"MSV CLUB" - The Discussion Forum of MSVTimes.com

[madhuraman]

AvaLukkenru oru manam -V Cinematography

Dear Friends,
The audience generally look for excellent Photograhy, Songs, Music, Comedy and Direction when they think of Sridar product . This has rather been the genral expectation as CVS used to focus on these items.Thus CVS had to augment the best talent and technique in these domains.
The picturization of A O M has been done by U.Rajagopal. The movie was captured on Eastman color stock- a prestegeous colour filmfrom Kodak on a global rating. If my memory serves me right U Rajagopal was quite a senior technician even as he was working for A O M. Like in Vennira aadai, here too, lapse solve change of scenes has been employed, though to a much quicker level [The closing scene and the next scene come as fade overlaps, soon dominated by the new shot.]
As the movie passes some footage, the famous swimming pool scene comes up. TRAPPING OF THE SWIMMERS ON THE GOGGLES OF GG has been a delightful presentation. [ This means that placing of the artistes and the camera have been meticulously done since it was a song sequence, Song sequences are quite demanding in terms of artiste's facial clarity. Obviously a strict discipline in work has been adopted. Another significant presentation was by housing the camera at a level lower than the surface of water, as to show objects below and above the water line's surface. It was a new technique in TF. [But, PNSundaram had already done it in Anubhavam Pudhumai in B & W film stock. Any way it was also Sridhar crew though CVS was not the Director.]
Most of the sequences have been indoor and only song sequences [except Ellorum paarka and the two pooja songs] were on outdoor locales. The best of them was of course Mangayaril Maharaani with the advantages of dam site offering picturesque scapes.
There was a specific question on the colour value of the movie by our friends on the site. I take it that it was on colour rendition. Talking of colour , one has to keep in mind the toils of Cinematographers of yester decades and that of the later generation. The later generation enjoys computer-aided colour controls even after the negatives are recorded.
[Gloriously called post production Q C ] But in the period like 1970s, mere light meters were used as gadgets for determining the relative luminosities in arriving at the right exposure permissible for a motion picture. But, human skill played a better part in conceiving the probable final output on the screen. That way they have done a marvellous job using judgement as a tool while still obliging the director in bringing forth the desired effect.
As for A O M , the camera work has been one of the most unobtrusive staying in absolute control of the situation. The club dance forcibly extracted from Bharathi has a couple of angles carefully planned to bring both M R and Bharathi in dominant and submissive angles simultaneously. All the same, Bharathi depicts good dance movements while maintaining the internal agony. Camera has captured all these to a clear level of supremacy. In the early part of the movie as Kanchana hurriedly reads the letter from M R , a live and a mirror profile of Kanchana are presented in a common frame while preserving the features of a middle class look. In all the scenes camera work has been neat . The unobtrusive camera helps us to glue ourselves to the action.
Other items would follow.
Warm regards Prof.K.Raman mADURAI.
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Prof. K. Raman
Mumbai

[Ram]

Dear Professor,

What an in-depth analysis. Truly an amazing work!!

Hats-off to your writings - a treasure for hidden information!!

Please continue......


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Ramkumar

[madhuraman]

Dear Friends

While referring to subsurface photography in A O M , I had suggested an earlier Work of P N Sundaram. Actually it was for the song sequence "JIL ENRU KAATRU VANDHADHO " IN THE BLACK AND WHITE MOVIE Nil Gavani Kaadhali . By a bad memory I had ascribed it to the movie
Anubhavam Pudhumai . It was an error from poor memory. I seek your pardon on this. But all other statements of mine relating to swimming pool cinematography remain the same.
Warm regards Prof.K.Raman Madurai.
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Prof. K. Raman
Mumbai