കേള്‍ക്കാന്‍ രണ്ടു പാട്ടുകള്‍ - കുമാരേട്ടന്റെ ഓണം soundtrack

പലരും ചോദിച്ചു കുമാരേട്ടന്റെ ഓണത്തിലെ പാട്ടുകള്‍ കിട്ടാന്‍ വഴിയുണ്ടോ എന്ന്. ഇതാ ഇവിടെ കേള്‍ക്കുകയോ download ചെയ്യുകയോ ചെയ്യാം.

http://www.purevolume.com/sonictales

Casting call for Video #3

I've been lucky so far with all my videos to get the perfect cast. So here I go looking again. This is for the song 'Neelarav' by Madhu Balakrishnan. The theme is romance with a touch of comedy. This will be like the male version of Kanmani video. A boy in search of his dream girl. This work is more of a short film than a music video but it will work as both. Here I go:

Actor required for short film:
Male. 19 - 25 look. Boyish charm.
Ability to act with a bit of comedic timing.
Must be a SF bay area resident for flexibility in scheduling .
There will be compensation for the work.

There is no language or race barrier as long as it can relate to the Indian sensibilities. There is a certain quality that I am looking for in the face and acting.

If you know anyone, please feel free to recommend.

For more details, visit AlbumKanmani.com

Kunnimanikal gets a node from MalluSpice

Some of you are familiar with this site: http://malluspice.blogspot.com/. Its a great place for Mallu recipies. The author, Shaheen goes to great lengths with explanation and photos. Check today's recipe for the Malabar Biriyani.. the king of Kerala recipes. Shaheen's passion is evident in her presentation of the recipes. There are a lot of recipes for the busy people that think there is no time to cook.

MalluSpice posted the Kunnimanikal video 2 days ago. Thanks Shaheen.

Nostalgia Revisted

First listen to this mp3 clip:

While Kunnimanikal is making fairly good rounds on the net, I thought I'll throw in a sound that is bound to trigger up some thoughts. Especially those who has taken those long train rides in India. I was 10 hours away from my home and I have several trips great memories. There is something hypnotic about that sound. Its rhythmic most of the times. When it goes over a bridge, the tempo changes. I really wish I had recorded more sounds while I was there.

ANyways.. If these brought any memories to you, please share...

Kunnimanikal video, In better quality.

I like Revver. Its better quality than youtube. But Youtube has the crowd.
If you enjoyed the video on you tube, you should be able to enjoy it better on revver (their audio could use some improvement). Here it is..



You can also download a quicktime movie to your PC from here

By the way, thanks for all those wonderful comments on youtube and orkut. Your encouragement means a lot to me. Really appreciate it.

Nostalgia unleashed. Kunnimanikal on YouTube

At last.. The video that I have been aching to show everyone is here.


Here are the Tech details

Vocals: Unni Menon, Master Sreehari

Cast
Sameer : Surendran / Master Sandeep
Joy : Sajeevan / Master Arun
Appukuttan : Sunil / Master Shyam

Lighting: Pappan
Art: Ravi

Location: Vadakara outskirts.. Kadathanaad area.

Camera: Canon XH-A1.
Format: HD 30fps
Tools: Adobe Premiere, After Effects, Magic Bullet, Canopus Procoder

Consultants : Sudesh Balan, Balagopal Ambalakkat, Anand Somasundaran, Santhosh Kumar RKC.

Thanks: This list is very long and I am afraid that I might miss out someone. The on man army thing is only a joke. A lot of people played key role in this project. Its a miracle this video even got made. I am not questioning it. I am grateful for it.

Story, Camera, Direction, Music, Lyrics, Editing and Compositing : Me

Kunnimanikal Video Release

The kunnimanikal video will be released on the web in 2 weeks on the web. I am hoping to get a TV release before that but there are sensor board approvals required for music videos which will delay the process quite a bit. But I am sure that this video will reach far through the web than TV.

This video is for all Malayalees that has fond and nostalgic memories about their childhood in Kerala.

Editing is in the final stages. The initial reaction is very encouraging. I cant wait to put it out and see the impact it is going to make.

Kunnimanikal. Stills from the shoot.

These are all scenes from the Kunnimanikal music video. There is a lot of story and drama told in the 6 minute video. Its fun editing this video really. I only wish I had more time. I hope I can release it soon.

Kunnimanikal Video. A brief history

The work on the Kunnimanikal video started over a year and a half ago. Thats a long time!. But what it was then and what it is now are two different things. My first experiments with video started there. The first story was about 2 people. A man and a woman who had no connection. They are just going through their lives sad with nostalgia. Quite an insipid storyline. But some people did like it. I was not happy about it. I had a colleague of mine and another girl act for the whole thing. Balu and I spent a lot of time on this thing. Soon I realized that the girl's role wasn't working. People were confused by the relationship. Splitting the story lines was not working. So I canned that part. Then I went to India and shot scenes with a kid. I had everything to make the video but.. I wanted something more significant.

I then started toying with an idea about coordinating with people around the world making a single video. That was in the works and then got thrown out.

Finally, during this vacation when I went to finalize Kanmani, I shot Kunnimanikal again. This one has a good story line and some excellent actors. Not the glamourous looking kind but with everyday people.

Its about friendship and childhood nostalgia. Shot in the rainy season, the visuals will bring a lot of memories to anyone that watches it. The editing has started. 5 days of shooting. about 5 hours of video. Now I have to cut it to a 5 minute song. Stay tuned. This is probably the first Malayalam music video to be shot and edited in HD.

Shooting Kunnimanikal

The past 4 days has been tiring.. shooting Kunnimanikal with a small crew. One more day of shoot left. We've had nothing but rain and overcast days in the past few days. I am praying for a clear day tomorrow. The cast and plot is quite extensive. The video tells the tale of 3 friends. How they meet in 2007 and how events that transpired 20 years ago rejuvenates their friendship.

The story is set in 2 periods 2007 ans 1987. It was quite a challenge finding a place and actors (3 adults and 3 kids) in a short duration. But like I said, an invisible hand has been helping us all through out.

Here is the first photo from the set. Thats me. The person who is totally exhausted after leading a one man army.

I'll introduce the actors one by one. All the adult actors are stage performers and very passionate about the art. The kids are 1st prize winners in the State Drama competition. It has been a pleasure working with them.

Jassie Gift on Kanmani

Here is a clip from Jassie Gift of Lajjavathiye fame.

Manjari talks about Kanmani

Manjari talks about the album.


For youtubers, you can also find a copy of this in my channel.

A minute with Franco

A brief moment with Singer Franco where he talks about Album Kanmani.



I have used Revver for its high quality video. Audio is passable but is in stereo. I am also noticing audio/video sync issues. But for these clips, revver seem to fit the bill perfectly.

Kanmani Music Video

Its time and here it is.
"Kanmani". The music video.
(Please bear in mind that youtube audio/video quality sucks.)



The website is still coming up. As I gear up for the release I may be absent from the blogosphere for a while. Mean while enjoy the video and the audio excerpts.

High standards

When I called "wrap" Last Saturday, deep inside I knew that not everything I wanted in the music video was shot. This fear was confirmed when I laid out what we shot to the song time line. A few critical things were things were really missing. Sudesh was back in LA. Balu was busy at work and I wasn't sure if Suman would be available. Anyways, I called Sudesh and explained the situation to him. My solution was .. maybe Balu and I could try and do the shooting here in the Bay Area. Not the right solution but a possible one. It would probably wont match with Sudesh's work so far. But with out those shots, the video would tank. For voluntary work, reshoot is a dreaded word.

Phone calls happened, schedules and arrangements were made and in the end, we finished the scenes today. Sudesh and family drove up about 6 hours to shoot the scene at the San Luis Reservoir. Divya, Suman and I drove down to the location. We shot for about 2 and a half hours. We were done by around 8:30. For Sudesh and family they had a long 6 hour drive back home.



Why would we do such a crazy thing? This is Sudesh's idea of perfection. When it comes to work, there are no compromises. And for the work on this album, there hasn't been any compromise (its debatable;-) But I have no regrets). It was all worth it.

Its fun and very satisfying working with people who have high standards like this. It stretches you. Makes you take a different look at a situation that once you thought were not solvable. It also tells you that when you are working towards your dream, taking an extra mile is not a luxury but a necessity.

I'll be on my way to LA tomorrow to finish the editing. If you don't see that many updates, you will know why. But I'll definitely try to give you some juice about it.

Meet Suman aka Kanmani

I've known Suman since she was a very little girl. Her parents are very close friends of ours. When all hope was lost in finding the lead girl for the lead, Divya suggested we try Suman. I was not sure because all I could think of was the child I remembered. But Suman was in college already. Boy, time flies. So I called her father and asked him. He said she was really into dance and theater. So I called Suman and she was excited about the project.

Suman is an extremely talented individual. She has excelled in her academics. Well, she was accepted by University of Berkley which is No. 1 for arts and social studies in the country. She is also a trained bharathanatyam dancer. She finished her arangetram last year. I have not seen many people as gifted as Suman. She can handle classical as well as Bollywood dances quite well. She has what I call "the grace". Its a gift. Either you have it or you don't. Anyway, the story goes that Suman had a friend called Shalin who is a great choreographer and a dancer as well. (more about Shalin later). If not for these two, the Kanmani music video would have been a whole different story. The video is shaping up so well. I can't wait to finish it.

More photos from the shoot. Part III

Arthi Muralikrishna on the set.

More photos from the shoot. Part II

In the coming days I'll keep posting frame grabs from the music video footage. It is going to be really busy and I am sure that it will cut my rants quite a bit.

Some frame grabs

These are frame grabs from the video.

Photos from the shoot.

A picture is worth a lot of words and i am tired. So.. here are some photos from last day's shoot: