At a time when the huge budgets of some films are highlighted as part of their promotion, a young film crew is showing the way with their frugal filmmaking techniques. The crew, all below the age of 21, have managed to complete a full-length feature film, titled ‘Transition’, at ₹10,000. The film is the result of a collective effort of a group of youth who took time out from their busy schedules to complete the film.
Krishnanunni Mangalath, the film’s director, who has also done the cinematography, editing and some of the other post-production work, says that the film would not have happened if not for the group of friends.
“We made our first short film as soon as we completed Class 10. Since then, we have worked in 15 short films, out of which I directed four. For quite some time, we have been thinking of taking this to the next level and making a full-length feature film. We did not set out to make a film at ₹10,000. It is just that we somehow ended up making the film at that cost, due to our methods,” says Krishnanunni.
A joint effort
The film was shot in an old Canon 7D camera, which he borrowed from a friend’s father. The few slow-motion shots were taken on a mobile camera. The sounds and music work were done by two of his friends for free. The post-production work was done in Krishnanunni’s laptop using a basic editing software. Much of the expense, he says, was spent in travelling.
Experimental film
“Part of the film is set in Madurai, as we are showing that the protagonist is coming from Madurai to Thiruvananthapuram with a specific purpose. The film is structured as a series of conversations between him and a few of the people he meet here. It is an experimental film. We are planning to send it to a few film festivals,” says Krishanunni.
