Today we’d like to introduce you to Vedant Chavan.
Hi Vedant, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My journey in filmmaking started as a curious kid trying to figure out how a camera is able to freeze a moment in time, giving you the ability to go back to that moment anytime in your lifetime.
My mother bought me a camera when I was 14 years old and there was no looking back. I started with photography at first and very soon got to shooting short videos of my own and then music videos with my friends. Little did the kid know that this would be an endless exploration. I got together with my cousins, my friends to create something or the other and very soon I established a good profile to start working professionally.
In no time I was working with the big brands, popular Instagram influencers and YouTubers. My work was being appreciated and I never got tired of the revised edits. I enjoyed them and had fun exploring new tricks to make an attractive piece. This drive had me join a filmmaking degree in my college and I graduated from Usha Pravin Gandhi College of Arts, Science and Commerce in Mumbai, India. Throughout the course, I networked and worked with well-established people in the industry, right from working for Dharma Productions to starting my own company with my college friends, Pack Up Pictures.
Everything was going great and I felt I was headed the right direction but before I dived deeper and got lost in the crowd of Indian Bollywood films, I wanted to try working elsewhere. What better place to be than Hollywood!!! That is how I enrolled for a cinematography program in New York Film Academy.
Well, now, it’s been about two years that I have been working in the United States and I am absolutely loving it so far. Anyway, the journey is yet to begin and I have a lot more to experience and a lot more to learn. I strongly believe, in this creative field, learning is endless.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I believe in learning from experiences and which is why every struggle I face, I make sure to analyze and learn out of it.
I can mention one thing though that I faced a lot in early times of my career. Now remember, I am only 22 years old and that itself can be a good enough judgment point for people. That is how it can get difficult to prove your potential and gain trust of these senior filmmakers. Fact being, it is hard to create a space for yourself in any industry. Everyone has got their own space figured out and feels insecure to lose out on opportunities by letting someone new share the space.
Although, a lot of those people ended up being friends and also helped me grow a lot in my career. I found it important to put it out there for fellow filmmakers like me to be prepared and not quit even before they begin. Don’t let all the glittery and flashy exterior stop from wanting to tell real, honest stories.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a filmmaker, specialising in cinematography. I like telling honest stories of people, to people about different people and also challenge the believes people live by.
The unique thing I would say about my work is the stories I am willing to tell the world. They are based on one common goal of figuring out what it is to be alive. We all have certain beliefs and disbeliefs, an understanding of moral and immoral, right and wrong, truth and false. I like to explore these humanly created ideas and question them through my narrative, using cinematography as a medium.
I have shot films that have won awards and recognition not just back in India, but even in the US. My recent well-recognized project of all being, “Voler – love, loss and moving on”. This short film has won over 10 film festivals as the best film and even awarded for cinematography. These are only the awards I am mentioning for 2022, we are yet to hear from more for 2023.
What sets me apart from others is that I make sure I understand the why behind making the film, to help me figure how to uniquely shoot it. The ‘why” is very important and that brings forth the narrative stronger through the visuals I shoot. I do not let my work draw attention and let the narrative flow through the consistent visual style.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
There was a time when audiences did not accept going to the theatres because television was convenient. Filmmakers brought back the love for cinema by successfully pulling people back to the theatres. I think now would be a good time for a miracle like that.
I see a major switch of people going from theatres to OTT and it is even more difficult now given how amazing television screens have got. Definitely a Tarantino, Spielberg or a James Cameron film can bring the audience back to the theatres for a bit but I guess an experience like that of the film “RRR” is more required now than ever so people value enjoying long entertaining movies on the big screen with the amazing surround sound technology.
Also with the news of Netflix going around buying theatres is a ray of hope. At least the biggest OTT platform considers theatre experience to be equally valuable. That should tell us that we are good for another 10 years to enjoy our favourite films at the theatres. If it would be an Avatar 4 (CGI made) or an Extraction 5 (live-action shooting), only time will tell ;p !
Contact Info:
- Website: www.vedantchavanfilms.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dopvedant/
- Other: https://vimeo.com/678628500
