From Down Under, with finesse

 

Vinay Kamath
Meet Danny Pope, cinematographer for many Indian commercials, including those for Fevicol and Hutch.






Danny Pope. Heard of him? It's a good bet that not many would have. But, mention some of the more memorable television commercials in Indian advertising of late like the Hutch boy-and-dog TVC and the Fevicol bus ad or the Chevrolet commercial, and if you were told that it was Pope, a 44-year-old Australian cinematographer, who shot those TVCs, recognition would be easier. Among the top cinematographers in the world for commercials, he brings to his work, according to ad film-makers like Rajiv Menon and Prakash Varma, who he's filmed for, a great deal of meticulousness and technical expertise. "He's able to translate the mental picture on the director's mind into film," says Varma, who's shot the Hutch commercial with Pope in Goa. Film-makers are using talented cinematographers like Pope for the fresh perspective he brings to a commercial, which comes out of his experience of shooting around the world. In Chennai recently to shoot a Titan commercial for Menon, Pope took time off to talk to Catalyst about his Indian experience. Excerpts:

How did your Indian affair begin?


I did a commercial for Live-in jeans in Sydney with an Australian crew for an Indian agency and director and that was the first one I did. Later, I worked on a couple of other commercials; one was for Lakme and the other Levi's. When I finished a little stint in India and went back to Sydney I was asked whether I would like to work on another Indian commercial, but I was fairly busy at that time. They asked me if I would see the reel of the director and I had a look at it and it was brilliant - this was Prasoon Pandey's (Corcoise Films) reel. I then worked with him for a Wills cigarettes ad; we shot all around Sydney and we got along well. The next project he asked me to work on with him was for Fevicol, so I came over to shoot in Rajasthan. I met Piyush (Pandey, group president & national creative director, O&M)), and we all went and shot the Fevicol ad together and it then went on to wi<15,3m>n the Silver Lion in Cannes. I loved shooting that commercial, it was beautiful.

Then I did a Grasim suit ad with Prasoon, then one for Limca and a motorbike commercial for Bajaj Pulsar. After that I got a call from Prakash Varma and we then did the Chevrolet ad in Rajasthan, which was a really difficult ad to make because of the dusty terrain.

So, I had a nice thing going; I was working with two of the best directors, Prasoon and Prakash Varma; then we did Hutch together with Prasoon and Piyush. So, what's really brought me back here is the Titan ad I'm doing for Rajiv Menon.






The Hutch ad that you shot is among the most endearing commercials seen in Indian advertising. How did you manage to get the dog to follow the boy around faithfully?


That ad was shot in Goa. We first had a little snouted dog which came with its dog handlers. The first shot we wanted was of the dog taking a straight run to the beach, but it never did anything like that. The dog didn't look nice anyway, apart from not performing and we were at it for hours. And here I was, trying to catch the overcast light for the shoot. This dog just wasn't doing anything right. So, we had a bit of panic on hand because we wasted hours on the first day. We needed to find another dog; that was a big call; we were stuck in Goa and we needed a new dog the next morning. So, everyone started hunting around. The production team did a great job in finding the pug, Chika. I saw the pictures and said everyone would fall in love with the dog.

The next day we arrive on set and found that it was a Goan couple who had this dog and we didn't have to go anywhere for one. We allowed the dog and the little kid, Jairam, to spend some time together and they became friends and it would follow the boy everywhere and all we had to do was shoot. Every shot was done in a couple of takes; the dog was really lovable; in fact when he was climbing stairs, his stomach would drag on the stairs — he had such short legs!

At the end of the commercial we needed to show the boy and the dog asleep. We had worked both really hard and Jairam fell asleep instantly. And then we put the dog beside him to see what he would do and even the dog fell asleep immediately. Being a pug, he started snoring as well; he was so tired! Trying to get a dog to do that is really difficult. Some things just work out well; we were blessed, that was a really lovely shoot.






What about the Fevicol ad, was that a difficult shoot as well?


That shoot went off very well. In fact, it won the Silver Lions at Cannes. We shot the ad in winter so the lighting was quite perfect. We just had four pieces of polystyrene to bounce light. We wanted the bus to bump around a bit, so we dug small ditches for it to go through while ensuring the lighting was uniform. It was very simple and we really enjoyed the shoot. The actors too were fantastic and sat patiently for hours and hours.

You've been around the world to shoot various commercials, what are the most memorable ones?


Oh, I think the Fevicol and Hutch ads are right up there among my best. I've shot around the world; I like shooting in Europe but I like coming back to India as well; it's going places. The clients are willing to trust the agency and the agency is trying to come up with innovative ideas. They like a bit of fun; Indians enjoy their cinema and their commercials; there's a big passion for cricket and cinema so the audience knows the celebrities in the ads too. Sydney is a different market altogether. I've shot in Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai often, and Europe, of course, when it comes along. I've shot for Qantas; recently I've done a big ad for Petronas in Cambodia ...

How do you rate Indian advertising on technical aspects?


You've got better equipment here now, the best that's around; I won't be surprised if India wins an award in the foreign films category soon at the Academy Awards. India is in the news and becoming popular all over. Even in London you can watch Bollywood movies in cafes. Your cinema is going places and its commercial directors are right up there. I will see more quality advertising coming out of India; I love coming here because of the freedom that you show in your cinema. I come from Sydney, which is more restrained. Indians like their story-telling and fun in their advertising and that's making Indian advertising further itself because the Indian people watch a lot of commercials and movies and people need to lift the bar, otherwise they're not going to like it. But Indian directors are able to adapt, their ads are not always up to story-telling; some of them are making very stylish ads as well. They've got a compositional balance.

The directors you work with compliment your meticulousness and technical expertise. Where did you have your training as a cinematographer?


I had all my initial training in Australia under Graham Lind, who was probably one of Sydney's best commercial photographers. I was taught by him; he had an outfit called Rosswood Productions. Later I worked with Peter James, who shot movies like Driving Miss Daisy and then Andrew Lesney, who won an Academy award for The Lord of the Rings. I used to operate as a cameraman with them and then for products like watches and foods I picked up the skills from Lind; you don't want to forget such skills even if I like shooting ads like Fevicol in Rajasthan.

The work that I've seen from the commercials shot by Indians are wonderful. I admire their work. I think they're doing well and that's why I think I'm lucky to be working here and with them.

Do you see yourself shooting in Indian commercial cinema?


Indian cinematographers would probably do it better than me; but I'm open to offers. I don't know whether it would be a traditional Bollywood movie; the films I've been talking about are a little more offbeat, a bit more of the cross-over movies, with a Westernised approach, a real story with a situation as opposed to the normal Bollywood film. I am interested in doing an Indian film because I'm getting to know the place and people and eventually I expect to be doing it. If it's the right project and right director ... I have to be prepared to change my business around. I'll probably lose money on it because if I stayed on in Sydney I would be pretty busy with more commercials and I would probably make more money. But as I get older, I guess I would be doing work which satisfies me more. (Laughs heartily) Who knows, we may be doing an interview again after I've shot a commercial film!