POST - PRODUCTION

After the shoot is over, the real process of bringing what’s on camera to something that can be presented to the audience starts, which further is completely technical. This process makes up to 30 percent of the whole filmmaking. And the very first step of this process is –

When the filming is done, certain takes are obtained by the director for each scene depending on various factors; good acting, nice lighting, good shot etc. These takes are then noted down by the director’s team and is passed on to the editorial room, where the director along with the Editor selects the perfect shot that justifies the actor’s face continuity, lighting continuity as well as the ease flow of transition between the two scenes.
This paves way to basically the whole post production, known as -

When a movie/show is shot, it is shot without filters in true lighting. However, every product needs certain retouching and enhancement. This is where the mood board from pre-production steps in. According to the tone and the mood of the scenes, complimentary colours are added or layered on top of the original plate to create an impact.
Some elements need to be saturated, some need to be exposed or underexposed, whereas many things needed to be brought in focus. All this is done with the help of DI (Digital Intermediate) and colour grading. The battle scenes are generally graded in earthy tones such as brown and yellow shade, whereas scenes that are light hearted and express cheerfulness require bright grading with over saturation to greens. In respect to such synonyms and director’s choice to bring out the internal unsaid environmental tension, DI is processed in dedicated software such as DaVinci Resolve 17, Final Cut Pro X (Colour Board) etc.

This is an area that is taking over modern production and filmmaking. Though this sector runs simultaneously throughout the pre-production and production, its final sense makes mark in post- production when the concept arts, green screen shots, motion capture shots are developed according to the final VFX broken down scenes. VFX are basically live actions shots and Digital Imagery derived sequences, CGI is used to create images and characters. Mythological shows are incomplete without all this work and thus a lot of area in each frame is taken by the VFX; those can be cosmic or inter-celestial backdrops, humanoid creatures and villains, animals, larger than life palaces that could not be accounted through sets etc. In the market, particular companies provide Industry approved VFX with divided teams on sectors such as composition, rendering, simulations, dot imaging etc. and garnish the final look of the scene on the screen.

Humans sense cinema through two feelings; Visual aid and Sound. However, surprisingly 80% of cinema is just sound. Without sound, there is no emotion in the product, no matter how great the flow of events and the acting is. Sound not only acts as a thread to move on from one scene to another but also provides emotions to the dialogues and acting on screen.Thus, there are various forms of sounds that are used -

Music does not need any language. Thus, to express any sort of emotion; happiness, grief, rage, longingness or drama, all we need is a tone with no words, and the work is done. This is what a BGM (Background music) is. These are placed in the background of the dialogues to bring out the intensity within the scene. In mythological shows, there is an immense need of BGM that also goes along with its theme i.e., Hinduism. Therefore, use of classical instruments, Taals and Murkhis are required to set a theme of ancient times without the use of techno sounds that plays in the background. Now, BGM also depends on various factors on screen such as Intensity, acting void, emotional track etc. However, attention to small details is what completes a set of Audio; and SFX and foley are the two sectors that fulfil this need.

SFX are the sound effects that are used to justify any action in a particular scene. Mythological shows/films that deal with so much of environment, this is a huge void to fill. For things that can’t be recorded on amplified level camera, for e.g., environmental sounds like wind, water, fire etc., Inter-celestial sounds, power show sounds, battle sequences etc., in each small detail that requires a certain ambience, SFX is done. These are basically the effects that are already loaded or present in the database and are used for filmmaker’s consumption to create an illusion that might be impractical in a live-action shot.

Foley further is driven from SFX, but is hugely broad in application. Foley is a technique of creating sounds for smaller details that bring the authenticity and effect in a scene. It is a dedicated sector in which, there is a separate foley studio where artists create sounds for everyday events, like walking, slapping, keeping things etc. There are desired techniques, devices and sequences through which the foley artists create sounds resonating to the actions on screen in front of foley fit mics with zero presence of any ambience.

Dubbing is majorly done when Sync-sound has not been used in the shoot; i.e., final dialogues are not recorded directly while acting.Dubbing not only helps in improving mistakes even if sync sound was used, but also paves a way to the shows towards PAN India release. Shows where the original language is different than the recipient’s mother tongue and the show/movie has to be distributed across India, dubbing comes in as saver. Recently this area has broadened a lot, and shows are being dubbed in Bengali, Marathi, Telugu etc. where voiceover artists translate the dialogues in the desired language and match the flow with that in screen. Dubbing also helps if the actor is not present due to any factor, for e.g., Deceased, commitments etc.

Mythological/ historical shows created by Sagar World depend highly on educating audience alongside entertainment. And in the screenplay, there are such certain sections that need to transcribed swiftly and effectively in audience’s mind, as the run time is low, and much has to be said in such short time. So, what’s better than songs! These are not just any regular songs but melodies that are conjoined with Ancient proses, Poems, Holy Shlokas, Modern Aartis, Dohas etc. With the use of classical instruments, monumental composition and relevant music, certain songs as well as complete albums are developed that are not only useful in screenplay but also act as promotional pieces.

When a complete rendered video sequence plate is layered with extracted final audio file, a final product is developed, known as the show episode/ film that is ready to be promoted and finally showcased on screen.