DOSA: The Creative Journey

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hello and welcome to Storyteller in Depth, a podcast where we go behind the scenes to learn more about the sku, communications, media arts and designs, people, places and things. I'm your host, Pat Quigley. In today's episode, we'll be going behind the scenes of the short film dosa, which not only has been premiering at a ton of festivals, but actually has its roots in Centennial script to screen program. So far, the short film has won best film of the festival from the Couch Film Festival and best Comedy at the Toronto Independent film festival of CIFT. Now, as you'll hear in just a bit, three members of DOSA's team will be joining us. But stay tuned because the production designer will be joining us separately to discuss her exciting role on dosa. Let's get started. [00:00:47] Speaker B: Thank you so much, guys, for being on the podcast today. [00:00:51] Speaker C: Thank you for having us. [00:00:52] Speaker D: Thank you for having us. Thank you for having us. We're happy to be here. [00:00:55] Speaker B: Yeah, no, we're going to have an amazing conversation and to start off, we're going to go around the table and if you can just introduce yourselves and share your specific roles in the making of the short film dosa. Is that. Am I saying that correctly? Dosa. [00:01:09] Speaker C: Dosa, yeah. [00:01:10] Speaker B: Okay. [00:01:10] Speaker C: Like the food. [00:01:11] Speaker B: Like the food. Okay. [00:01:12] Speaker C: Yeah. I'm Shashank. I was the writer director for dosa. [00:01:18] Speaker E: I'm Emmanuel. I was the DOP and camera operator. [00:01:24] Speaker F: Hi, my name is Manoj and I'm a sound recordist on dosa. [00:01:29] Speaker D: Hi, my name is David. I was second AC on the camera department. [00:01:34] Speaker A: And before we get too far into the process of creating dosa, let's first jump to an interview we had with Mariana, the production designer, who will explain her experience. So first, can you introduce yourself and your role in the film dosa? [00:01:46] Speaker C: Hi. [00:01:47] Speaker G: So my name is Mariana Godines, and I was a production designer in dosa. [00:01:51] Speaker A: As the production designer, did you have a particular vision going into it of how you wanted the film to look and feel? And how did you approach the visual storytelling for dosa? [00:02:00] Speaker G: When I first read the script, I had kind of an idea of what I wanted. I was able to create my deck, but to be honest, my vision evolved a lot as I got to learn more about the characters. In the end, the plays had to reflect who Maya was. Right. And learning more about her and the way that the character was gonna be portrayed, the idea that the director had and everything helped me have a clearer idea of what we could create within that space. For instance, originally, I kind of picture everything A little bit more, like, girly, like, more pink and with more pastel tones, that kind of thing. But to be honest, the more that I got to know about her, the more I realized that that was not necessarily the case. We had to, like, dive a little bit more into her mind. So mainly that idea, the color palette changed. To me, when it came to the other elements, it was pretty much the same thing. And I did have some challenges because I pictured a lot more paintings around a lot more canvases. And I was a little bit worried once we set the whole thing up because we only had, I don't know, probably like around 25 or something. And in my mind, we should have had like 50. But we were able to place them in the correct spots for them to be relevant to the storyline while we were recording. So it worked great in the end. [00:03:26] Speaker A: Was there any particular part of the set design that you feel was impactful to the storyline and why? [00:03:32] Speaker G: The most impactful part of the set design, it has to be the couch. Definitely the couch. Most of the story takes place there, so that was up to a point. The center of was important for it to then be of a good enough size for the colors of it and the patterns not to blend with the wardrobe of the actors so that they could still stand out. And it had to also fit Maya's world and reality and at the same part, even her delusional part. So, yeah, definitely the couch. [00:04:09] Speaker A: Is there anything else you'd like to mention about DOSA and or your experience in the script to screen program? [00:04:15] Speaker G: I would also like to say that I'm extremely proud of dosa. This film was a really big learning opportunity for me. I'm really thankful to Steve, to George, and to Jim Lamby, who was my mentor, because thanks to them and thanks to this program, I found my place in the art department. I had always been attracted to film because I wanted to create stories, right? But. But I also wanted to create that visual world. And I don't know why, like, I had never fully found my place in film until I discovered the production designer role as a whole and everything that it involves. So, yeah, being able to find where you belong in film or what makes you happy and your profession is like, what I got the most from this program. [00:05:04] Speaker A: Thanks so much, Mariana. Now we're going to go back to the rest of the interview on dosa. [00:05:09] Speaker B: So what is the short film about? And if you could describe DOSA in three words, what would they be? [00:05:17] Speaker C: It's a comedy. It's a comedy about a Crypto millionaire who gets kidnapped by these three petty criminals. And then when they go for a, when they ask for a ransom, they realize that, oh, this guy has lost all his money in crypto. So you have a bit of drama, a bit of comedy. It's. Yeah, it's hard to describe something like that in three words, but yeah, it's a comedy. I guess that's the best I can do. [00:05:45] Speaker B: It sounds super interesting. You know, it was first created as your main project back in 2023 in the script to Screen program and has now premiered at several festivals. It has already premiered at the International Film Festival of South Asia, the Couch Film Festival, the Toronto Independent Film Festival of Sift, Yellowstone International Film Festival, Filmy, Toronto's South Asian Film Festival. And there are likely more on the horizon. Speaking to those who are maybe in the same shoes as you were back when you were pitching the film to festivals, what is that process? Like? [00:06:20] Speaker C: A lot of research, to be honest. You got to understand that I was naive to think that, oh, we made a good film. All of the festivals are going to love this. That's not how it works. All of the festivals have their own. They have a ballet, they look for certain types of films, they have a certain catalog to build, they have a certain audience, and that's the type of film that they go looking for. So you gotta do a lot of research beforehand, otherwise you just end up wasting a bunch of money. And since ours was a comedy drama with a bit of South Asian actors and South Asian flair to it, we targeted mostly comedy festivals, drama festivals, South Asian festivals. It was a hit in the South Asian, you know, festival circuit. And yeah, it takes a lot of research. You gotta go through all the films that got selected previously, all the films that have been, that have won awards, all the jury members, all the people that like this festival. And then you go ahead submitting these and you just wait for the decision. And even then things can go wrong. Even then sometimes you don't get in because, you know, in today's world, the competition is so big that anybody can pick up a camera and make a good film. Right. [00:07:51] Speaker B: So what was, what's the reaction like to the short film so far? Like what you pitched to me and what you told me, I was like, okay, I'm very interested. Let's, let's watch the short film now. But like, what have movie. What have the viewers of the, of the festivals been reacting to so far? [00:08:08] Speaker C: It's been really good. People, people have mostly positive things to say about it. I think Mainly because I love this film because it's just a film that is an entertainment. It just tries to entertain you. It doesn't try to weave a huge character study about something. It's just. It has a beginning, it has a middle, and it has an end. People come to watch movies. The. It's not meant for, like, someone very looking for something very deep. So it's very accessible to most audiences. And it's funny. I. I'm a huge fan of comedy. Before I got into making movies, I was a stand up comic for a long time. So anything that makes people laugh, I love it. So. Yeah. [00:09:01] Speaker E: And also I remember, like, I went with Shashank to the South Asian festival, right? And. [00:09:08] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:09:08] Speaker E: And like, people were like, really happy with the film because, like, we like colors, we like the camera, we like the script, actors. So, yeah, we got like, good feedback from the other, like, directors, producers that were there. [00:09:28] Speaker D: Yeah. I want to add a little bit to what Shashank said. I remember clearly once we did the screening at the Donnies at Centennial, and it hits another feeling after you. We work on that project, like for two days. I remember Shashank with the script and everything. And then when you see the end result and people laughing, you see like, okay, we did it. Like the thing that we were. Our mission was accomplish. It feels different. You feel the fulfillment that the bits that Shashank put, all the vision, all the imagery, like it hit. It did this mission, which is good. It's a relief, is like you feel like you did it. Accomplish is the word. [00:10:09] Speaker B: Now, I'm sure there's some people who are listening right now who are interested in making their own film and are considering enrolling in the script to screen program or maybe even making their own short film. So first, how did the short. How did this script to screen program prepare you for making this film? [00:10:25] Speaker E: No, you can start. [00:10:27] Speaker C: Mostly it gave me the confidence that, yeah, I can do this. Because before that, I was just an amateur screen. I wasn't even a screenwriter. I just had made a couple of funny, I would say, sketches. And most of my experience wasn't stand up. So once I started making movies at Centennial, George and Steve and everybody else, to be honest, Phil, who was our production lecturer and who else? Wyatt was our post production lecturer. All these people kind of boost you up. They're not the type of people who would, you know, they were just wonderful across the board. They helped me build my confidence up. They helped me understand that, yes, I can do this. I still remember I'm going To remember this for a long, long time. There was a day when we were discussing the script, Steve was in the classroom and he looked up to me and said, I think he's a good screenwriter. He's. He's good. And that was the first time anybody said that I was good at anything. And that, that, that was like a stamp of approval. Right. So after that I felt okay. So if, and Steve has been nominated for an Oscar for his screenplay. So if somebody who is of, of that caliber says you're good, you know, maybe something, I might have a future here. So that gave me the confidence to just say, hey, I'm good at this. I think I have a future here. And you know, let's, let's, let's go with this. [00:12:04] Speaker B: And Steve doesn't give those out too easily either. Right. Like, I remember he was my screenwriting teacher back when I was in broadcasting and he did not give out those so lightly to people who, who had the gift of being able to write and tell stories. [00:12:18] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure. It's very hard. Steve is a very, it's very hard to impress him. And once that he, he was impressed by the script, I was like, oh, this is good. There's an achievement and there's a milestone in my life. Definitely. [00:12:40] Speaker E: Yeah. Like mentioned, like, we're for international students. We were international students here. So like, I think the main thing for us, like it's adapting to the Canadian like film industry. So we had like our backgrounds in our countries and it was a really good challenge to adapt to the sea. Like, oh, this is the way they like, like to work on like film sets or this is the way they are producing something. So it was a good challenge and I think we could achieve like great result with Dozer and that's it. [00:13:23] Speaker B: So can you guys provide some examples on how you applied what you learned in the filming process to dose mainly. [00:13:33] Speaker C: It was, it was mostly all technical stuff. None of us, I don't think any of us knew how the Canadian film industry works before we got into script to screen. So script a screen gave us a lot of hands on experience to know, to understand how a film set works over here. And even during filming dosa, it didn't feel like, oh, this is a student project, we're all students. The pressure was on. We had to deliver a good film and people believed in us. And people are yelling, people were stressed. There were a few fights. Like, you know, it was a wonderful experience to. It encapsulated what it feels like to be on an actual film set. And even then, it was a kind of protected environment with George and Steve, everybody, you know, holding your. Not holding your hand, but guiding you throughout the whole process, where whenever you made mistakes, you were able to go to them and ask them, hey, you know, I'm not sure about this. How do we go about this? So it was. Even though it was like, it was. It pushed you out into the world of filmmaking, it also helped you guide, like, it helped you move through it in the right way to understand all the principles and the techniques and the. And the terminologies. [00:15:02] Speaker D: Yeah. To add a little bit to that is what Scream to Screen is to me in general is a space where you meet a lot of people. Ashang said, it's like a training ground for what is out there. So us, we come from different backgrounds, different places. And I remember one class that we were doing with Rob, and we came up with a math for grip. And I said to. I don't remember who. And I said, like, oh, we call this in my country, another name. And they have other names. So it's. Script to Screen is. It surrounds you with amazing people. I love all these guys, all my classmates, all my professors. And it allows you to understand how it moves. So making Doza was like the graduation to like, okay, now you are going to understand how it works. And these two years after we graduated, it's been like that in multiple projects. It's like, oh, I remember when we did those. And we would learn how the terminology works, how the rhythm is different, learning about especially the production side, like how unions work, how to get actors and how those laws apply, how all those norms should take into account. That was really something that I took from. From program. [00:16:22] Speaker F: Yes. Also kind of gave us a family away from family. Like we friends. When first we met few people in the class, we were like, is it gonna work out? Are we gonna gel together? And all. But after knowing what they can do, like David, he's good at camera works. Emmanuel is good at camera works too. Shashank, he's good at writing and directing. There are a few people with other gifts, like Mariana, who is missing today here in this. She's good at production design and doing things around. So it kind of gave us a good connections with each other and made sure that whoever is on the project, the project is not jeopardized. It kind of made that kind of grow. And I know definitely in future, if I'm producing a film, who to call. It kind of gave that kind of courage and trust amongst Us, it created that kind of environment and I will always be thankful for that thing in my life. [00:17:37] Speaker D: Thank you. Thank you, Manoj. Yes, it's the fun part. I resonate a lot with Manoj when she says it's about. It teached me basically that in film sets it's all about nowadays respect and that you trust the other. So we build that trust because those wasn't something that we just did in one week. It was a working process. We learned to respect Shashan's vision, his direction. We work with him, not for him. He wasn't demanding. We, we created with him and we respected him as the leader he was in that project. He, whatever he said it was. But it was not like mandatory or like a dictatorship. It was like, okay, we're helping you as a friends and we're doing things that we actually like. And it was all that building process. And nowadays I see in other sets is like the people call you back for jobs and gigs if you're cool, if you're someone that's nice to be around, if you do your work correctly and at the same time you're respectful, you're like friendly. You are like having a nice environment around. [00:18:41] Speaker B: For sure, for sure. I'm going to switch gears a little bit and we're going to kind of dive into each of your roles. Starting with you, Emmanuel, as the director of photography. Take us through your approach to your role. Like, what was your process for planning the lighting for key scenes? [00:18:56] Speaker E: Okay. I remember when Shashank pictured the film like he brought some ideas. I remember seven, but there's another one, another film that you brought to the class and we discussed like, oh, I'd like to like have the same. Yeah, the Pinter and like, I'd like to have this kind of photograph. And also we had, we had a text scout to the art. [00:19:29] Speaker C: Art studio. [00:19:30] Speaker E: Art studio. We looked and like, oh, we have, we can like use a kind of practical lights, but it's a dark room so we need also to add some lights to kind of simulate this practical lights in the room. So the, for example, the final scene is really funny because there is like the police coming to the, to the place and we have for example to create a kind of serene light. And yeah, it was a challenge for me because I worked for example with documentaries for a long time and it was like, I think the first good short film that I've worked as a dop. And also, for example going to the festivals, people also mentioned like to us like they like the photograph of the Film. But basically, we have a discussion about, like, lighting. How can we work with it? Because, like, Shashank has his vision, I have my vision, and we have to kind of match our ideas to do, like, something together. Not for him or for me, for the project. [00:20:43] Speaker F: Yeah. [00:20:45] Speaker C: The lighting played a huge role in this particular film also, because a lot of the storytelling is also done just with lighting and with sound. Especially towards the last. Especially after the third act, when. So towards the end, spoiler alert, the police come and get them. So we don't have a budget to show, like, a police squad outside. We don't have a budget for a police car. So what we did was we just flooded the entire room with the red and blue lights. And we. I worked with my editor, Monarch, who is in here today, but he was amazing at editing audio. So we put together. So I learned how to tell a story not just with actors and dialogue, but with also light and sound. When we are, you know, we don't have that big a budget. So I've used that principle. Even I'm making another film in a month or so. I'm using the same principles. We have our four actors, but whenever we can't tell a story with actors on screen, we just use light and sound or lighting and, you know, create a mode and the audience can build a story in their heads. So it's not. We. We learned how to circumnavigate the budget, restraint, how to tell a story when you don't have enough resources. I think that's one of the best things that I learned during this entire process. [00:22:10] Speaker B: Very cool. Very cool. I can never get my head around lighting. Sometimes. I'm terrible at it. I've got to do it every day for my own job. But, you know, kudos to you guys for. For figuring out, you know, how to tell a story with light and sound. Nuts. It's so cool because that's one. That's two thirds of the film right there. Right. Besides, you know, some of the other more visual parts, those things can help really motivate and tell your story in such a unique and different way. [00:22:39] Speaker C: Yeah, definitely. [00:22:41] Speaker B: So, Emmanuel, was there any important elements you wanted to maintain through the entire process to help in the visual. Visual storytelling of the film? [00:22:51] Speaker E: Yeah, like about the lightning, we, like. We just create kind of them, the environment of the room. So it was easy to shoot the whole film, like, in the same, like, 95% of the film in the same room. It was. We. We didn't have a lot of work, but for the camera I remember Shashank, like, brought the idea like, oh, I want to shoot like a kind of documentary, you know, like the camera moving, shaking a little bit. So, yeah, it was a, a different challenge because for me, because I like to have the camera stand on the tripod or do like some smooth movements. It was nice. Also remember, I remember there's a specific scene, the film when the guys are looking for the car key and I saw the shelf, like, oh, why don't we put the camera behind the shelf? We put like a dolly track and try to move the camera. Like, it's a different, different way to shoot the scene. And I remember George, the, the director mentor, and Milan, he mentioned, like, okay, let's try. Like, I think like, they didn't believe my idea for the, for the photograph at that moment, but they like it later. [00:24:09] Speaker B: That's awesome. It's good to have people like that in your. To understand afterwards what you're doing the entire time, right? [00:24:16] Speaker E: Oh, yeah, for sure. [00:24:18] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:24:19] Speaker B: So you'd be nothing without your, your second ac, Your second camera assistant as well. So, David, take us through your approach to the film and how important effective collaboration and communication were in Phil fulfilling your role. [00:24:31] Speaker D: Oh, communication and being for each other is the main base. You know, as second ac, basically you are the support of the camera department. So I remember you always have to be aware of what's happening with the team, always checking up on them, how they are doing, and whenever it's your time, also be communicating that. I remember a lot with the script supervisor, with the lady. We were always talking, saying, oh, this scene is correct. So we all can have that, that, that guidance of what we are doing as well. You, I also did a little bit. You have to stir up. I remember, I think was something happened and the brush couldn't be there early. So I did a little bit of first AC as well in one of the first shots just to help out the team. And, and I, I, I was always checking on Ocean was not here. Alexa, like bringing them a little bit of water, talking to them, seeing how we're doing, making everything fun. And yeah, so I was always communicating and always, for example, when you're having the slate in front of the camera, I was talking with Emmanuel with the ocean to see where the slate was to make it easier and. But it was really fun. Yeah. [00:25:55] Speaker B: Did you have, did you find you had to adapt to some of the unique challenges of the film's indoor and outdoor locations? [00:26:01] Speaker D: Of course. I remember indoors you can. It's easier. It was like Sort of a studio vibe. So there was a lot of space. And maybe I'm a big guy, I'm really tall, and it was easier for me to move. But I remember one of these scenes that we shot outside. I was in the car, it was really hard for me to just squeeze into the back seat. And Emmanuel was back there with the camera holding it like this. And I had to squeeze my big arm around, like, the car seat to just get the club in. And of course, the movement is different. For example, handling the lenses when we were doing a lens swap was also important because I was wearing gloves and I had to be extra careful not to just drop the lens, which is really expensive, we all know that. So I had to be extra careful with that. So adapting to each of those situations is. Is. Is kind of the deal. So in. In like indoors you can be more. A little bit more relaxed. And it was like end of winter or midwinter. So we were all cozy inside and really cold outside. [00:27:04] Speaker E: I was trying to find a picture here, like I have with David. Like, we are freezing outside and everyone was so stressed because it was like the end of the second day and like, oh, let's rush, let's rush, let's do it, like. But at the same time, we're looking for, like, not just rushing against the time, but, like, looking for quality, like, to shoot the scene properly, doing everything, like, really, really nice. [00:27:30] Speaker D: Yeah, just to be more efficient with the time. [00:27:33] Speaker E: Oh yeah, for sure. [00:27:34] Speaker D: Just be efficient. [00:27:35] Speaker C: Also, shout out to the art team. Art department and production designers did a fabulous job with the whole set story. Couldn't have happened without them. [00:27:44] Speaker B: Yeah, definitely. Every, every aspect, right, is so important to making these short films. And. And one we'd be remiss to not talk about, obviously, is, is sound and audio. So, Minaj, do you have any tricks or techniques to help ensure clean sounds, especially in doso, where scenes might have been comedic or even intense at times? [00:28:07] Speaker F: To be honest, I made some mistakes in DOSA because while I was doing the trial runs, I considered all the factors about external noise, set noise, and the equipment. Even the camera makes sounds. The fans running inside, the lights, the fans running inside, they also are captured on the microphones. I consider all the facts, but I did not consider one fact. That is we'll be using radios on the set, which is. Which will interfere with the wireless microphones which we're using on the actors or in the planted microphones around the set. I forgot that thing. And the first day, when we're shooting it for the first half an hour to 45 minutes, me and my boom guy Jack and my mentor John was running all around because using IFB Speed 3 were able to listen through the headphones. And John, for every five to 10 seconds, he was looking at me, at every interference we are capturing on the microphones. I was like, john, I fucked up. Sorry for using that. I did not consider that fact. I'm sorry, I'm just going, give me five minutes, I'm going to rectify the issue and get the thing sorted. And for the first half an hour to one hour we had this problem. We sorted it out and we were able to go forward with the shoot for the next two days. But when I went to check the studio for the, for before the shoot, we had some problems with the ACs and all. We were using sound blankets, we were using masking tapes to all cover those and not to get the external sounds. And we're using multiple filters on the tracks which we're using or on the devices which we're using. And yeah, that kind of made the thing work. And most of the times we use the actors, actors personal microphones and the boom along with that to capture the other sounds. We were using the plant mics in the couch which they were sitting or on the lamp which they were sitting beside and that. Something like that to capture the ambient noises. [00:30:41] Speaker B: So definitely a couple learning curves is what I'm kind of gathering from all this. And you know, as you move forward into future projects, you kind of have an idea of what to do for the next time, right? [00:30:51] Speaker F: Yeah, definitely, because I had experience. But in the moment of doing things in a hurry or because I was also doing some other helping around, because I had this, the kit where every screwdriver is present, every cutting pliers are there. So everybody was coming and asking me things, helping me around. I was setting the stations and all. So that's when we miss this small things which are really important. And that's what I missed over the radios and the mics using similarly frequencies which led to the distance. [00:31:36] Speaker B: So some good advice for anybody who wants to work in sound is, you know, cross your T's, dot your I's and don't lend out your pliers, essentially. [00:31:44] Speaker E: Yeah, yeah. [00:31:46] Speaker F: So just. [00:31:47] Speaker B: Oh, go ahead. [00:31:49] Speaker F: And there were. There were moments where I had to rely on somebody to get things done, like John, because there. John is a professor, also a mentor on this project. So he was constantly time to time checking on us. He was giving information when there is some trick part. Because before every Scene. There is a time where things are to be set up, the cameras, sound and lighting. So before everything, John was coming to me. He's telling, are you okay? Is it all set up? Are you feeling any difficulties in doing things or not? He was actually giving a kind of assurance, no problem. Even though you're. You're not able to do it, you'll be able to do it. Trust in yourself. Just go, go along with that and do the process that not only John, but everybody like George, Steve, Milan and Rob, everybody was giving that kind of push to the. The team that no problem, everybody make mistakes. And you are in the early stages of filmmaking, there is 100% chances that you make mistakes. But make mistakes, that's how you learn. That's kind of attitude which we got from our mentors. So that was able to drive us very smooth, calm. And the project was good. And as David mentioned when we were watching at Donny's, I was happy to see people laugh, get the emotions, because there are a few parts where we are sure the laugh will kick in. But for my surprise, few didn't work. But the parts where the laugh, we didn't expect that much. Those parts were. People were laughing a lot. That kind of things were there. [00:33:53] Speaker B: And that kind of, kind of perfectly leads into kind of. The final question as we're wrapping up is what was the biggest lesson each of you learned while working on DOSA and also taking the script to screen program? So starting with you, Manoj, does the. [00:34:06] Speaker F: Process, whatever plans you got in your mind, whatever you thought of, might not work out 100%, but trust the process. The process will lead you to a place where there is a. There is a balance, where it says what you thought happened, but what you didn't imagine of happening also happened. Learn from that. It's a kind of balanced thing. It's a balanced process. It's not always like, you get what you want, but you have to take what the opportunity gives you too. [00:34:50] Speaker B: Advice, David, yourself. [00:34:51] Speaker D: Mm. [00:34:52] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:34:53] Speaker D: Thank you, Manoj. I think picking up on that. And the process is also, you need to trust the people around. I think sometimes we could be a little bit jealous. I don't jealous like self in Dutch, in our work, say like, okay, I'm the second ac. I only do this. But in these kind of projects, in short films, especially maybe in bigger sets and union work is more like everyone to their thing. And it's more like, like some sort of like a warehouse. Everyone is on their thing. No one touches anything. But in the short film World, especially indie, is like, you're there to help each other. You're doing something that is fun, you're doing something that you are passionate about, you're doing a presentation, you're doing something that you will show to someone in the future and you will be really proud of, is that the people around you are there with you. You know, it's like you're in the trenches together. You're. We're working through at late night, we're working through really cold times. So it's up to just. If I can help Manaj with something I'm sure gonna do without letting my work be affected, I'm gonna be effective as well in the things I do so people can work faster. If I'm. If I can get this late as quick as possible inside the frame, we can start rolling sooner and we can be more efficient. And especially in filmmaking, time is all, you know, daylight, the actors time, Everything's about time. So basically, and from the script to screen thing that I learned the most is that as well as Minaj, to trust the process, like believe in what you're doing. If not just change careers. [00:36:34] Speaker B: Yeah, no kidding. If you can't figure it out, like, can't really help you out too much. [00:36:39] Speaker F: Especially the film business is very uncertain business. Today you might be the star, but tomorrow you never know where you will be. Because there are so many examples in the history too where people shine bright today, but the next morning they're gone. They're nowhere to be seen. [00:36:58] Speaker B: Emmanuel, how about you? What's some of the highlight that you've gotten? [00:37:04] Speaker E: Like, trust your classmates. It was a really nice project that we could see. Like, all these guys have like special skills that I haven't seen like through the whole program. So it was a really good project that we could meet more like the classmates, trust them more and yeah, let's move forward. The program is end. We graduated, but like, why don't we move forward? Like trying to shoot like more short films or doing stuff together, you know, like Shashank had an idea about the short film. Oh, let's produce it together. So yeah, I think that's the point. You just like graduate and like step and set your next steps, you know, like to do, like to move forward, to do more stuff, to create more. [00:37:58] Speaker B: And to shank yourself. Last but not least, Mr. Director, for. [00:38:03] Speaker C: Me, it was mostly internal. Like I had already known at that point of my life that you got to trust the process and whatnot. Because I was an architect before that and I've Been an artist all my life, and I know how the process works, and I know how iterations work, and I know how the entire journey takes a long time to become something. And it takes time. The biggest thing I learned was probably trust my. To trust my own instincts and work my ass off. Mostly because as a director, you are going to have to constantly pitch your film again and again and again to people, the heads of departments, to not just pitch, but also make sure that your vision stays the same. It's your job to have a vision and to execute it to the best of your ability. And that's very hard. Anybody can make a film and, you know, things go wrong and you'll be like, okay, fine, we'll just do it this way, that way. But to stick to something and to execute it the way you want it to, that's the biggest achievement that I would take away from this. I learned to trust my instinct. I learned to trust my heads of departments and the crew. I learned that I'm good at things. It boosted my confidence. And most of all, I learned that I learned how to be. How to make a good film on a limited budget. On, you know, because you. You get to. You understand what it costs, you understand how the whole system works. And once you know that in and out, it's easier to take your next step instead of just blindly, okay, I'm going to write a script, and I hope I make this. And, you know, I hope it happens. And now, now there's a clear path. You understand? Okay, If I make this film, this festival might take it. This is my budget. This is how I can make it. These are my friends. All of these people are working with me in my next project, by the way, so. Amazing crew. So you gotta have people you trust. You gotta trust your instinct, and you gotta make a good film. You have to. You gotta walk your ass off. [00:40:24] Speaker D: I think the, The. The word is, if you have an idea, just try it out. Just do it. [00:40:29] Speaker C: Just do it. We. We. We. [00:40:31] Speaker D: Sometimes we make a lot of excuses saying that, oh, we don't have the money, we don't have the time, we don't. That's. [00:40:38] Speaker E: You'll. [00:40:38] Speaker D: If you want it, you can find it. You'll find a way to do it because passion and this vision. I'm rolling back to those because this was a really endearing project to Shashank, and you could see that he really wanted to get it done. He was one of the ones that was pushing hard for this to be done, and he was taking advantage of all the resources that we have. So first being in the program, allow access for great cameras, great mentors, people who are already known, like Steve, well nominated Oscar screenwriter, and with as well as I forgot it, as well as our mentor George, who has produced a lot of films and other great people to mentor you, to guide you to have cool cameras, cool equipment and do crazy stuff. So it's basically just do it. [00:41:34] Speaker F: The fun part is when the DOSA was happening, Ray is our equipment distribution in charge. And when we went to pick up the equipment, he was like, guys, you almost rented 70% to 80% of the resources the college has. What kind of big project are you doing? So that shows, like, what we are trying to do, what commitment we are giving to the film, whatever it is, we'll get those kind of use it and give the better quality, which will work in an excellent way on the big screens, on the festivals kind of thing. [00:42:15] Speaker B: So you guys were the kind of guys who, like, rented everything out of the cage. And people like me, they went, oh, I just need a camera. Like, no, I don't have any. I'm sorry. It's all on this short film being made. So. [00:42:27] Speaker F: I know. [00:42:27] Speaker B: I know who you guys are now. I figured it out. [00:42:30] Speaker D: Yeah. That light that you needed, now, we were using it just to light, like a lamp or something, but. Yeah. [00:42:36] Speaker B: So just my very last question. What's next? What's next for Doza? Doza? What's what? What's on the horizon? [00:42:43] Speaker C: It'll complete another. It'll. We have six more months of festivals to go. Um, we hope to have a few more selections, especially the ones in Toronto. And we have, I think, one or two in the U.S. but that's about it. I think DOSA did what it was supposed to. I didn't look at it as a film that would do big, you know, make a huge splash in the industry or whatnot. But I looked at it more as a stepping stone for all of us. It gave us something to put in our portfolios to tell people that, hey, we are good. Look at this, what we have made. We are good. Let us work with you. We're not just somebody, you know, we're not just graduates from film school who don't know much and we are nervous and we might fumble on set and we might, you know, so we have something to show for after all of this. [00:43:40] Speaker D: What do you mean? Shashank? It's time for the DOSA sequel. The DOSA Extended Universe. We can have everything. A series, like, everything. [00:43:50] Speaker C: Spider Man Comes in. [00:43:52] Speaker D: Yeah, we rescue the crypto. We sign with Disney. Then we had Batman, Spider Man. We got our own animated show. Those extended universe. [00:44:01] Speaker C: Hollywood by this Sunday, for sure. [00:44:04] Speaker D: Yeah, we could do that. No, but, but, but, yeah, I think the next thing just adding up is like, this is a good presentation card. Like you say, like, oh, this is us. Look at it. Look at what we did. With passion and with cool work, with cool, cool people. We did this. And what can I do for you? [00:44:24] Speaker C: And we were still in film school while all of this was happening. Yeah, it's not even out in the industry. Yeah. [00:44:30] Speaker B: Awesome. Well, thank you guys so much for, for coming on the podcast. And as soon as you release that next one, we'll get you back on and we'll do this all over again. [00:44:38] Speaker D: Oh, wonderful, Wonderful. [00:44:44] Speaker A: Now, I don't know about you, but DOSA sounds like such an amazing short film, and it was equally great hearing about the team's experience. If you like this episode, please share it with a friend and let us know on our Instagram storyartcenter. Until next time, I'm your host, Pat Quigley, and this is Storyteller in Depth.