What it takes to produce video reviews of Hindi and English films for a movie website

From The Commits Chronicle, April 17, 2014:

A DREAM JOB THAT JUST KEEPS 
GETTING BETTER AND BETTER!

In January, SHIKHA BHATNAGAR (Class of 2014) joined PK Online in Bangalore as a content executive and her primary role then was to do voiceovers (read about her first month’s experience here). But today Shikha has been given many more responsibilities and, as she writes below, her job has become not only more challenging but also more interesting:

I once mentioned to RP Sir that I can’t believe my luck because, career-wise, I have surely landed in the right place: with every passing day I love more and more what I am doing.

RP Sir’s response: “The harder you work, the luckier you get.”

That simple comment made me feel so proud of myself. I had started off as a voiceover artist but today I not only face the camera but also edit videos. Each week I face the camera at least once, either for the box office predictions or for a movie review, and I am told that I am only getting better with each effort.

What else can I ask for? No doubt this is turning out to be something more than a dream job.

The first movie I reviewed was Gulaab Gang. I sat through the screening feeling extremely uneasy; the thought of having to face the camera afterwards and talk about the film was making me really nervous, even though I had had some exposure to television anchoring, thanks to Commits. After the movie got over, I raced back to work and wrote a long script, which I then tried to memorise and deliver verbatim in front of the camera.

That day I learnt two things. First, never try to mug up a movie review, and second, act like the camera is a person and you’re talking to it in a casual manner about the film. Today I am much more confident, and I actually look forward to the experience: I watch a movie (for free) almost every Friday, jot down key points, and, later, in our studio, simply talk to the camera.

JOTTED DOWN: SHIKHA'S FILM REVIEW NOTES.

There came a day when my video editor needed a four-day break from work. During my job interview I had mentioned that I can do some basic video editing. My boss remembered that and she asked me to step in and edit some videos using Final Cut Pro (which is the software we used at Commits, too). I did a decent job and so, today, I also edit my “filmi gossip” videos. At Commits it is compulsory to learn editing and we had to edit all our video projects. It’s true I never took the editing classes seriously — I thought editing was not something I would have to do in the future — but I am grateful now that we were forced to learn how to use Final Cut Pro. Now just four of us in my team are producing enough content for our channel.

This is why I will always maintain that Commits provides a complete media education package. I am not just saying it for the sake of it, but because every single thing that you are taught helps you later in ways you won’t even realise while you are being taught.

So once again, thanks a ton, Commits!