Mumbai: The Script Room, a creative agency specializing in audiovisual medium has attempted to acclimatize to the new world order of shoots during COVID- 19 pandemics by conceptualizing and producing 3-part shorts titled QSQT (Quarantine Stories of Quarantine Times) which capture the woes of free citizens during the lockdown. The films were conceptualized, scripted, directed, and produced remotely on a skeletal crew at home observing all social distancing norms laid down by the Government. It has now released digitally on HumaraMovies.
All the 3 films were directed remotely and shot by the actors themselves employing trial and error tactics. The pre-production was fairly stretched with casting criterion which included the actors’ house, their willingness to direct themselves, the kind of equipment they have, and even the speed of their internet to transfer the files. While the governing bodies have charted out a new set of regulations for shoots as unlocking enfolds, The Script Room has attempted a dry run with QSQT on far more stringent norms and resources.
The three short films within QSQT are titled Essentials, Extension, and Losing It. The films are produced by Creative Coconuts, featuring actors like Vijay Maurya, Sanjay Dadhich, Vishal Capoor, Muskaan Khubchandani, Akashdeep Arora, Chirag Malhotra, and Kunal Malhotra respectively. Karan Kulkarni has created the title track and casting has been done by Casting Bay.
Speaking about the QSQT, Ayyappan Raj, Co-founder, The Script Room, stated, “Thanks to our friend Tushar (Coconut Films) for calling and saying that his brain is getting fried and can we do something exciting. We got the entire team together on Zoom and immediately started jamming on stories. We had a lot of ideas, thoughts and we shortlisted three bases what will be easily executable given the shooting constraints. And we clearly stayed away from very serious, social-purpose kind of narratives and chose light-hearted, insightful stories of the lockdown, more true to our personality as The Script Room.”
Adding to Ayyappan’s views, Rajesh Ramaswamy, Co-Founder, The Script Room, said, “We thought we’ll write something that can be shot from home. And instead of writing general stories and shooting during the lockdown, we wrote stories about the lockdown itself. In fact, Extension is a fictionalized story of one of our writers, whose wedding was postponed due to this. The execution in itself had its own share of challenges. Actors had to shoot each other, and situations where both of them had to be in the same frame, the camera was placed on a chair, bed, cupboard, books, or whatever was available. And the director was miles away only listening to them talk, and figuring out if it’s ok. We kept it raw and intuitive. Tushar and the entire Creative Coconuts team did a fantastic job. These may be the stories told with the highest level of restrictions. But we’ve never had greater fun than this.”
Founded by Ayyappan Raj and Rajesh Ramaswamy, ex Lowe Lintas ad men, The Script Room has completed one year amidst lockdown while successfully creating over forty ad films across youth brands like Netflix, OYO, Chumbak, Beck’s Ice and Groww.
