frame 2- box- page26]
POV shot. Mid-close shot. She has stopped cropping the photo. She is holding the pen knife in her hand. But her focus is on the things lying next to the photo. Her camera, some rolls and another few pen knives are lying there. -thought box: “i need a solution. I need a step forward. Otherwise they're gonna put me down. Again. Otherwise they..”[frame 3- box- page26]
close-up shot of her tightening her fist around the pen knife.[frame 4- box- page26]
close up of eyes. They are wide. Anger and realization in them, as if she has found the solution.[frame 5- wide- page26]
close-up shot of her hand. She is putting her camera on the tripod.[frame 1- box- page27]
close-up shot of camera. She is behind it, about to look into the viewfinder.[frame 2- box- page27]
POV shot. Through the viewfinder. The bed can be seen. Its a decently composed photo.[frame 3- box- page27]
close-up shot of camera. She is attaching something to the top of the camera. It has a wire[frame 4- box- page27]
POV mid-shot. Camera can be seen in the distance, little out of focus. The wire coming out of it is ending in her hand. She has a switch in her hand.[frame 5- box- page27]
POV mid-close shot of her hand putting the switch on the bed.[frame 6- box- page27]
mid-long shot. She is sitting on the edge of her bed, her elbows are resting on her knees. Within this frame there is a close-up frame of her hand. She is holding the pen knife in her hand,still.[frame 1- wide with box close-up frame- page28]
POV shot. She is looking down at her hands. She is holding one pen knife in each hand.[frame 2- wide- page28]
this frame is cut diagonally into half. Close-up shot of eyes closed, a tear falling down from one eye. Other half of frame is a close up of fists tightening around the pen knives.[frame 3- wide/2- page28]
low-angle mid-long shot of girl still sitting on bed but looking up, hands clutching the bed-sheet. The knives are on the floor and are blood-stained. And her eyes are bleeding. Within this frame there are two box frames of her stabbing her eyes and taking the knives back out, with blood oozing out.[full bleed frame+2 box close-up frames- page29]

one page gap.

overhead mid-long shot of girl lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Half her head is cut out of frame.[frame 1- wide- page31]
frame goes into inset. And we see the same guy who took the interview. He looks shocked. And he is talking. -he says: “..and those images you are seeing are straight from her house..she was found unconscious, but is now totally out of danger..”[frame 2- wide- page31]
camera zooms out. There are more TVs. Stacked up on top of each other. The interviewer is still talking. -he says: “..she has of course lost her sight..there is a roll that has been found..which has been developed..it has..and you will not believe it..” .. “but it has self-portraits she had clicked after she did that gruesome thing to herself..”[frame 3- wide- page31]
camera zooms out even more. Its a long shot of an electronics shop from outside the street. -he says: “..her well-wishers and friends have decided to put up all those self-portraits in the Town Art Gallery. The manager of the gallery says he is more than honored. The exhibition opens Monday, and our prayers are with her..”[frame 4- wide- page31]
shot of a wall. There are about 4-5 portraits hung on the wall. They are all self-portraits of the girl after she blinded herself.[frame 1- wide- page32]
camera is zooming out. More of the gallery is seen. People are standing looking at the portraits. Some are taking notes too.[frame 2- wide- page32]
camera zooms out even more, to show outside of gallery. Shot is from the street. There are people lined up outside too. Only this time, the frame looks like its a photo in a newspaper.[frame 3- wide- page32]
shot of a half-folded newspaper. its in full view. It seems to be lying on a table. The photo is now part of it. -headline says: 'Blind photographer's stunt gets her World Photographer of the Year.'[full-page frame - page33]

-------------------end-------------------

[sorry i know i am a bit late with the script. but i have started the thumbnails. will put that up very very soon, i promise.]

Akshataa: Character 2

2010-03-05T02:19:00.000-08:00

Arjun

Shilo- More render

2010-03-04T21:17:00.000-08:00

this is also still work in progress.

but just to give an idea of the style i could possibly use.

Khoya- Final script format- illustration example-storyboard and rendering trial

2010-03-04T20:14:00.000-08:00

page one-

(Opener)

one panel.

They were young and they were lost.

But before something is lost. It is first found.

page 2-

three panel.

1- It began first as breath

2.and breath became water

3.and water (as it got weary of churning became earth)

(“You who laid the foundations of the earth

so that it should not be moved forever,

you covered it with the deep as with agarment,

the waters stood above the mountains.” (Ps. 104:5-6)

page 3-

one panel.

And of water and earth and spirit were born man and woman.

In matters grip but on spirits side.

Knowing full well that their essence was Breath. Ruh. Spirit. Swa. prana.

And everything contained that very essence within them.

'You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world'

((I'm still wondering whether my depiction should be Shiva-Shakti (androgynous)

or Adam Eve (two distinct beings)

or even just two children.

page 4.

2 panel.

There were other forms too born of breath.. 4 legged creatures who inhabited earth,

winged creatures that soared in the sky.

creatures that lived in water.

and each lived for and with each other bonded by love.

a network of light.

From Delight we came into existence.

In Delight we grow.

At the end of our journey’s close,

Into Delight we retire.

- Ashtavakra Gita 1: 18-20

all beings sang of this love and delight in a great cosmic orchestra.

Man's voice (then sweet) was too part of this song of praise.

page 5.

5.panel.

one day men and women were distracted while singing. He saw something glimmering in the corner of his eye.

It was a firefly.

Man says: 'Light that is owned by something other than the stars'

Having always lived by his need. this 'want' was new to him

and then on. when all the creatures sang. his was not a song of love.

but a song of longing.

7 days and 7 nights later he saw Fire again. One day when all the world creatures were asleep, he snuck up behind the firefly and trapped it in a small glass box.

page6.

4 panels

He labelled this box and it gave him great pleasure that he could see it whenever he wished and it would never ever go away (it had no choice).

Soon he collected more creatures like this. He no longer sang in praise with the rest but instead arranged his collection meticulously in rows.

When the other spirits approached him to ask him why he didn't sing and why he was trapping these creatures and plants he said

'Don't you see? I discovered them and so they are mine'

The spirits didn't understand this logic at all.

page 7.

one panel

But the truth is- that before any pandora's box was opened...it was first sealed up.

--------

The Nasha. - total change of mood+style.

page 8.

2 panel

Man's greed led him to try and manipulate. Try and consume and control the spirit of the earth.

But above all, he was intoxicated.He was addicted to power. and it is this addiction, this intoxication and this blindness that gave birth to a dark powerful force with a life of its own

'The Nasha'

page 9+10

1-6- horizontal- mans body with the nasha floating through it

It started as a small puff of smoke that enveloped his heart and wrapped its long vines around it. This gave him indifference.

It then spread to his chest that swelled up as his lungs were taken over by the Nasha. This gave him pride.

Next it spread to his throat and wound its vines around his neck nearly choking him. This gave him cold silence.

Then to his eyes. dilated pupils. Nasha swirling inside like dark pools of sorrow. This gave him blindness.

and having wrapped itself around every nerve and entered every stream that ran through man's body:

finally it penetrated his mind. This brought him death.

And not death of the spirit (for the spirit lives forever) or death of Love (because love exists beyond that) but the death of his compassion.

Which is the worst end of all.

panel count- 25 panels.

Treatment Note

minimalistic in line.

interesting use of textures + overlays and minimal colour.

Minimal text

maximum interpretative visual.

This visual on top is done for the 'children's book version of khoya. And wouldn't work as a comic because its too elaborate.

The visual below (left side is one possible way of rendering the comic.

it's an incomplete render though..

black and white version of the same.

I didn't want my frames to be too static. So even if you look at the storyboard- It's not within 'boxes'

I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

Also, do comix always have to be b+w? :|

DISHA: character tweaking and (semi) finals

2010-03-04T19:52:00.000-08:00

Sargam: Thumbnails Set 2

2010-03-04T11:30:00.000-08:00

rest of the thumbnails:

Mitalee: Trying the look and feel of the style. sketches and all

2010-03-04T10:04:00.001-08:00

Samvida- Work in Progress

2010-03-04T07:44:00.000-08:00

character sketch:work in progress:

Akshataa: Character and Thumbnails

2010-03-04T03:54:00.000-08:00

Rati

A few rough sketches (9 panel grid)

Work In Progress - Bharat.

2010-03-03T10:53:00.000-08:00

Sargam: Thumbnails Set 1

2010-03-02T05:31:00.000-08:00

Please click on the thumbnails to enlarge them and see them properly. Feedback will be appreciated. Thanks.

Thumbnails part 1 for "the suicide". I am still working on the characters.

Varun - characters and thumbnails of the first three pages

2010-03-01T21:11:00.001-08:00

Sharvari-Thumbnails Pg1-4

2010-03-01T20:11:00.000-08:00

From Page1 to 4:

Mitalees story end reworked

2010-02-26T07:42:00.001-08:00

The Boy without a face

Once upon a time far, far in the woods lived a lonely boy. He had no friends, and no family. Every night an angel would come and give him a new toy in exchange that he may never leave the woods. Oh so lovingly would she sing the child to sleep.

One fine day, when the sky was blue and the birds merry, the boy wandered where he shouldn’t wander. He thought what he shouldn’t have been thinking. He raised his weary brow and looked up at the wall he was now reached. Wailing in vain he grabbed his face and began to weep.

“Come now, you must not cry. Your future is with me. The world is a terror. Come with me. I will protect you.” The voice was that of the angel who came from the skies. She led the sad child back toward the trees.

That night the boy awoke after the angel had left. He was full of ideas and5v soon he would try them out. He took a shovel and a few berries and went on his way. As quietly as he could he walked on dry leaves. Through the murky swamps and past the willows, that cast shadows of evil demons coming to grab who ever woke them from their shallow slumber.

The child was very frightened and shivered with fear and guilt for never before had he deceived the Angel who loved him. He walked on with every ounce of courage he had in his small frail body. Lady fortune had abandoned the poor boy this night for he had fallen into the pool of floating dreams. At the bottom of the pool waiting for him was Mr. Puffing Blow Fish of destiny.

The little boy swam across to near the fish and asked

Fish oh fish
Nether I have been,
To see the world beyond,
Of this I am keen.

Tired and lonely
I am scared and tiny
Please help me.

The fish gave him a grain of rice and said, “This grain will give you all the food you need for your journey ahead.” The child was confused but took the grain anyway. As he swam away he thought about what was to come. Struggling out of the pond he began to move ahead on all fours with haste. But that was not to be, because he was very tired.

The grain of rice fell out of his hands and onto the ground of creepers and thorns. And the child bled from the hands and face, as he frantically looked for it. Finally the wretched grain was found and all felt well again.
On his way almost reaching the wall the boy fell and decided to lay there for an hour or two. When time came to move on he was too tired to dig. His little hands could barely lift the shovel. But he picked it up and hit the wall thrice before falling to the ground.

“Who goes there?” enquired three voices in unison. “It is I. Tim. Please let me pass.” The walls shudder and slowly, the ground shaking, move away to reveal a beautiful path ahead. And with the eager most first step, the boy moved onto the path full of purple roses. And as he walked ahead, he heard a beautiful voice calling his name. It wasn’t that of the angel, but of someone else, someone younger and very near.

Her name was Rose, and she was beautiful. “Tim! Look here! Look at me!” His face was burnt but through his eyes he told her, that he loved her for the last time.

The camp was attacked and nearby bunkers were blown to bits. Among the pieces of destruction was Rose and the man she was going to marry. She reached out still in one piece, to feel his heart, with a desperate hope. Instead of a heartbeat she found a photograph in Tim’s pocket of his mother, him and his tenth birthday gift, a goldfish and a letter apologizing for joining the army against her wishes, but with the bright side of meeting Rose.

She lay back down and decided to complete the things Tim had started. All three of them.

Divya story

2010-02-26T04:07:00.001-08:00

I asked an old woman why she was sprinkling flour over the ant colony. She startled me by replying, “To you they are ants. But to me they are all people. They are awaiting their turn to be reborn a human.” I immediately understood what she meant. In the Hindu conception of the human lifecycle, between death and rebirth, a person passes through what is called chaurasi lakh yonis (eight million, four hundred thousand different births) before being born a human again. “As a human in this lifetime, this is the least I can do for my fellow beings” the old woman added. She had touched a chord, sensitive in every Indian heart. Deep down somewhere, it is perhaps this feeling that keeps alive in India the ancient tradition of feeding animals.

Although the lowly crow has no such exalted status, it is nevertheless a very special bird in India that is fed all over the country for a variety of different reasons. But chiefly, the crow is identified with the remembrance of ancestors or shraadha – a period of time that comes each year when people recall their departed relatives and offer them food by feeding this winged scavenger. Evocative of ancestors, the crows are routinely fed in the Hindu burning grounds where the dead are taken to their funeral pyres.

LOGLINE:

A little girl who sees shadow monsters goes to her grandfather for comfort till one day he passes away and turns into a crow.

STORY:

M was scared of the dark. This may not seem to be a surprising or noteworthy thing, but in fact it is. This is because he reason to be afraid was quite peculiar, unique and genuinely valid. It was the shadow monsters. They kept her up at night.

She spotted them quite unintentionally really. She had been staring mindlessly at a corner of the dining room during dinner (staring mindlessly into space was one of the earlier habits she had developed in the process of growing up and turning into an individual), when she saw something no one else in the room noticed. This was not because her eyes could see special things, but merely because the other members at the table were occupied by the television, and dinner.

[Noteworthy fact #1]

The television had been invented by the shadow monsters as a safety device. It has been studied to be effective at keeping human eyes glued to a place, preventing them from roaming unnecessarily to where the shadows were.

This particular shadow monster that was spotted that came was out to check if the safety device was working. It was, but it wasn’t foolproof. He didn’t know this because he didn’t notice that he was being noticed. He was watching the television.

‘Look, a shadow monster!’

‘Hmmm’, ‘Finish your vegetables’

There was however one person who believed her, her grandfather ‘Ajoba’. She would slip away to him when she felt disheartened, and also because she loved him very much.

[Noteworthy fact #2]

M was a happy child and was rarely gravely disheartened. She saw the world through a pair of rose tinted glasses, and even when things looked bleak, she kept her chin up.

Ajoba had a room to himself. It had blue walls and was oriented such that it got the morning sun. The most prominent thing in his room was his bed. This was partly due to its size, and partly because this was where one always found Ajoba sitting, reclining or sleeping. He stood his ground like a weathered lighthouse, sending out a strong beam of light that drew M to him like a moth to light.

Ajoba would tell M bedtime stories.

He also told her breakfast stories, stories for a rainy day with a thunder storm, hot summer afternoon power cut stories, stories that made her feel happy, stories that made her pensive and thoughtful, stories that kept her up at night, stories that she helped him finish, stories she passed on to others; he had a story for every occasion and some for no occasion at all, and M loved every one of them.

III

The reason Ajoba believed M when she said there was something fishy with the shadows was because there was something he too had noticed, and it was bothering him very much.

It had started a month earlier. He had woken up in the middle of the night feeling very thirsty and gone to the kitchen for a glass of water. He was not confined to the bed at this point. The moon was out, and as he stretched across the kitchen counter towards the water jug, he noticed wings. The shadow his arm formed was that of a bird’s wing. At first he thought it was the light, but it was reaffirmed the next day in all kinds of lights. The wings were unmistakably there. In his attempt to shake them off, he had slipped and fallen. This fall had required him to take complete bed rest. Soon afterwards, his shadow nose turned into a beak.

What bothered him was that he could not tell which bird his shadow was turning into. He was an avid birdwatcher and quite a famous one at that. He even had a book to his name on the birds of the Sahyadri range, Western Ghats. It was an intrinsic need for him to identify and classify birds wherever he found them.

(Birds at his window, far away birds in the sky as M flew her kite, bird feathers, feathers on hats, birds printed on clothes, birds he ate, he named them all) He had studied his shadow for a month now and it made him loose sleep. It made him haggard, led to formation of dark circles under his eyes and prompted his doctor to increase his medicine dosage. He was at the point of supplying his shadow with a new unique name (he was also a licensed taxonomist) when M walked in.

‘Can I sleep here tonight? The shadow monsters are out again.’

‘Yes, sure my sweet’

‘Did you know your shadow has turned into a crow?’

Ajoba’s face shows a mixture of emotions: intense shock and relief.

‘Goodnight’

They both fall asleep with smiles on their faces.

13 Jan. It was the night before Makarsankranti. M had been practising her kite flying and gotten quite good at it. She wanted to win the kite flying competition in her colony. It had been a long and tiring day and her fingers were quite sore. She would have fallen into a deep slumber as soon as her head touched the pillow if it hadn’t been for one thing. The festivities had missed no one and the shadows were out flying kites tonight. Their kites soared high over the walls and onto the ceiling creating pretty patterns. It was all very nice but M was nervous for the next day.

‘Could you all just go away tonight, I need my rest’

It was as though someone pressed pause for a projected movie. And then, things started getting messy. Shadow monsters are quite gentle and peaceful creature when left alone, but there is something they intensely dislike, it is being ticked off by little girls. They can also be scary when they want to be, and at that moment they had become very big and scary. The air grew still and M sank back into her bed pulling her blanket around her as they increased in number and encircled her. All was not well.

‘Caw’

The noise broke the tension. It was a crow on the window ledge. He had a shiny beak and strong claws. He swooped in scattering the shadows with his own, very human one. Ajoba had come to her rescue, but somewhere in the corner of her mind M knew something was not right. She felt sadness engulfing her tired body as she drifted off to sleep.

‘He went in his sleep’, her mother whispered to the phone, and M’s world came crashing down.

This was a bit too much even for her rose tinted glasses and they went flying out of the window. M went to the blue room and curled herself up on the bed. The room filled up with emptiness. They came as big waves, pulverising her under its force. The waves got some fish along and the room filled up like an aquarium. She stayed like that till her head got stuck in a fish, which was when she decided it was time to go look for her rose tinted glasses.

M goes looking for them to the garden. A white sheet hanging out to dry reminds her of Ajoba’s bed which always had a white sheet on it. There is a crow sitting on the line. M is down on her knees crawling through the bushes looking for the glasses.

‘Caw’ ‘A little to your left’

She puts her hand out to her left and finds the glasses, puts them on and looks at the crow.

‘If you are my grandfather, hop two steps to the right’, she demonstrates how. The crow hops to the right and says, ‘You know you could have just asked.’

They both go fly her kite.

pallak storyboard -the sneak out part

2010-02-25T23:44:00.000-08:00

story board thumnails -the sneak out

2010-02-25T23:35:00.000-08:00

pallak -story

2010-02-25T23:32:00.000-08:00

The story is about two roommates and their fights .The fights are about jealousy and anger for each other the main reason for them to fight is over a guy who stays on the ground floor and the idea is make each other shift out.
Tashee and roop are the two roommates fighting for each other love, this guy is called jai.
..................................................................................................................................................
There is a sneak out scene:
At midnight when roop is sleeping
Tashee sneaks out and goes to meet jai
Roop gets to know when tashee returns there is a crazy fight
They punch each other tashee takes the scissors and cuts off roop’s hair
Suddenly she realises what she has done and just goes sits quietly.
Roop goes to the bathroom to wash her face looks into the mirror and screams.
Roop is furious and is planning a major plan to take her case.
Doesn’t sleep the entire night, dark circles
Thrown crumbled pieces of paper all around.
Finally the plan is ready –evil grin with tired eyes.
She takes the bleach waiting for tashee to get up in the morning and see.
Tashee gets up and has bleached hair, and sees her mattress was dragged out of the house.
There is a crowd, she is embarrassed,
On her way back home she sees jai and he is freaked out by the way she looks.
She goes home, roop has an evil grin and yet trying to act calm.
................................................................................................................................................................
Invitation to a party:
Jai sends invites to both the girls.
The girls are excited
But are not showing emotions in front of each other.
Tashee goes to the bathroom and silent leaks out a grin.
An is jumping inside the loo.
Roop is taking the invitation and hugging it.
Tashee is making a list to do and look good.
She goes out; roop comes up with a plan.
While tashee is engaged with her beautification, face packs roop goes and empties the water tank.
So when she goes in for a bath roop locks her inside.
Goes down for the party and is happy tashee is not there to bother her.
The party is typical.
People dancing, rolls of tp all on the floor see fruit punch fallen all over the place.
Roop is on her way to find jai when tashee who is furious and jumps out of the window in the loo
Has her face pack is in her night suit gets hold of roop
There is a bitch fight happening
Roop is running and fighting and opens the door and both of them see
Jai kissing another guy ,background taashee and roop are seen shocked.

Aparupa: Story

2010-02-25T23:13:00.000-08:00

While an artist paints her composition of a brewing relationship, the same blossoms in a couple, forming a parallel reality.

Free writing

She is an eccentric artist who lives in her own world. Painting is her life and that’s all she loves doing. She has few friends rather acquaintances. She works in her small studio with the smell of greasy paint, scattered and strewn all over the room. The sides of the walls are lined with her half done canvases. A big window on one side where the sunlight comes streaming in. She finds inspiration from the people and places around her; the winding streets, the by lanes, the quaint little shops dotting the pavement and the colourful people and their relationships. She often wakes up in the middle of her sleep and paints till the weee hours of the morning. She uses her bare hands to paint, mixing colours on the canvas itself. Hands move like they are being driven by an external imaginary source. And finally what turns out is a magnificent painting rich in colours and moving strokes. One night after a rather tiring day at work she was fast asleep on her single bed, dreaming her beautiful dreams. She woke up suddenly with an urge to paint. But she didn’t know quite what. Her hands wanted to feel the wetness of paint on the canvas. She took a fistful of vermillion paint and started smearing it on the canvas. Her hands and fingers moved rapidly across it confidently in smooth violent strokes. But she still didn’t know what she was making. Her both hands were moving fiercely across the blank canvas filling up empty spaces. She stopped finally. And she went back to see what it was that she’d painted. And after observing it for a while she felt that the painting represented a storm, a brewing storm of flaming red. It looked destructive and menacing and it seemed to be coming closer and closer. She moved onto the next canvas. Her both hands got to work. It was like a strange energy had taken over her. She just couldn’t stop her hands from spiralling through the canvas. She churned out image after image without even thinking what the picture might entail. She wasssssssssssssssssssssss. She wanted to let it all out. It was like she had a story to tell but wasn’t quite sure how to express it till it all came together in the end. It was like a jigsaw puzzle she was working on. Meanwhile in the same by lanes of her apartment was a couple who met quite by chance and went through the same emotional turmoil expressed in the artist’s compositions.

There life stories get entangled and manipulated in the artists minds composition which she expresses on her canvas with a milieu of colours.

Thoughts and ideas for the plot

• Metaphorical way of portraying the paintings(relationship of couple)- nature- mood and colour of landscape or cityscape, abstract strokes, lines and patches of colour, suggestive of a form, depicting the mood, emotion and stage in relationship,
• Peaks in a relationship- when a person proclaims his or her love to the other, whether the other person reciprocates or rejects the feeling, external forces that hinder love from blossoming
• Quick fast paced story which happens in a span of a day. Passionate, poetic and lyrical imagery and writing.

• The story emphasizes on the relationship they share, their thoughts and feelings without much dialogue. It also describes the emotional and physical tension that builds between the two (but which fails to get materialised?). These get communicated through body gestures and facial expressions.

Body- Eye contact, Proximity, Touch, Lips, Smile, Feet/legs/toes, Hands/fingers

Response/ reaction- Wait, hesitate, motion, think, embarrass, wonder, confident, long, dramatic, calm, silent, observe, hurt (through gestures)

Setting- open space,two people- the man and woman

DRAFT 1

Blank canvas. Movement of hands across the canvas. Pale blue with small, abrupt streaks of orange and chrome. Two of them sitting in an open space, away from each other. They only communicate through eye contact initially. Every time he turns around, he’s looking up; she’s looking down, catching each other’s eye occasionally.

The streaks get denser as her fingers dipped in saffron contract and expand in crisp movements. The woman’s chin rest on her hands as she observes the man, showing an interest in him. The man responds to it by sitting with his arms folded, trying to subtly observe her.

Smears and swirls of pale yellow with the smooth warm movement of her palm in waves. The woman looks away from the man, is lost in thought, looking at her feet, as if looking within her for an answer. The man relaxes and crosses his legs.

Sparks of vermillion and burnt orange.The man- taps his shoes, not looking up. The woman’s feet close in. she looks up again at the man. Feeling the movement, the man looks up as well and catches the woman’s gaze. Embarrassed she shifts her gaze.

Purple hatches and gradients. The man takes a seat closer to her. She squirms in her seat. He smiles. She returns his smile shyly. He scratches his head, she fixes her dress.

Specks of grey and green. He is about to start a conversation when a mother with a baby walks in and sits, hindering their view of each other. Disappointed, the woman folds her hands and presses it to her lips. The man stares at his palm.

Warm rays of golden yellow. The mother leaves in a while. The man and woman make eye contact. The woman decides to sit opposite him. He seems to be sizing her (eye movement up and down). Her eyes downcast with a half smile.

Swishes of red and vermillion. He goes and sits next to her, at the edge of the bench. Tension.

Deeper red and brown swirls. Her hands resting on her lap, contract. He crosses his hands, looks at her. Her toes squirm, she looks away.

Purple and navy blotches. He moves closer, places his left hand casually on the bench. The tension builds. She purses her lips, gives a shy sidelong glance.

Ochre and magenta washes. They both inch closer to each other. The tension reaches its zenith.

Burnt orange and red peaks. He reaches for her hand. She looks at him longingly.

The artist is painting in a mad frenzy. Splashes of red, vermillion and burnt orange. She abruptly stops. Steps back. Squints her eyes and stares at her brilliant composition. Frowns. Takes a fistful of white and smears it all over the canvas.

Robot sketches and some Photoshop WIPs-James

2010-02-25T20:15:00.001-08:00

Manasi : Final story

2010-02-25T20:15:00.000-08:00

"Sir, please sir, I am really hungry haven't eaten for days sir, please give me some money, ur life will flourish sir, please."
"Go away, i don't know where these people come from, go away, get out of my site, early in the morning i had to see such a face, get lost"
The little boy was upset, disheartened, hungry and tired and to top it all was the morning heat. He steps to the side and see's the cars passing one after another, in the cars he sees various kinds of people, families, mothers, fathers, people going to work and really wishes he would be there someday. Many a time he wonders who is he? who our his parents? where are they? why is he alone in this world? but his questions remain unanswered.

On day on a hot afternoon in a road in Delhi, with the scorching sun taking the life out of him,sweating, he tried his luck again, he picked a car with an elderly man inside and knocked at his window,
"please sir, please give me some money, its really hot sir and I am hungry i haven't eaten a meal in days sir please."
The man in the car was watching this little boy intently and smiled, "What is your name."
"Shiv sir"
"Shiv, why do u beg, you should go to school."
"Sir i don't have enough money to even feed myself where will i get the money to go to school, though one day i do want to go to school sir."
The red light turned green and people were aggressively honking at this car, among all the aggressiveness there was the humble man who spoke to shiv as if he was a human. Just as shiv was about to leave his man stuck out a 50 Rs note.
"May god be with you always."
Shiv was overcome with joy, his eyes full of tears he took the 50 Rs note.
NO ONE had ever given him so much respect, he was always treated like a nobody, shunned, pushed around, abused. He felt like a person after a long time. His face and eyes had lit up, his heart ecstatic, his mind rushing with things he could do with that money. He put it in his pocket.
"Thank you so much sir"

The Traffic signal's of Delhi has its own dynamics. It runs on a territory bases, it reminds me a lot of a jungle where you don't know who is the king of the jungle the lion thinks he is and the elephant thinks he is because of his size. Even here you didn't know who ruled the signal, people that were older and came here before or people that had more followers and a gang. There were these three boys not very old in their teens, around 17, 18 who thought they ruled the place. They are what you call insecure bullies.
These three boys from under the fly-over were watching this whole scene happen, the exchange of the 50 Rs note, it was the most anyone had earned in two weeks.
The three boys were furious with jealously. It became an ego issue with them.
"What does he think he is, how dare he not come and give us the money."
"He thinks we didn't see him?"
"He thinks he can mess around with us, i think he has forgotten who the boss is around here."
"I think it is time to remind him who we are and what we can do."
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHA."

That night, when the little boy was praying and thanking god for a good day, these three boys went up to him.
One of him smacked him on his head, and started laughing.
The other pushed him from the back and he fell flat on his chest.
Shiv did not know what he had done.
" why are .yo........."
before he could end his sentence, one of the boys slapped him.
Shiv started crying.
"You think you can out smart us."
"You think we wouldn't have come to know about the 50 Rs you earned today."
Shiv tried to get up.
this time he got smacked on his ear which started bleeding. There were other people from the area witnessing this incident but no one came to poor little shivs rescue.
His eyes helpless, his body numb with fear, his head spinning and his ear bleeding, the only thing he could think about was his 50Rs note that a kind man had given him with a lot of blessing and hope.
"Please leave me alone, i haven't done anything to you."
"Hahaha, give us the money and we will leave you."
"No please that money is mine, I am hungry."
Shiv was on his knees and begging for mercy.
He knew he would not have been spared.
Egos of the boys flared up on being refused. Without thinking they all pounced on the little boy, punched , kicked and beat him up,till he didn't have the energy to keep up the fight, they ultimately took the money away, leaving him in a corner as if he was abandoned garbage.
Shivs clothes were torn, he was bleeding profusely. His eyes were so helpless and full of tears yet no one came to help.
Shiv cried and cried and cried. He wished there was somebody to defend him. He felt alone and abandoned.
That night he went to sleep crying.

He started having a dream about his parents, all the questions that he never got answers for started appearing, he tried to picture what his parents might have looked like. Would the situation have been different if they were around? Would his mum come to save him and probably teach those boys a lesson? He many a time dreamt about his parents so he made a picture of them in his head it was almost like he was living a parallel life in his dreams.
Little did he know that this dream would change his entire life. While dreaming about his parents suddenly a boy appeared. It seemed so real, he was a boy as old as shiv with the same physic but blue in colour. He is a happy, carefree, naughty little boy, he looks like an impish pixie with mischievous eyes, is exuberant, and is a prankster. He loves to trouble people in their dreams. He is a dream hopper, and is a lot like marry poppins, he comes to those who need him and when his work is finished and the helpless can help themselves he goes to another little child who needs him. But the difference between him and marry poppins is that she is disciplined he is naughty and loves to harris people. He also becomes like a alter ego of the child. He was exactly what shiv wanted to be or wanted to live like.
On seeing him shiv got alarmed and he woke up in astonishment to find that he was just having a dream, the night was still and the sky clear and it was very very quiet.
Shiv went back to sleep and this blue boy appeared again, this time shiv was less intimidated to see him. He doesn't know how to react to this creature. He by now realizes that he isn't harmful.

He shows shivs some tricks, hops from one dream to another and troubles people, he pretended to be a snake and climbed on to someone's chest, resulting in the person yelling on top of his voice. He then stuck a twig up someone's nose. Shiv was laughing again :)
He then goes to where the bullies were sleeping.
sniggers
He starts of by putting a rat in one of theirs boxers.
Then he ties their feet with a big cloth as if he was in a maze tangled in all directions.
He then puts pepper into their noses
(need to develop this scene some more)
He teaches them a lesson, the three boys wake up alarmed as they don't know what is happening. They are scared and screaming.
The boys suddenly see shiv in front laughing at them so they decide to get up and beat him up but as soon as they try the all tumble and fall over each other.
They give up and apologize to shiv and promise never to trouble him again.
Shiv feels satisfied and feels that there is someone for him, this blue boy is his creation, he came from his dream, his alter ego, he wants to hold on to him forever. With him around he feels safer, stronger and more confident.
He peacefully goes back to sleep again having taught the big boys a lesson.
The next morning shiv gets up and finds the blue boy gone but he is wearing his T-shirt.
He realises he now has to stand up for himself.

maanvi:final story.

2010-02-25T12:42:00.000-08:00

old man(parthojeet chatterjee),

student interviewer(sunando sen),

caretaker(shyamramanujan ramamurthy aka shontu),

selfish nephew(anirban chatterjee),

college sweetheart(devamita dasgupta).

-----rough script thing.------

TITLE PAGE.

PAGE 1 : establishment of environment.

shots of old man in his house, in his room. its not very well-lit. there is light coming in from the window facing his bed and is falling on him.

1-top angle shot: there is an old wooden bed on which he is sitting. next to it is a small table, on which rests one cup and saucer, some medicine strips, a folded newspaper and a red and a blue marker next to it.

2-closeup of hand: he is on drips, the hand has a broken bread slice in it.

3-closeup of feet sliding into slippers.

4-shot from behind the man, full view of him, he is silhouetted against his window, he is walking towards it, towards the pigeons who are waiting to be fed.(he is able to walk. slowly, with a bent back.)

5-shot from front, mid-shot of man breaking the bread into smaller crumbs, and on the wall behind him are two things, one a picture of his leader with the political party's flag on it, and the other, a calendar, on which there is a date marked in bright red.

6-mid-close shot of the wall, showing half of the framed picture and full view of the calendar. the calendar has various things written on it for each date, plans and events and such, in blue ink, but only till the date that is marked in red. after that the boxes are clean. there is not even a scratch of ink on them.

7-mid closeup of hand- he picks up the blue marker.

8-close-up shot of calendar- he writes 'election result' in blue,broken handwriting in the box just before the date marked in red.

PAGE 2 : the interviewer is established in this page.

1-mid-shot of a tall-ish cabinet: a young-ish hand is seen reaching out to a sound recorder in the left of frame. rest of the frame is filled with stuff, with a framed photograph of a boy and an old man, the same old man who has been established on PAGE 1.

2-mid-long shot of the boy against the cabinet: he is standing, putting the recorder in his bag, and a notebook too, holding both in the same hand.

3-top angle mid-close shot of the boy: he is picking up a stack of papers titled with the name of a man, and 'rough script/plan' written under it.

4-long shot of his cluttered room: he is seen exiting the room.

5-long shot of a street: boy is seen walking through the market.

6-long, low-angle shot from behind the boy(boy is seen till the waist): he is looking up at an old house, with two windows, and pigeons perched on both windows.

7-close-up of boy's face: he has a faint smile on his face. he seems happy, almost proud.

8-same long shot, eye-level this time: he is seen inside the house right next to the old house. he is closing the gate. this house is much smaller as compared to the old house.

PAGE 3 : The Caretaker.

1-low-angle mid-long shot from a coffee table: on the table rests the sound recorder. the record button is pressed and a red blip is happening. across the table sits a man in his late 40s. he is balding, has a tired look on his face, and he looks like he was born with it. he is wearing a pale full-sleeves shirt and trousers. he is about to say something.

2-over-the-shoulder shot. from the interviewer's shoulder: the man asks the interviewer,"should i talk loudly? or is this fine?" the interviewer responds,"nahi, ye theek hai"(this is fine).

3-close-up of man's face: he begins talking, "i was taking care of everything he ever needed, for about 22years. i still remember the first day.." (goes to flashback)

4-photograph-like frame: both of them standing next to each other, caretaker as a young man, with a placard in his hand, that has his name on it. the old man is standing next to him, smiling, but puzzled, his eyes on the placard. [Narration:"..he asked me my name, when i finished saying it, he didn even bother pronouncing it.."]

5-photograph-like frame: both of them standing next to each other, old man handing young man a new placard, with a nickname on it. old man has a wide, proud smile on face. young man looks confused. [Narration:"..instead, he thought for two seconds, and gave me a nickname. and now im known in the whole locality by that very nickname."]

6-still in flashback, mid-long shot of both men sitting at an old table, with a chessboard between them, we can make out that the old man is winning: [Narration:"once he got the reports, and eventually got a little weak,chess became our ritual. and knowing his deep passion for politics and deep love for the party he worked for, he always chose the black pawns, and named them after his party. i was given the white ones, and some weak party's label.."]

7-close up of old man's hand, knocking off the white king with his black pawn:[Narration:"..and as we all know, a man of his intelligence was impossible to defeat! so i would end up losing badly.."]

8-over-the-shoulder shot from behind caretaker: old man has won and has that victory smile on his face, like he knew all along that he would win.[Narration:"..i would hate it then, but now, the thought of that smile is what keeps me happy."] (flashback ends)

9-closeup of caretaker's face: he is wiping a tear off his right eye, "..i longed to see that smile in the last few weeks, but he had lost interest, because of people like that damned nephew of his, (name here).."

PAGE 4 : The Nephew.

1-low-angle mid-long shot from a coffee table: on the table rests the sound recorder. the record button is pressed and a red blip is happening.

2-mid-long shot, POV of Interviewer: the nephew is a man in his 40s, and he looks like a cunning fellow, someone who doesnt have many friends, only 'associates'. he is wearing casual clothes, and is sitting with one leg on the chair. he is also smoking. he asks,"recording?" Interviewer says Yes.

3-long shot, both are sitting facing each other, coffee table between them, the nephew starts with a question, almost like a derogatory remark,"So how come someone like YOU is doing something like THIS for someone like HIM?" Interviewer replies,"i studied under him when he was teaching in (whatever college). he had been a source of inspiration for many. i just decided to DO something about it. he was important to me."

4-mid-shot of nephew, again Interviewer's POV: he is holding the ashtray in his right hand, and while ashing his cig, he says,"funny.he never mentioned that part of his life, you know. when i used to go meet him.."(goes to flashback)

5-mid-close shot, old man is standing in the foreground on frame right, in the background on frame left is the nephew, lesser light on him: the old man is looking down.[Narration:"..he didn talk much. i think he had lost interest. plus he was never really social. politics was his family. i think he hated all the rest.."]

6-old man's POV shot, sort of low angle, nephew is standing in front of him with papers in his hands, showing them like playing cards, there are three, labelled Plan A, Plan B, Plan C. he has a 'am-i-smart-or-what-!' smile on his face.[Narration:"..i had these plans, i wanted to give him a better life, or whatever was left of it, you know. i wanted him to get out of that old dump of a house, build something new there, you know, but he just wouldnt.." Interviewer interrupts,"he never talked about family?"]

7-nephew's POV shot, mid-close shot, old man is seen in front of a cupboard, half-done closing it, inside there are framed photos of him with what looks like people from family, son etc.[Narration:"no, no! he almost never did. just everytime he asked about my kids, and why i didn get them along.."](flashback ends)

8-mid-close shot of nephew leaning forward, to stub his cig into the ashtray, which is now on the table. Interviewer says,"pretty odd. he never spoke about family to his own family members!" Nephew repies,"yeah. but i guess when you lose a wife and a child pretty early on in life, you tend to get alienated from the concept..oh but he did mention this woman he used to know..not his wife though.."

PAGE 5 : The Woman.

1-low-angle mid-long shot from a coffee table: on the table rests the sound recorder. the record button is pressed and a red blip is happening.

2-mid-long shot, POV of interviewer: the woman is sitting on a sofa chair, she looks really old, but seems happy. she is from a rich background too. she starts,"im quite surprised you found me, especially in context to him. im not surprised that to his family i almost dont exist.you see, we were college sweethearts.." she says, smiling. (goes to flashback)

3-Polaroid picture-type frame: photo of a guy and a girl dressed in 60s type clothing, girl is kissing the guy on the cheek and the guy has taken the photo in what looks like a college classroom,[Narration:"..we were the very typical 60s indian couple, the guy-giving-girl-a-rose-everyday-type.."]

4-Polaroid picture frame: shot of a college rally, him leading it: [Narration:"..in college he was the hero of politics, he was the motivator of all those petty revolts, which now seem so irrelevant, you know.."]

5-Polaroid picture frame: shot in a hospital, he is on the bed, on drips, but smiling. she seems to have taken the picture. [Narration:"..this once, he was in the hospital, after an accident, we were young and so full of life, and that time reality hit me i think.."]

6-same shot, but old man is on the bed in his house, they're both old and she is sitting next to each other, the same way, its just a flashback, not a polaroid one. [Narration:"..and now when i think of it, im not unhappy with it. we spoke a week back, and he was the same politics freak, you know, and so looking forward to the election results.."](flashback ends)

7-close-up of interviewer: he asks,"so it mustve been quite a mental blow, 5years of such intense feelings and then nothing?"

8-close-up of woman: she says,"i never really regretted not being the wife, you know. i guess he never understood that though..also because i was the one who decided to walk away from it at the end.."

PAGE 6 : Conclusion:

1-overhead shot of interviewer, writing something at his desk.

2-closeup of hand, showing whats written: 'such a heavy politics background to all of it. he was so into it. what happened about the election results?'

3- interviewer's over-the-shoulder shot: the caretaker is sitting in front of him. he says,"his party won the elections, as expected. he was happy. very happy. the guy he wanted as leader was now the leader."

4-shot of old man, over his shoulder: he is looking out of the window, leaning out, the street is full of his party flags, his one fist is raised with victory.

5-mid-close shot of him lying on his bed: he is smiling, looking up. its an overhead shot.[Narration:"..one thing that none of us wouldve expected was how it turned out after that.."]

6-camera zooms out: this time the man is smiling, but his eyes are close, he's asleep. [Narration:"..the old man slept peacefully. he knew that was it..but the next day, the new government stole his house from him

..as part of a new development scheme..the party leader, his leader ordered it.."]

7-close-up of interviewer's hand: he has pressed the stop button on the recorder.

8-long, low-angle shot from behind the boy(boy is seen till the waist): he is looking up at an old house, with two windows, and pigeons perched on both windows. this time we see a notice stuck to the gate.

9-close-up of the notice: it says," Government Property. Trespassers will be severely prosecuted."

PAGE 7:

(concluding artwork)

(credits and acknowledgements)

-end-

Thumbnails-Page 1:

final frames maybe? - Bharat

2010-02-25T12:35:00.001-08:00

Wondering if the style/feel of the final frames could be something like this...

just trying out stuff. this is not finalised. or maybe it could stay like this but a bit cleaner?

Storyboard - Bharat

2010-02-25T12:27:00.000-08:00

theses are the first four pages. working on the rest. will be uploaded by saturday.

Shilo- Rambling Storyline of Chapter One (yes...1/7 O_O)

2010-02-25T11:54:00.000-08:00

They were young. And they were Lost.
Some stories about other worlds begin with 'Once upon a time', others with 'In the beginning'.
In this world the beginning is not known.
This World, sometimes forgotten and sometimes vaguely remembered by the Children and elders as 'Khoya': What was lost.
The elders in khoya tell tales of 'What-once-was'. A feeble whisper of the past. They spoke of a world not constructed and constrained. A world devoid of tall glass buildings. They spoke of other beings and half beings made of as fluid as water and as light as breath they called 'spirit'. They spoke of these spirits and life that existed beyond experiments in laboratories. They spoke of 'Colour': Strange hues and tones and pigments that spread like honey. They spoke of other life with four legs: creatures with a will of their own. Winged Creatures that would soar into the far reaches of space and dance with stars with painted wings and sing songs that told stories of other lands.
To the children of Khoya the words 'Of-their-own' seemed unimaginable. As did words like 'spirit', 'soul' and 'nature'.
To the children of Khoya this was myth. A jumble of fantastical mumbo-jumbo jumbled up in the elders' memories. And soon no one listened to those tales either.
There was no room for fantasy here. Only routine. And magic disrupted routine.
And what's the point of a story if it isn't even real? They said.

However, if one is to try and rediscover 'What-once-was'
If one is to attempt to pinpoint when Khoya was lost- it was possibly when the glass sphere was built around the earth.
Before, when the world was a spirit of itself, at first man lived in Harmony with other spirit (because he was intouch with his own).
He saw the network of light. He spoke the language of love, a language without words but only truth.
Everyday on earth was a celebration of this love. And man's voice (strong and sweet then) was part of this great cosmic orchestra.
They would sing in crystal voices about this love. they would spin round and round with the stars. Whirling in ecstacy. Everything was magical.
And I don't mean the mumbo-jumbo sort of magic. I mean Bliss.
one day men and women were distracted while singing. While looking up at the skies and his heart was connected to this great network when suddenly his eye caught something flying glimmering.
It was a firefly.
'Light that is worn by something apart from the stars' he thought...the idea of having light was interesting to him and he thought about it for days on end.
He wanted it. And then on, when he sang with the orchestra, it wasn't a celebration of love. It was a song of longing.
Having always lived by his need- this 'want' was new and exciting to him.
7 days and 7 nights later he saw Fire again. One day when all the world creatures were asleep, he snuck up behind the firefly and trapped it in a small glass box.
He labelled this box and it gave him great pleasure that he could see it whenever he wished and it would never ever go away (it had no choice).
Soon he collected more creatures like this. He no longer sang in praise with the rest but instead arranged his collection meticulously in rows.
When the other spirits approached him to ask him why he didn't sing and why he was trapping these creatures and plants he said
'Don't you see? I discovered them and so they are mine'
The spirits didn't understand this logic at all.
But the truth is- that before any pandora's box was opened...it was first sealed up.
and this incessant want to label and claim ownership over was called greed.

Man's greed led him to try and manipulate. Try and consume and control the spirit of the earth.
He was blind when he saw not the sadness in that he killed. He was deaf was he heard not the cries of the earth.
But above all, he was intoxicated.He was addicted to power. and it is this addiction, this intoxication and this blindness that gave birth to a dark powerful force with a life of its own
'The Nasha'
It started as a small puff of smoke that enveloped his heart and wrapped its long vines around it. This gave him indifference.
It then spread to his chest that swelled up as his lungs were taken over by the Nasha. This gave him pride.
Next it spread to his throat and wound its vines around his neck nearly choking him. This gave him cold silence.
Then to his eyes. dilated pupils. Nasha swirling inside like dark pools of sorrow. This gave him blindness.
and having wrapped itself around every nerve and entered every stream that ran through man's body:
finally it penetrated his mind. This brought him death.
And not death of the spirit (for the spirit lives forever) or death of Love (because love exists beyond that) but the death of his compassion.
Which is the worst end of all.
The spirits were chased out one by one. Poisonous gases were released into the world that punched holes into the layers of spirit and protection that enveloped the earth like a blanket.
Homes were destroyed. Forests burnt down. The sky began to fall, the earth began to quake. Spirit fought back. The sky would cry for days flooding the earth. His greed to control spirit brought terror. His greed to possess and consume land brought wars. And soon it wasn't even land anymore. Soon it was Oil, then Water. and last but most tragically- The Battles of Breath.
With holes in his sky, with a hole where a heart once existed, surrounded by chaos and cacophony- he had to make a choice-
Either he embraced the spirit and restored it to a magnificence of its own- let go of his control and need to consume and lived in Harmony.
Or
He built more walls and banished the spirit forever.
And Ofcourse, He chose to banish.
So he created a glass globe around the earth to block out the clouds that became animals in the sky. He shut out the stars that looked down upon the earth like eyes.
He created large concrete bottlestoppers that stopped rivers from flowing. He scooped out all the multitudes of fish and life in the ocean and replaced it with plastic that he'd consumed and spat out.
Remember poor Hansel and Gretel?
Who got lost in their woods and other kingdoms of love we could find no more: miniature labyrinths we no longer find our way back into.
The world faded,diminished and disintegrated into smaller and smaller histories until finally becoming the one we know.
Like a crystal prism that had been preserved for centuries to unleash the rainbow that shattered into tiny fragments .Cold, brittle and weak empires of manmade catastrophy eroded the soul like dirt off cliffs that drift in winds into beautiful tragedies of 'What-once-Was'.
Children were lined up in rows of gray and with glassy eyes of conformity gazing upon nothing. A vacant expression branded upon their faces with no decipherable features or beauty or ugliness. Their mind's trained not to think, not to question. This is the age of mediocrity and these voices of a forgotten generation of zombies. Jaded and incomplete but told to feel otherwise, these Children are laid to rest in an adult tone with the once beating heart of a child.  
This was Khoya. A mistake. A generation of alienation. And where our story begins.

So This is just a first draft of the first chapter. In terms of sequence of events it is more or less decided(unless people have some feedback or suggestions). The writing style keeps changing- which is something I need to take care of.Also I'm going to have to change the style of narration so it becomes a script or a conversation.

perhaps even a novel without any conversation or text at all?

Concept/Rough sketch of the Nasha.

Desperately trying to figure out how I can convert this into a script or a conversation.
Chapter 2 has much more dialogue and action in that sense.

Rough Thumbnails- Digbejoy Ghosh

2010-02-25T11:24:00.000-08:00

DISHA: thumbnail

2010-02-25T11:02:00.000-08:00

Sharvari-Final story.

2010-02-25T10:53:00.001-08:00

Earlier this month, Skywinds126 was abandoned in an old hangar at a far end of the airport. Up in the sky, a flock of wild sparrows were migrating to the south. One of them, Charlie, was lagging behind due to slow pace. She was mocked by the other birds and was left behind. She noticed a plane flying above them at a speed that couldn’t be matched by any of them. This gave her an idea and she followed the gas clouds formed by the plane and landed at a nearby airport.

Skywind126 noticed planes taking off from the runway; some hovered around the airport searching for a signal. He let a sigh out, “I wish I could be there. I will be spending the rest of my life lying here instead of flying high around the world.” Charlie was flying past all the hangars and stationed airplanes when she overheard his cry. She peeped in the hangar and perched on a high post. The plane was day dreaming about his last flight, experiencing the height, speed and the crash all in his head. As the dream took a bad ending he opened his eyes suddenly to find himself alone in the hangar. He noticed a single feather slip from the top of his head and fall on the ground. Charlie flew over the plane and landed on top of the left wing.

Startled with the new weight on his wings, Skywinds126 shouts, “whose there?”

“Hi, I’m Charlie”, she leaned forward from the wing so he could see her.

“Go away.” Said Skywinds126 as he squirmed away from her.

“I was on my way to the south highlands on my migratory path. I overheard your cry so I came to see.”

Skywinds126 slumps his wings down and reconsiders his state. He let the unwelcomed visitor speak.

“So why don’t you get out of here and move on.”

“I can’t. I don’t have a destination to go to. I’ve never flown out of free will.”

“Why not, you are lying here without being of any use. It seems to me that you are on your own now.”

“It’s not that easy”. He felt uneasy with the bird’s presence on his wing.

She flew in front of him with all excitement, “why not, why don’t you come with me?”

“What”, Skywinds126 stops a chuckle. “I’m not flying with you. Its one of the reasons I’m stuck here in the first place.

Charlie rolled her eyes, “yeah well, I won’t fly with you, I will sit inside”.

With that she went outside and returned with some twigs in her mouth. She went under and started stuffing under the front wheel flap.

“This won’t work you know. It’s too dangerous.”

“Why not, it’s as good as you flying alone. I’ll give you the direction as I will see the land passing by below us.

“So what is this place like?” asked the plane.

{Parallel interpretations by both characters of the place}

“It has all the things you’d need for fueling up as you fly high amongst the clouds that lie between two mountains. Deep below the valley, there is a river flowing between wide banks. You can lie there with your wings spread wide and let the sun shine on it.”

Then there was silence, the wait took place for the secret departure.

The next day the sun rose and let the first ray hit on the windshield of the abandoned aircraft. Skywinds126 woke up and called out to Charlie. Charlie had a plan to let him out without being noticed.

“You start going to the runway while I try to distract the humans.” Saying that she flies out and lands in the middle of the many aircrafts getting ready to take off. Meanwhile Skywinds126 moves out of the hangar. This was his first attempt of setting his wheels outside the hangar since his disposal. His expressions narrated the rest of his feelings. Charlie fluttered her wings and stood midair in front of a plane. Suddenly there was an out roar, “THERE’S BIRD HOVERING ON THE GROUND, EMERGENCY”.

The plan was a success. She flew towards the runway and followed Skywinds126. He was ready to take off. As soon as she sat in the nest, there were jerks. With few more jerks the front wheel lifted off the runway. Charlie held on to the nest and the wheel post.

“Are you sure we are doing the right thing? There is no one to take control over my steering. “Worried Skywinds126.

“You are your own pilot now.”

After reaching a certain height the silhouette of the plane resembled a small bird flying in the sky. They flew over varied landscapes. At one point they also crossed the flock that abandoned Charlie. They looked on.

As the destination came closer, Charlie guided him towards the mountains and told him to follow the river. Meanwhile Skywinds126 searched for the landscape that he imagined. He noticed other aerial creatures flying low over the river forming reflections, perched on the trees, sun drying on the river bank. He didn’t see any aircrafts gliding, choppers stationed, jets soaring high around. He felt alone for the first time since the journey.

“Now is the time to land. There is enough space for your wings to spread out.” Charlie was eager to hop off the nest and wait for her flock. She leaned out of the nest to see the flock of birds pass by. Just then Skywinds126 hit on his breaks but it just put him off balance. Due to that Charlie slipped out of the nest, fluttered her wings to stay in air. She tried calling out to skywinds126 but his speed sucked out her scream that followed next. Skywinds126 looked behind and saw her holding on to his right engine. The pressure was pulling her within and her energy was draining out. He had to do something quick in order to stop a major accident from repeating itself. He feared for his own life and for the bird that put him in this situation in the first place. He switched off the right engine and tilt to the right. He was losing height. He called out to the bird, “Quick try flying back to the nest.” There was no response from her. “We don’t have much time.” He cried. With the weak flaps of her wings she went towards the front wheel while the plane managed a steady position. Both their eyes showed fear and struggle at the same time. Once the bird sat safely in her nest, the plane started his right engine again and prepared for a safe landing.

But there was no such thing as safe landing without a pilot, without a runway, without clear signals…He dived straight into wide spread green foliage. The dense trees provided cushioning but the jerks and the branches tore his left wing. The pain ended as quickly as it was induced. Charlie held still in her place due to the shock. He found some space as he reached the ground and landed with a thud.

His eyes adjusted to the dust storm that he created due to the crash. He saw some faint outline of some familiar forms. And the dust settled he saw few choppers, a jet and other aircrafts of different ranks scattered around. Each had some sign of destruction. Was he hallucinating, he asked himself. Did he crash into another hangar? They all looked at the new addition. It was a welcoming stare. Charlie flew out, still droopy with the fall but managed to perch on a nearby tree. Skywinds126 looked around; saw trees on one end, a river taking a curve on the other end. He saw the aircrafts lying on the ground and some hovering around him from above. He looked at Charlie and said,” I’m not alone here.” Charlie smiled and flew back to meet her flock. {end frame shows an aerial view of the two ‘migratory lands’.}

Robot Update- Digbejoy Ghosh

2010-02-24T23:20:00.000-08:00

Trying to fit the boy in the robot.

ALERT

2010-02-24T18:47:00.001-08:00

Those of you who have had your stories more or less crystallised now need to actually put up your pages with thumbnails.