Cinematographer Interview

Storytelling, in the shorter or longer formats, helps people relate to and understand the nuances and complexities of the world that we live in !

Ridhi Bhalla, our next pathbreaker, is currently in her masters program at the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts (California) while working on several short films in and out of school.

Ridhi talks to Shyam Krishnamurthy from The Interview Portal about a few amazing internships she worked on, including a few episodes of the National Geographic web series “Snakes SOS – Goa’s Wildest”.

For students, your desired career comes from a series of small, incremental and consistent steps towards a larger goal !

Ridhi,Your background?

I grew up in New Delhi, India. I am currently pursuing my MFA in Film Production with an specialisation in cinematography. I have always loved playing sports and dabbling in photography. My early interest in photography is what led me to become a cinematographer in adulthood. I started my journey with the camera at the young age of 8, clicking photographs of animals and plants on our yearly journeys to wildlife sanctuaries across India. 

What did you do for graduation/post graduation?

I have completed my bachelors in film and television production from Amity University Noida and I’m currently pursuing Master of Fine Arts – MFA, Film Production with Cinematography emphasis at Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.

What were some of the key influences that led you to such an offbeat, unconventional and cool career in Cinematography?

My love for photography led me to pursue this career. After initially pursuing cinematography, I became more interested in the craft of documentary filmmaking. Several movies and inspiring people have influenced my decision to pursue my passion and I am always grateful to be surrounded by such creative people who push me to become a better artist. 

How did you plan the steps to get into the career you wanted? Or how did you make a transition to a new career? Tell us about your career path

I did a small photography course in my school years which increased my curiosity towards the field of filmmaking.

I am where I am today because of those small steps I took. I have done a few internships under artists and filmmakers that have helped me develop my craft beyond what my schools have taught me.

I took humanities after my 12^th grade. Growing up, I was always interested in political science and history. So, I wanted to read and enhance my knowledge in something I enjoyed, and it also gave me a lot of time to prepare and explore options for my undergraduate degree. 

Had you already decided to do a bachelors in Film Production from school itself?

Though I was initially interested in journalism, after my interviews didn’t go well, someone actually spoke to me and made me realise that I might enjoy filmmaking more than journalism since I love photography. That pushed me into learning cinematography and understanding all aspects of film production which I ended up enjoying more than I thought. 

I interned for 6 months under Mr. Manav Gupta who is a well reputed artist in India . During the course of my internship, I was able to click pictures of his showcase and help the team create blogs and social media posts to be uploaded on the internet. Apart from this, I have also worked on many workshops and exhibitions from which the most profound one would be Kala Utsav 2018 where we clicked photographs and videos of the performances by the student participants from all across the country. 

I also worked at Brief Laws which is a legal website that provides case summaries and blogs to help students and lawyers in their research. The goal of the company is to help legal professionals in their field and make legal knowledge easily accessible and understandable to the general public.

Dodge College has been a dream come true. I have wanted to be at this school since the time I started applying for my masters program. The major criteria for selecting this school was the number of resources they had, and the opportunities they provided for their students to learn and create the best output for their films. To add to this, I really liked the atmosphere and the warmth of the school based on my research, and their willingness to talk and help me through the process as well.

During my masters, I worked on some amazing internships at Snake SOS as well as 26 seconds documentary.

I have helped these shoots in different capacities. For snakes SOS, I did a lot of post production transcription work which essentially means listening to the episodes carefully and writing down the dialogues to be able to edit and use them in context and help with the subtitles. In 26 seconds, I helped the team in shooting some panel discussions and translating some interviews they did in Hindi. Additionally, I will be helping them with operating B cam for shoots around the USA.

The schools I have been to have been a great source of inspiration and the internships have been a great tool for shaping that inspiration into practical work. 

How did you get your first break?

I am still waiting to get a full big break but I have worked on several great projects assisting and learning from people. These internships came from people I know and friends who work in the same field. Networking is an essential part of this industry. 

What were some of the challenges you faced? How did you address them?

A constant challenge in the field so vast is to deal with people and communicate your vision effectively. The way I overcome this challenge is by holding a genuine respect for all people. When you genuinely respect people, I believe it comes across well and things always turn out in your favour despite you not being able to see it in the moment. 

Where do you work now? 

I am currently in my masters program, but keep working on several short films in and out of school. Every set I go to has something new for me to learn and comes with its own unique set of challenges. These challenges push me to expand my horizons constantly. 

How does your work benefit society? 

I try to tell stories that people can relate to and are based in reality. My goal with the stories I tell is to help people understand the nuances and complexities of the world while realizing that we are not as different from each other as it seems. I want to become the bridge between different worlds and show them through a humanistic lens. 

Tell us an example of a specific memorable work you did that is very close to you!

My favourite film I have made so far is a short documentary about eating disorders. I shot it with a very small crew and my director had a great way of interviewing people and getting everything she wanted. That film is my favourite because it is very well made and also tells a great, very important narrative. 

Your advice to students based on your experience?

My advice is to absorb everything you can around you and make the best of the resources you have and focus on stories you tell. It does not matter how much technology you have. At the end of the day, people only care about the story and performances. 

Future Plans?

My future plan is to work with some of the best documentary filmmakers and create stories that are important to the world and help people in whatever capacity they can.