New Delhi: The coronavirus pandemic may have spelt doom for the country’s entertainment industry, but a Mumbai-based production house has managed to shoot an entire web show during the lockdown.

Bodhitree Multimedia has shot the web series, The Gone Game, during the lockdown period, which is now set to release in the first week of August in the video-streaming platform Voot. Maharashtra has been under lockdown since March, and it has now been extended until 31 August with some relaxations.

The entire series was shot on iPhone cameras mostly and directed virtually — circumventing the long and tedious process of shooting a film, and the pre and post-production process. The series could also offer a glimpse of how film productions for TV or web could look like in the post Covid-19 world.   

The show featuring Sanjay Kapoor, Shweta Tripathi Sharma and Indraneil Sengupta is a thriller, set up against the backdrop of the pandemic.

In a conversation with ThePrint, producer Sukesh Motwani said the actors only met virtually throughout the shoot, and were directed over video calls. The actual shooting lasted for about a month.

“The actors were all in their houses during the shoot… they were directed over phones on how exactly they would shoot themselves, the angle at which the iPhone camera need to be placed, the lighting required and also in which room the shoot was to be done, the music and how many shots were to be taken,” Motwani told ThePrint over the phone from Mumbai.

“Even the makeup and the costumes of the actors were decided on calls and then couriered since nobody could have moved out of their homes,” he said.

He, however, admitted that even as the concept of the series was set against the backdrop of the pandemic and the Covid-19 lockdown, they struggled initially. 

“There had to be a sense of continuity in the scenes and that should not have looked aesthetically compromised,” the producer said. 

But more than the actual shoot, it was the first 45 days of preparation that was most challenging, he said.

“Everybody’s house had to be located and actors had to feel committed to the process as they were to be directed by us while they placed their phone in front of us. The casting of the actors was managed not through physical auditions, but only through video conferencing sessions with the actors,” Motwani said.

“Even the families of the actors chipped in to help the actors in the shoot.”

There was limited access to professional equipment and lighting given that most of the shooting took places within the confines of the actors’ homes.

The scenes were mostly shot using the iPhone cameras with Filmic Pro editing app. Also, preset 7D cameras were sent to the actors’ homes for the shoots. 

‘Complicated process but a learning experience’

Actor Indraneil Sengupta said the shooting experience was quite different than what actors are used to.

“Most importantly, shooting for an entire web series without meeting anyone in person physically, like the director or any of the co-actors — that’s quite an experience,” he said in a voice note sent to ThePrint.

Sharing how actors were remotely directed to perform, Sengupta said the directions included where and how to place the phone camera, and get the required resolution or exposure, which had to match that of other frames being shot with other actors.

He recalled how other actors’ footage would be sent to him if he was to shoot a scene with them.

“It’s a learning experience but it was very tough. Although it was done in the comfort of our own houses, it was a very complicated process,” he said, adding that various aspects of filmmaking taken care of by others usually had to be done by the actors this time.

Shoot reflects productions in post-Covid world

The shooting of the web series under the lockdown conditions possibly offers a glimpse of how much of film production for TV or web could look like in the post-Covid world.   

The Maharashtra government in May came up with a set of shooting guidelines, including reducing crew strength to a third of what used to be earlier and restricting filming of elaborate scenes such as marriage, market or fight sequences. The Information and Broadcasting Ministry is yet to come out with a Standard Operating Procedure for film and TV shoots.

Motwani said the pandemic will change a few things forever. 

“For example, there could be a need for stories with fewer characters… The units will be reduced in size. Make-up artists would have to wear PPE to ensure no one gets infected,” he said.

While TV shoots have temporarily resumed, shooting web shows eventually will be slightly more difficult since they are usually shot outdoors on a bigger scale and the audience, too, expects premium quality.

Due to the pandemic, the Indian media and entertainment sector — including newspapers, news channels, radio, and cinema — valued at Rs 1.82 trillion (latest FICCI-EY report) — have suffered losses of Rs 25,000 crore to Rs 1.3 lakh crore this fiscal, according to CRISIL.

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