Exclusive interview with Cinematographer Karthik Gattamaneni
Karthik Ghattamaneni is an aspiring cinematographer, who had made 35 short films and debuted in Tollywood with the movie ‘Prema Ishq Kaadhal’. Businessoftollywood.com team interviewed Karthik, about himself and his experiences during the making of ‘Prema Ishq Kaadhal’.
Tell us about your date of birth, place of birth and educational background.
I was born on 28th October in Ananthapur. I was brought up at Hyderabad and I completed my Engineering at Institute of Aeronautical Engineering in 2010.
Have you undergone any training in Cinematography?
I was trained at Mind screen Film Institute, Chennai. It was a formal course and it belongs to Rajiv Menon who is an acclaimed Indian cinematographer and filmmaker in the Indian Advertising and Movie industry.
What qualities according to you are necessary to excel as a cinematographer?
A cinematographer should probably excel in understanding the content and should involve completely with the director from the ground level. Creativity with light will eventually follow if the content is clear.
With which departments in a film crew a cinematographer interacts more?
Cinematographer interacts more with director and art department on the set.
Tell us about a cinematographer’s role in pre-production, production and post production?
In pre production, test shoots will help understand a brief look of the film. During production, coordination with director and spontaneous response according to the situation is very much needed especially in our industry. We have to be prepared spontaneously adapting to any lighting conditions .In post-production ,I believe one can only modify things(Digital Intermediate),but probably cannot create lighting.
Who is your role model among cinematographers?
Roger Deakins, is my biggest role model. He is a genius and is light years ahead of many. Santosh Sivan, is another terrific cinematographer who I admire in our country.
What is your favorite thing about being a cinematographer?
As a cinematographer I capture different moods & moments and in the process I live that particular moment trying to understand different intentions of human kind.
Tell us about your experience during the shooting of Prema Ishq Kaadhal and which camera was used in the shooting?
I used Red Scarlet for shooting of ‘Prema Ishq Kaadhal’. Director Pavan Sadineni wanted to shoot the movie in natural lights, but at the same time he wanted it look colorful. I used a very few lights and mostly lit up the backgrounds instead of faces to bring a color palette.
What is your memorable moment during the shooting of Prema Ishq Kaadhal?
Creating a Coffee Shop for the shoot was the most memorable thing for me. We made a hybrid of different coffee shops across the city.
How was your relationship with cast and crew in Prema Ishq Kaadhal?
As most of us are of same age group we used to interact freely with each other, that is the biggest advantage for this movie. It was like a college with no teacher. We made mistakes, tried to correct them and in one line we just enjoyed.
Tell us about your future projects?
At present I am handling cinematography for ‘Karthikeya’ movie starring Nikhil and Swathi.
Businessoftollywood.com wishes him a bright future in Tollywood as cinematographer.
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