It was the summer of 2010. The University of Illinois approached our team for a project - a film to document their India tour. Due to unavoidable constraints, however, the project couldn’t materialize but that wasn’t the end of it. Our chief storyteller, Ravneet decided to do it all by himself; a personal project that required him to accompany the MBA students from the university, on their visit to India and document their travels in the form of an interactive video. A challenge, he thought and accepted it himself. 

As it turned out, it was an absolute delight for Ravneet who still finds himself reminiscing the memories he made. The students were in India for ten days, out of which they spent the first 3 days in Delhi, another 3 in Mumbai, 1 day in Agra and the last 3 days in Chennai. To be able to really understand another person’s experience and then shoot it, one must acknowledge and understand their distinct personalities and perceptions. Albeit Ravneet had just ten days to immerse himself and capture the experiences of this enthusiastic young and foreign crowd in his homeland. He had to give his best shot and that’s what he did.  

To capture candid and real experiences, Ravneet knew that the first task in hand was to make them all feel comfortable. He did so with the oldest book in the trick - conversations. He blended right in, talking to them about their lives, listening to their stories, and sharing some of his own. This project wasn’t just about shooting anything available, but more about getting to know them to ask and record the right questions. This also helps you address the bigger challenge of making your subjects comfortable on the camera. It’s very likely for students, or anyone, to not be able to speak their hearts when the camera goes rolling, and that is when getting to know them helps. 

A piece of advice, as Ravneet remarks, “If you ever happen to be in a similar situation, make sure you don’t hurry them. Try and take it as slow as possible - but not so slow that they feel like you’re not doing justice to the job. Find the right balance to finish the job and finish it well!”

You’ll often find Ravneet talking about this project, how he loved shooting and also ended up making good friends, who he wishes all the very best in life. A one-man band on a trip of the lifetime, he always exclaims!  

To read more about the tour check out the following link. A detailed blog that captures the journey, written by “Christopher Angelica“, one of the students on board.(ADD LINK)

Credits:

Shot, Color Graded and Directed by Ravneet Oberoi

Edited By Amit Setia

Tech Details:

Cameras:

Canon 7D

Go Pro Hero 4

Lenses:

Tamron 24-70mm

Tamron 90mm

Canon 50mm f/1.4

Sound:

Zoom H4n

Rode Lav Mic