Gautam is the Founder Director at Pine Tree Pictures Pvt.Ltd. a media solutions company. For over a decade Pine Tree has successfully managed corporate events, conferences, R&R, Annual days, launch events etc. They have produced corporate films, AV’s and TV shows. Gautam is also an actor with an experience of over 14 years in acting having featured in soaps like Ghar Ek Mandir (Sony TV), KumKum (Star Plus), Aawaz Dil Se Dil Tak (Zee TV), Ghar Sansar (DD1), Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki (Star Plus), to name a few.
The Company is also into Event Management, where they have an experience in hosting Lifestyle & Corporate events like Brand Launch, Store Launch, Seminar, Conference, Dealer/Sales Meet, Annual Function, Award Ceremony, Celebrity Endorsements among others, at national & international level. As a Film Production company they have the expertise to complete turnkey operation that includes conceptualization, scripting, shooting, artiste management and post-production in the field of Corporate Films & Audio Visuals, Ad Films and TV & Film Production.
Gautam Chaturvedi – Founder Director, Pine Tree Pictures Pvt. Ltd. in an exclusive chat with MediaNews4u talks about his transition from an actor to an Entrepreneur.
Transition from a successful actor to Pinetree Pictures, how has the 13-year journey been?
The journey from an actor to an entrepreneur has been extremely exciting. It gave me an opportunity to unlearn, reinvent and learn all over again. As an actor corporate life is only what we portray in our shows but when you experience the real thing you do realize that it’s a completely different ball game. So yes, I learnt a lot and I am still learning.
Pinetree Pictures has won 3 International awards and has been nominated for 3 more, what is the feeling?
It’s an absolute delight to see that people appreciate and value your work. We have won awards from across the globe and that is an elating feeling for the writer in me. It gives me confidence that I have successfully, though to a very small extent, been able to understand the pulse of the viewer’s today.
Can you take us through the short film and how was it conceptualized?
Well that was just a matter of dedication and passion for what we truly enjoy doing. Since the inception of Pine Tree, I have written, directed, voiced and produced hundreds of corporate films, TV shows and ad films, but it was much later we actually dabbled into drama and short film space. Two months in the lockdown and an idea of creating a short film struck me in mid-May. It was just a thought of making a film that cannot only be created in these uncertain times but also where actors can work from their individual homes, yet seems like it is shot under one roof. I penned this thought creating the first draft of our short film’s story. I discussed it later with my dear friends MazherSayed and MouliGanguly (who is also one of the actors in the film). They loved the idea and egged me to go ahead and shoot the film. Convincing RidhiemaTiwari and NiluKohli to be a part of this film was a cakewalk. Appreciation for the story was so overwhelming that there was no going back from there. I drew the storyboard myself and planned the shoot with my team. We had to ensure that the storyboard was descriptive enough to explain the frame, source of light, look, costume, etc. to match the frames of different locations. Efficient coordination between actors was the key to ensure everyone was on the same page. Our biggest challenge was to edit the entire movie on remote control. As the film was entirely shot on mobile phones, dubbing too was required. We could only use limited available resources at home. Once the film was ready we reached out to channels and also sent our submissions to various film festivals. Now our film ‘ Work from Home’ is streaming on MX Player and YouTube and has been viewed by nearly half a million people which is an absolute delight for us. The film has also gone one to win over 8 international awards.
Many event companies strategized on various virtual events, your thoughts?
Yes this was an opportunity for the high-paced event fraternity to slow down, sit, think and innovate. It’s a pleasure to see how companies, big and small, have come up with new ideas, created new platforms and stood up to the challenge. I am a part of EEMA, the apex body for events fraternity in India, and I was pleasantly surprised by the sheer energy and talent that flows amongst us. Made me realize there is much more to know and learn to match up to this talented lot of people.
What are the innovations you are now looking at for the Live Events Industry?
As we slowly open up and life returns to the new normal, we need to understand and value health, develop an SOP that would ensure better safety of our crew and guests. Also there is going to be a big switch to virtual live events and we as event managers are already gearing to make this experience exciting for our clients.
The lockdown hit the entertainment industry in a big way, how did you keep the morale of yourself and your employees?
See I believe every adversity has a hidden opportunity we must look at it with a positive attitude. There is no mountain that can’t be climbed, history has proven it. So we at Pine Tree, met online regularly and strategized, we started a knowledge sharing series, we curated new online events for our clients, produced instructional videos, up skilled and most importantly stuck together. We didn’t cut jobs and that kept the team motivated. We are like a close happy family. Together, we did new online courses, attended industry sessions, heard what experts had to say and that really helped.
The lockdown has seen a huge surge in the OTT viewership, are you planning to produce a few we series?
Yes we are working on a few concepts and hopefully by 2021 we should be able to bring a few ideas to life.
