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11. "CITY OF LAKES" The Feature
1 year ago
What happens to a dream when it becomes reality?
Does it still exist somewhere, in some ethereal place, waiting to come to fruition again?
Could a fictional narrative capture an emotional state, and the true meaning behind a real, live event with more drama and conviction than a traditional documentary?
These were just some of the questions that arose when I took on the “CITY OF LAKES” project late last year. First, it would become an unprecedented attempt to combine a fully scripted, produced film with Melissa & Samir's real, live wedding, with the intention of creating one, seamless film. Second, the live wedding and production would be shot entirely on-location in Udaipur, India over a period of nine days. Third, our skeleton crew would consist solely of live event filmmakers from across North America, who would shoot the live wedding events and production simultaneously & exclusively on DSLRs, the Canon 5D MarkII and Canon 7D.
“CITY OF LAKES” is as much a story about what it means to return to the birthplace of one’s ancestors, as it is an exploration of the Hindu faith, and the rituals of a Hindu marriage. Central to this is the Ganesh puja, which in simple terms, is a prayer over a fire believed to invoke the spirit of Ganesh, a great deity and protector, who can remove all obstacles from one’s path. The puja is performed several times in the film and carries great significance to the plot and characters in both literal and metaphoric ways.
Melissa & Samir had always dreamed of being married in India. We hope this film helps them cherish that dream. But it could not have been without the acting talents of Anubhab Saha, Sharon Chawda and Rushad Rana, who were consummate professionals and a joy to work with. It also could not have been without the support of our sponsors: Canon, who provided two pre-production 7Ds and a host of L-series lenses; Tiffen, who provided all of our lighting; and Cinevate, who sent us much needed gear and sponsored an incredible behind-the-scenes campaign viewable at Cinevate.com.
The challenges were immediate, abundant and frequent. At times, we were certain the film was destined for failure; I often wondered if the film was too ambitious to execute. But what resulted was due in no small part to a crew made up of live event filmmakers who deal routinely in making the spontaneous appear staged. We're proud to share Melissa & Samir’s ‘hybrid’ feature, “CITY OF LAKES,” which hopefully achieves more than a documentary, and perhaps at the same time, more than a scripted film.
There is a final question we hope you’ll find difficult to answer as you watch our film. In more ways than one, try to answer:
What is real?
Thanks for watching,
-Kevin
Pacific Pictures presents “CITY OF LAKES”
Starring Melissa Kumar, Samir Shah, Anubhab Saha, Sharon Chawda & Rushad Rana
Written & Directed by Kevin Shahinian
Produced by Kevin Shahinian & Patrick Moreau
Line Producer Pravin Thakur
Director of Photography Patrick Moreau
2nd Unit Director Joe Simon
2nd Unit Steadicam Casey Warren
Film Editor Kevin Shahinian
Jib Operator Chris Geiger
Set Photographer Amish Solanki
*Please forward all embed inquiries to info@pacificpictures.net.
With special thanks to Canon & Tiffen/Steadicam... And a very special thanks to Dennis Wood and the entire Cinevate.com team for their support. We couldn't have done it without you. For more behind the scenes, be sure to check out cinevate.com/website/index.php/city_of_lakes
Does it still exist somewhere, in some ethereal place, waiting to come to fruition again?
Could a fictional narrative capture an emotional state, and the true meaning behind a real, live event with more drama and conviction than a traditional documentary?
These were just some of the questions that arose when I took on the “CITY OF LAKES” project late last year. First, it would become an unprecedented attempt to combine a fully scripted, produced film with Melissa & Samir's real, live wedding, with the intention of creating one, seamless film. Second, the live wedding and production would be shot entirely on-location in Udaipur, India over a period of nine days. Third, our skeleton crew would consist solely of live event filmmakers from across North America, who would shoot the live wedding events and production simultaneously & exclusively on DSLRs, the Canon 5D MarkII and Canon 7D.
“CITY OF LAKES” is as much a story about what it means to return to the birthplace of one’s ancestors, as it is an exploration of the Hindu faith, and the rituals of a Hindu marriage. Central to this is the Ganesh puja, which in simple terms, is a prayer over a fire believed to invoke the spirit of Ganesh, a great deity and protector, who can remove all obstacles from one’s path. The puja is performed several times in the film and carries great significance to the plot and characters in both literal and metaphoric ways.
Melissa & Samir had always dreamed of being married in India. We hope this film helps them cherish that dream. But it could not have been without the acting talents of Anubhab Saha, Sharon Chawda and Rushad Rana, who were consummate professionals and a joy to work with. It also could not have been without the support of our sponsors: Canon, who provided two pre-production 7Ds and a host of L-series lenses; Tiffen, who provided all of our lighting; and Cinevate, who sent us much needed gear and sponsored an incredible behind-the-scenes campaign viewable at Cinevate.com.
The challenges were immediate, abundant and frequent. At times, we were certain the film was destined for failure; I often wondered if the film was too ambitious to execute. But what resulted was due in no small part to a crew made up of live event filmmakers who deal routinely in making the spontaneous appear staged. We're proud to share Melissa & Samir’s ‘hybrid’ feature, “CITY OF LAKES,” which hopefully achieves more than a documentary, and perhaps at the same time, more than a scripted film.
There is a final question we hope you’ll find difficult to answer as you watch our film. In more ways than one, try to answer:
What is real?
Thanks for watching,
-Kevin
Pacific Pictures presents “CITY OF LAKES”
Starring Melissa Kumar, Samir Shah, Anubhab Saha, Sharon Chawda & Rushad Rana
Written & Directed by Kevin Shahinian
Produced by Kevin Shahinian & Patrick Moreau
Line Producer Pravin Thakur
Director of Photography Patrick Moreau
2nd Unit Director Joe Simon
2nd Unit Steadicam Casey Warren
Film Editor Kevin Shahinian
Jib Operator Chris Geiger
Set Photographer Amish Solanki
*Please forward all embed inquiries to info@pacificpictures.net.
With special thanks to Canon & Tiffen/Steadicam... And a very special thanks to Dennis Wood and the entire Cinevate.com team for their support. We couldn't have done it without you. For more behind the scenes, be sure to check out cinevate.com/website/index.php/city_of_lakes
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the new breed of Canon HDSLRs are truly amazing...the film was screened at NAB in a theater and the imagery looks like film with out the grain.... the sharpness was top notch and the colors + brightness were stunning.
Glad you enjoyed it, Kevin did an amazing job with the edit of the film, weaving the two storylines together, back and forth. Cutting between live action, and narrative production.
Casey Warren
MINDCASTLE
You talked about this in Orlando, FL and it actually is more artistic and grander that whata anybody could envison!
You keep outdoing yourself! Continue please...
Could a fictional narrative capture an emotional state, and the true meaning behind a real, live event with more drama and conviction than a traditional documentary? The film speaks for itself for the true answer. Amazing work. Just incredible.
Hope some plan in the future would be to enter the feature into some film festivals. This can go along way.
Best,
Ryan and Denver
Also being from the same cultural background, I related to this on many levels. Truly spectacular and groundbreaking work! All the best!!!
joyce
We did a talk recently for a film making group about DSLRs and showed your trailer on the night and the people there were amazed. Work to be proud of shot with the eye of a poet.
Bless
Avey
Cheers
Even though I am no wedding filmer, I can see this has set an unprecedented standard.
You Capture all essence about relationship, commitment and above all love
Congratulations.
Congrats!!!
By the way, the music with sitars in the background throughout the movie...who composed them? I loved it!
Once again, beautifully made! :)
It's amazing what you were able to achieve with a relatively small crew and i assume budget..
GREAT WORK...!!!!
Added on "Best of the seen Videos" channel :))
vimeo.com/channels/13905