Storyboard

Title Ideas

Having a documentary my title will be straight forward. The documentary itself will be called Are Bollywood Films Relevant to NRI audiences? Therefore there will be no confusion as to what the documentary will be about. I'am following the way Channel 4 name their documentaries therefore I will not need any ideas.So this process is eliminated for me.

Production Log

I have made my decision of where I want to make my documentary. I feel the subject is to broad in order to be put in the first 5 minutes of beginning. I feel my coursework so far is going on task and I am learning a lot of new things while continuing on with my research. I have done my research for my ancillary task and know understand the codes and conventions better and what to follow when I will reach the stage to construct my ancillary tasks. Other than that I am happy with the way things are going so far! Hopefully they stay that way.

Analysis of Double Page Spreads

Analysis of Newspaper Advertisements

Script Development Draft 2

Since my documentary will not be from the beginning like initially planned as I changed my idea around to doing my documentary 5 minutes somewhere in the middle I have decided to just plan out my voice overs and let the actors I will be filming improvise their answers giving the professional look to my documentary as that's what expository documentaries seem to do. So after scraping my script here are the voice overs I have created for each of introduction of my characters.

Voiceovers

The Voiceovers will go in the same order as I have written them in the documentary. 

• Both Mrs Patel and her daughter Amy love Bollywood films. They both find regular time to discuss them and watch them together. However do all NRI families share the same attitude as these two mother and daughter do? Or is this an generation aspect?

• Safari Cinema is located in Harrow and only showcase Bollywood films. Mr Khan who has been working their for 20 years says Bollywood films have many important factors and that's what makes it one the most watched and desirable industries in the world. 

• Living in the same community both Amy and Vanisha share different attitudes to Bollywood films. Amy who loves Bollywood films as we have previously seen, however Vanisha is the polar opposite and why is that so?

• Weddings are a multi billion pound industry in the UK

Production Log

Having made a script and looking at 'typical' age group of certain character profiles I may need, I know
where my idea is heading. This is what I did in class and other work I need to complete is do some audience research and interview different people on 'What is a Bollywood film according to them' and ask more question on if they watch them and if they do then why and etc. This will give my documentary much more focus making the planning stage much more easier for me. I feel this may be a bit more harder to approach people and ask for an interview but other than that's all the work I want to complete before the end of this week. I feel I need more background information on documentaries maybe watching a few more documentaries may give me this reach. This will help me sharpen my knowledge and when I do come to planning my documentary things will become easier.

Character Profiles

The whole idea of an Documentary is to present factual knowledge and let it's audiences know the 'real' truth behind it's doors. Therefore for me 'constructing' characters and creating profiles for them would be harder than I anticipated. However looking at my target audience I know the type of 'characters' I would need in my documentary. Making a first draft of my script has helped me picture the type of characters I would need and looking at my target audience again.

Character 1:-
Age- 16-17
Student who is still in sixth form or collage, and NRI who watches Bollywood films.

Character 2:-
Age- 20-25

Character 3:-
Age- 40-45
Profession- Expert in Analysing NRI audiences and Bollywood films (Expert)

Character 4:-
Age- 25-30
Profession:- Expert in Looking at NRI's in Bollywood Films

Script Development Draft 1

Here's my first draft of my script. My script contains some annotations which I though of whole writing the script. I found that interesting Idea's can be developed while reading your work which I previously didn't think of. I've tried to keep to the type of font a script would use in order to make at as authentic as possible.

HOW ARE BOLLYWOOD FILMS RELEVANT TO NRI AUDIENCES DRAFT 1 11-11-13

1 EXT. SHOTS OF DIFFERENT LOCATIONS E.G. CINEMA. DAY  

Indian Music.  

NARRATOR

           Being an NRI audience myself, I’m intrigued

           To see how Bollywood films actually relate

           to Non Resident Indians. The Hindi Film Industry

           otherwise famously known as ‘Bollywood’ famously

           is a multibillion industry making around 200-300

           films a year. Recently being an NRI myself I have

           noticed a change in the trend of audiences shift.

           More Bollywood films are now aimed at NRI’s as the

           films central characters are usually NRI themselves.

           Thus changing the whole dynamic of Bollywood films.

CHARACTER 1

           I love Bollywood films even though I live outside of

           India, I watch them regularly.

CHARACTER 2

           I’m beginning to relate myself to the characters

           In Bollywood films, as most the films are now set

           in the west.

2 INT. CLASSROOMS/SEMINAR

CHARACTER 3

           Bollywood has been a long standing industry and

           Has evolved with time be it for family audiences

           or independent cinema goers everyone has a ‘thing’

           they can relate to especially NRI’s in the recent

           years as most films are being set outside India in

           the Western World.

CHARACTER 4

           NRI audiences are a huge market for Bollywood films.

           Due to this most films are now being made keeping NRI

           Audiences in mind such as outdoor sets and urban stories

           Have recently become the new trend.

NARRATOR

           Today Britain itself is a multicultural society.

           Therefore Bollywood audiences are not just made

           up NRI’s but secondary audiences that are not

           even targeted.

CHARACTER 5

I watch Bollywood films because of the rich culture.

I find it interesting to see the colours the music

something that is unique to only Bollywood films

and not any other industry.

Script Feedback

I sat down with the production team who had a look at my script and gave me feedback on how to change things around. They said to make me script specific to what type of audience I'm studying e.g. teenagers, adults etc. The opening part to my script should be split into half and more historical knowledge should be shown in it. Such as I introduce what Bollywood films are and than I introduce some audiences discussing Bollywood films and cut back to the narrator talking about the history of Bollywood films. This therefore makes my documentary more realistic and gives it an professional feel. This will even look more creative.

Production Log

I have done a handful of research and decided to make an expository documentary. I feel most of my research leans towards that mode anyway. Having done more research on my topic about 'How are Bollywood film relevant to NRI's' I now feel much more confident in constructing a 5 minute documentary sequence. This will make it much more easier for me to make shot lists and storyboards my work as by then I would have envisioned shot by shot what I would want. However, having said that things do change once posted on paper. So far I feel my coursework is on task and I am getting the work done but having said that I will have to stay on task with everything before I fall into the lazy routine of doing not a lot of work.

5 Minute Sequences of Documentaries

After deciding on my final idea, I wanted to look into the first 5 minute sequences of documentaries, and pick up upon general traits and what is included according to the codes and conventions and what is not. I looked at both Participatory and  Expository Documentaries, however the type that I will be making is Expository.

Stephan Fry's Out There

• Start of documentary and voiceover of narrator starts
• Music starts at exactly 0.22 seconds
• Light, Chirpy music, almost like classical music
• Screen splits in to 4 little screens to show different people from different racial backgrounds
• Few interviews are shown at the start in clips of 2-3 seconds showing what is to come in the documentary
• 1.48 second title comes up on Screen, music reaches pinnacle
• Narrator himself participates gets interviewed and filmed making this an participatory documentary
• Clips of public walking
• Music starts and stops throughout the first 5 minutes
• Editing becomes fast paced after 0.28 seconds, music sign posts something serious is about to be discussed, in this case the documentary discuses the rights of homosexuals around the world.
• Mise-en-Scene, natural settings used with the use of outside public areas, room inside a building, dark to neutral colours are used again highlighting a serious subject is being talked about.
• Voiceover states laws, facts about homosexuality in England, Ireland, Wales.
• Films a Civil Partnership being performed

NRI Audiences and Bollywood Films

NRI stands for Non Resident Indians. A generic term for all Indians who have migrated to different countries and settles themselves around the world presumably the Western World. Bollywood films or otherwise known as the Hindi Film Industry is a huge lucrative industry where thousands of films are released every year in the Hindi language. One of the latest trends in the new wave generation of Bollywood films is the recognition of NRI audiences. Protagonists in Hindi films are usually NRI's themselves.

Dilwale Dhulania Le Jayange (1995) was a major release by Yash Raj Films an Indian film production company started by the famous film director Yash Chopra who went on the direct many critically and commercially successful films in his time. DDLJ became highly successful and one of the first Hindi films to feature NRI protagonists who were born and brought up in London but still shared Indian values. The film having NRI's as main protagonists helped it became a big hit with the audiences of the west who loved Hindi films but didn't see a common factor with them. Critic Anupama Chopra said that ''Perhaps the innocence of Raj and Simran's romance in which they can spend the night together without sex because Raj, the British NRI understands the importance of an Indian woman’s honour. Perhaps it’s the way in which the film artfully reaffirms the patriarchal status quo and works for all constituencies—the NRI and the local viewer. Or perhaps it’s the magic of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol who created a template for modern love, which was hip and cool but resolutely Indian." She also calls the film a milestone that shaped Hindi cinema through the 1990s.         

Being perhaps the only film on the 90s to stand out amongst it contemporary's with it's main characters as NRI's however in recent years that has changed. Here are some films in the decade to feature NRI's has the main protagonists. 
Love Aaj Kal (2009) a light hearted comedy that talks about two couples and their respective love stories in two different generations. The modern day love story focuses on the couple Jai and Meera who live in London. The film contrasted a modern day love story with a love story set in a older period in India where love marriages where highly unlikely. The films was a success in India and abroad and the NRI story was liked by many modern couples in India.


Cocktail (2012) and Indian romantic comedy film was predominantly shot in London and featured the outgoing character Veronica played by Deepika Padukone. The films was a hit abroad and in India. Commercially and Deepika Padukone was critically lauded for her role as Veronica a young free spirited woman, living a independent life, willing to have no strings attached sex and not be bothered by the 'Indian values'. Rubina A Khan a critic gave the film 4/5 stars, saying that "Cocktail is a contemporary film that reflects life as it happens all around us…. just as crazy, twisted, beautiful, funny, weird and lonely as anyone's life can be. It's about easy choices and hard decisions and how life still goes on, despite it all. It's a cocktail you definitely wanna try!". The unconventional format of the film, the story between three friends who come to terms with some hard decisions in their life made it a hit with the Urban Indian audiences and mostly multiplexes based in big cities such as Mumbai or Delhi compared to the small town viewers who found this too forward for their taste. Aniruddha Guha of DNA India gave the movie 3.5/5 stars, stating that "The best thing about Cocktail is that it is as different as a film can get within a very conventional format. My favourite scene has Gautam talk to Veronica and Meera together about his feelings towards each of them. "Look. You love me. I love her. Let's sort this mess out." A rare moment in Hindi cinema."

Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012) another Yash Raj film and the last ever film to be directed by Yash Chopra himself who suddenly passed away while the post-production of the film. The film featured a love story between an Indian migrant Sameer and Meera and NRI born and brought up in rich affluent Indian family in London. Jab Tak Hai Jaan did very well at the Indian and Overseas box office. A love story between an Indian migrant and NRI was praised by Critic's as this was a very unconventional turn. The film grossed £1,619,356 at the UK box office.

Audience Research

I conducted some audience interviews with some NRI's. I found various different reasons as to why an NRI would watch an Hindi film and why one would not. This has helped me bring a focus to my documentary and what I should include in it. The key reason that I found came across in my interviews was the entertainment aspect of Bollywood films. Many Bollywood films don't have the same amount of 'substance' as Hollywood films making them more light hearted or entertaining as they lack the realist aspect. Having said that Bollywood films with aspects of social realism but they tend to be for a niche audience and don't tend to do as well as big budget and full entertainment type Bollywood films. I conducted interviews with Non- resident Indian audiences who watch Bollywood films. I conducted some by filming them and some by writing a transcript of there interview as they didn't want to be filmed.

Transcripts from Interviews conducted

My Audience Research Interviews