<p>Known popularly for Kannada films like ‘The Terrorist’, ‘Raaga’, ‘Style King’ and ‘Arjuna’, director PC Shekar likes to always be on his toes.</p>.<p>After work on films came to a standstill during the pandemic, he directed an advertisement for an online shopping platform with products for pets, which is set to release soon.</p>.<p>As Shekar readies himself for other projects, he shares with <span class="italic">Metrolife,</span> about how the experience has been.</p>.<p class="Question"><strong>How different was working on advertisement compared to films?</strong></p>.<p>I’m a director who wants to explore all aspects of filmmaking — be it feature films, advertisements, web series or documentaries. The advertisement is for an online platform for organic products, by a friend of mine. </p>.<p>In films, if one wants to convey an emotion you have a couple of minutes to depict it, but in advertisements, everything has to be told in seconds. </p>.<p class="Question"><strong>What were the challenges you faced? How hard was it to train the pets in it?</strong></p>.<p>Things like what the brand/concept is, how it works, its technicalities, where one can purchase it from, and the change that happens to your life after getting it, has to conveyed in a matter of seconds.</p>.<p>Every shot has to have so many details in it. Ad films have a lot of jump shots and with my 18 years of filmmaking experience, I was able to plan each shot well.</p>.<p>Shooting with pets is a Herculean task. Getting expressions from humans is easy but getting dogs to react according to your planned shot is difficult. We hired trained dogs from the police and planned shots with the trainers. It would take a lot of time and patience.</p>.<p class="Question"><strong>Who all did you collaborate with?</strong></p>.<p>To get a project up and working, one needs the best technical team. I collaborated with Vaidy, who did camerawork for a few of my films. Guna did the artwork for the ad. I wanted the best sound attached to the ad, which is how Arjun Janya came on board. Actor Samyukta Hornad is a popular name among animal and pet lovers, which is why I wanted her for the ad.</p>.<p class="Question"><strong>Has the ad opened up a different side of you?</strong></p>.<p>Definitely. I gave my heart and soul to it. Now, when I’m writing for films also, I look at writing scenes with more speedy elements to them. The experience has surely given me a wider career option.</p>.<p class="Question"><strong>What all are the other projects you are involved with now?</strong></p>.<p>I have many projects lined up. One of them will be a thriller film, which will have a new cast and crew.</p>.<p>A new-gen project with a different narration style is being planned for an OTT platform. It will have actors from the south Indian film industries.</p>.<p>A project with Prajwal is also coming up. A fun comedy film in Telugu and a series for a channel are also in the pipeline.</p>
<p>Known popularly for Kannada films like ‘The Terrorist’, ‘Raaga’, ‘Style King’ and ‘Arjuna’, director PC Shekar likes to always be on his toes.</p>.<p>After work on films came to a standstill during the pandemic, he directed an advertisement for an online shopping platform with products for pets, which is set to release soon.</p>.<p>As Shekar readies himself for other projects, he shares with <span class="italic">Metrolife,</span> about how the experience has been.</p>.<p class="Question"><strong>How different was working on advertisement compared to films?</strong></p>.<p>I’m a director who wants to explore all aspects of filmmaking — be it feature films, advertisements, web series or documentaries. The advertisement is for an online platform for organic products, by a friend of mine. </p>.<p>In films, if one wants to convey an emotion you have a couple of minutes to depict it, but in advertisements, everything has to be told in seconds. </p>.<p class="Question"><strong>What were the challenges you faced? How hard was it to train the pets in it?</strong></p>.<p>Things like what the brand/concept is, how it works, its technicalities, where one can purchase it from, and the change that happens to your life after getting it, has to conveyed in a matter of seconds.</p>.<p>Every shot has to have so many details in it. Ad films have a lot of jump shots and with my 18 years of filmmaking experience, I was able to plan each shot well.</p>.<p>Shooting with pets is a Herculean task. Getting expressions from humans is easy but getting dogs to react according to your planned shot is difficult. We hired trained dogs from the police and planned shots with the trainers. It would take a lot of time and patience.</p>.<p class="Question"><strong>Who all did you collaborate with?</strong></p>.<p>To get a project up and working, one needs the best technical team. I collaborated with Vaidy, who did camerawork for a few of my films. Guna did the artwork for the ad. I wanted the best sound attached to the ad, which is how Arjun Janya came on board. Actor Samyukta Hornad is a popular name among animal and pet lovers, which is why I wanted her for the ad.</p>.<p class="Question"><strong>Has the ad opened up a different side of you?</strong></p>.<p>Definitely. I gave my heart and soul to it. Now, when I’m writing for films also, I look at writing scenes with more speedy elements to them. The experience has surely given me a wider career option.</p>.<p class="Question"><strong>What all are the other projects you are involved with now?</strong></p>.<p>I have many projects lined up. One of them will be a thriller film, which will have a new cast and crew.</p>.<p>A new-gen project with a different narration style is being planned for an OTT platform. It will have actors from the south Indian film industries.</p>.<p>A project with Prajwal is also coming up. A fun comedy film in Telugu and a series for a channel are also in the pipeline.</p>
