Portfolio for NID (Film and Video Communication)

PORTFOLIO SANTWANA SAIRA JOHN

SCHOOL

CLASS 10 PLAY I had done scriptwriting, direction, acting and sound design for a school play (30 minutes) that was to be performed in the auditorium, as part of an English assignment.

It involved coordinating between all the students in the class, distributing roles, coordinating the dubbing, compiling the audio, adding subtitles, etc.

Please click here to read the script and listen to the audio recording of the play

CLASS 10 RADIO SHOW I had done scriptwriting, coordinated the recording and edited the final audio file of a radio show that we had to do as part of a project in school.

Please click here to read the script and listen to the audio recording of the radio show

TOASTMASTERS - YOUTH LEADERSHIP PROGRAM I had done the Toastmasters Youth Leadership Program whereby I gave 3 speeches and performed the roles of Evaluator and Ah counter.

Please click here to read the ice breaker speech of the YLP

COLLEGE

COORDINATOR OF THEATRE SOCIETY In college I had directed one and acted in two theatre productions. I was the Spandan Society Coordinator (Theatre Society) in my third year. I had played Berta in a production of Hedda Gabler in Alliance Française, Delhi. I’d qualified till the final audition for Allegedly by Mallika Taneja.

Please click here to view videos of performances and view the drama portfolio

HOSTEL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE REPRESENTATIVE I was the Hostel Management Committee representative in my third year for the senior girls hostel, where I was responsible for holding meetings with the Director, Deans, Warden, etc. to voice the issues faced by students in the hostel. I passionately carried out my responsibilities with utmost sincerity and dedication.

ADDITIONAL COURSES

Basics of Creative Writing Workshop Writing was something that I’d had an interest in but after coming into architecture, I hadn’t done a lot of it other than academic writing. Architecture had never felt like ‘my thing’ either. The concluding thesis semester had been stressful, tackling the newness of online discussions, reviews, critiques, etc while being stuck at home. Hence, after I completed my B.Arch, I decided to step away from architecture and explore things that I’d had an interest in but hesitated to delve into before. The course on Living Bridge also promised an introspective style of writing that was layered with fiction which had intrigued and drew me in.

Introduction to Social Psychology Psychology has always interested me and with the advent of the internet, there has been a wide range of resources available - articles, youtube channels, etc. which made me explore even more on this subject. During the lockdown, I had volunteered at a Covid19Helpline which made me understand a lot about mental health issues that people are silently dealing with during the pandemic. Researching and reading up about it made me want to get a more holistic understanding about psychology in general. Why someone thinks the way they think or behave the way they do is fascinating to learn and understand. Hence, after exploring eDx courses, I decided to join this one.

ADDITIONAL COURSES

Writing/s in Architecture: Building Bridges through Words During my years in college, one of my faculties had encouraged me to pursue writing, since I was able to communicate thoughts, ideas, even designs better through words.

Even though I wished to branch out from architecture, I realised that the education did have some significant influence on me when I realised that my troubles with the pandemic was largely influenced by architecture. Initially we had been living on the first floor of a modest residence in a small town, surrounded by vibrant trees. It was only when we had to move to another city into a bare flat on the tenth floor of a cold, characterless apartment building could I begin to understand the general mental state in relation to the pandemic – an overwhelming sense of feeling stuck.

I wanted to express this contrast in a language that is congruent with the subject.

Hence, following the creative writing course, I joined this course by ACEDGE to act as a bridge between writing and architecture.

Please click here to read the final essay that was submitted for this course ‘Architecture of the Home and Well-being of its Inhabitants’

Mobile Film-making Masterclass Film-making has always been something that I wanted to do. Film is a medium of communication that is most absorbed by the population. This is the medium that can influence change. Writing is a powerful tool but books were the weapons of the previous century. Films are the weapons of the 21st century. Hence I joined this course on Udemy to learn the basics about film-making with the tools at my disposal.

THEATRE PRODUCTIONS BADI BUAJI This was a play that I had been a part of in my first year of college. The play is called Badi Buaji by Badal Sircar. It is a comedy about the unending problems faced by an amateur theatre group trying to put up a play for their colony. I played a 10 year old girl named Munni who along with her sister Munna spills the beans about the theatre production to Badi Buaji who does not approve and believes that theatre would splash a black mark on the long-protected reputation of the family. I also played the prompter of the play that the theatre group manages to put up after outwitting Badi Buaji.

Please click here to watch the play on YouTube

KAALE GHODE KE NAAL KI ANGOOTHI This was a play that I had directed in my third year of college.

I had assigned roles, edited dialogues and conducted rehearsals for the play.

The play is adapted from Kaale ghode ki naal ki angoothi

by KM Mishra. The play is a comedy about Jeetlal, a family man who hears about a magic ring that has the power to eradicate all the troubles that have been plaguing him. The story follows Jeetlal and his brother Nandlal who he had given one of the rings to, to test their effectiveness.

BLUETS This was a play that I had been a part of in my third year of college which was directed by a professional theatre artist Jaya Sharma. The play is adapted from a lyric essay by Maggie Nelson called Bluets. It describes the author’s passion and obsession with the colour blue. It is a compelling prose poetry that is a meditation on love and grief, an exploration of loss and a reverie of blue.

All the actors in this production took the role of the protagonist at different instances to convey the universality of the prose. The mood of what the play was about was conveyed through recreation of scenes described in the book to create a visual experience. A visual experience was created through recreation of scenes described in the book.

Please click on the image to watch the play

HEDDA GABLER This was a play that I had been part of in my fourth year of college. It was staged by The Canoe Theatre Company in Alliance Française, New Delhi. The play is called Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen. It follows the life and motivations of Hedda Gabler - a refined but complex woman, who tries to remedy the dissatisfaction and boredom with her own condition of life by makingw decisions that change the course of the lives of the people around her, and eventually her own. The play unravels the lives of Hedda and George Tesman, seemingly perfect on the surface, to reveal how nothing and nobody is exactly as it seems.

I played a middle aged help named Berta who is apprehensive about meeting her new mistress - the newly wed Hedda Gabler who has recently returned from her honeymoon to the Tesman residence, after parting with her loving former mistress Miss Tesman.

Please click on the image to watch the play

SHORT FILM - ACTING These are shots from a short film in which I’d acted in college.

I had done the final editing of the movie.

Please click here to view the short film.

VOICE-OVER PRODUCTION Universe of Architecture is an introductory course produced

by Ethos-ACEDGE (founded by Ar. Gita Balakrishnan). It is a learning module designed as a web series for college student or freshers in the field of architecture. I had done the voice-over for two of the main characters - Ceda and Deca - and other characters further along the storyline.

Please click on the image to view Webisode 1 and click here to go to Ethos-ACEDGE website and view the course

CHARACTER SKETCH TAPE This section shows a series of videos that I’d made of people close to me, exhibiting each individual’s quirks and idiosyncrasies. The videos are paced with the flow and rhythm of popular songs. The visuals are synchronised with the lyrics of the song to a large extent. The videos also give a glimpse of people’s unguarded nature. It also shows their relationship with the people closest to them. All the videos have been made with a fictional theme of what I think the person’s video can be about based on the shots that I have of them (I’d captured ninety percent of the shots that were used in the final video compositions) which has also influenced the song selections.

This video is about my sister and the music used is I’ll be there for you by The Rembrandts.

It starts with a series of shots where nothing seems to work out for her and she’s just generally disappointed in life - the dog that she pats ignores her, the horse installation doesn’t love her back and she’s lapsed into a gambling addiction. Finally, there seem to be sparkles of hope when the chorus comes around, but sadly and ironically she’s there for them instead of the other way around. So she simply decides to go to sleep in a restaurant in the middle of the day.

PS: Please click on the image to view the high quality video composition. Click here to view the post on Instagram.

This video is about my friend, Nicholette. The music used is a Russian folk song called Ivan Kupala by Brovi, but the words sound malayalam in the song (that creates a hilarious narrative). I used this song because of Nicholette’s character. Her name is French and she loves the language, but she her true essence is deeply rooted in Malayalam, her mother tongue. It is this complimentary contrast that I wanted to base her character sketch on - a foreign song that sounds like a native song.

The words enna chackocha means What, Chackocha? (Chacko is a common name in Kerala and acha is added to the word endearingly). Hence, the theme of her video revolves around her desperate search for a love interest - a metal installation, a gay guy and two straight friends. She finally pacifes herself with food.

PS: Please click on the image to view the high quality video composition. Click here to view the post on Instagram.

This video is about my mother. The music used is the theme song of a famous malayalam serial called Kadamattathu Kathanar. The lyrics describe the greatness of the Kadammattathu priest (an exorcist) - an amazing magician, a popular leader and a wonderful companion. This song is used for the character sketch of my mother to illustrate the nature of her self-declared awesomeness - she can distribute playing cards efficiently (like a magician), fake swim with her permanent companion in front of a No Swimming board and ward off evil spirits with her ridiculous headgear.

PS: Please click on the image to view the high quality video composition. Click here to view the post on Instagram.

This video is about my father. The music used is called Vyathyasthanamoru Barber aam Baalan (Barber Baalan who is different) by Pradeep Palluruthy. The lyrics of the song both celebrates and gently teases Barber Baalan whose resourcefulness is not commonly known to people - he is a master of his craft, he is kind and he is loved by all. I used this song for my father because his character is similar to this.

He is soft-spoken and a person on the outside would only define him as nice. Therefore, through this video I wanted to highlight his quirks and nuances that make him the person that he is.

PS: Please click on the image to view the high quality video composition. Click here to view the post on Instagram.

COVID19 HELPLINE INDIA

Role: Graphic Composition

Role: Graphic Composition

Role: Graphic Composition

Role: Graphic Composition

This section shows the volunteer work that I had done for the Covid19Helpline, a student initiative to provide probono healthcare service for tackling mental health issues that arise during the pandemic. Through this, I was able to engage closely with my interest in psychology. I had worked on research, content writing, content editing and graphic composition with other volunteers for the various posts (the illustrations in the posts are not the creation of Covid19Helpline volunteers).

PS: In this section, to go to the links of the original posts, please click on the images (for Instagram) or COVID-19 HELPLINE on image (for Linkedin, if applicable).

Role: Research, Content Writing, Graphic Composition

Role: Research, Content Editing, Graphic Composition

Role: Research, Content Editing, Graphic Composition

To view all ten of the selected posts, please click here

TRANSIENT HOUSING FOR CONSTRUCTION WORKERS CLUSTERING

ARCHITECTURE This is a second year project called Transient Housing for Construction Workers.

To view the other projects, please click here

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II Year - Transient Housing for Construction Workers

CLUSTER PLANS

CLUSTER PLANS Open Community Space on the ground floor of the clustering stimulates interaction between the family units and the bachelor units. The first floor which houses only families has the Family Community Space, which is also used as the Creche. The second floor is the most densely populated floor, which provides most of the shading for the lower floors.

Open Community Space on the ground floor of the clustering stimulates interaction between the family units and the bachelor units. The first floor which houses only families has the Family Community Space, which is also used as the Creche. The second floor is the most densely populated floor, which provides most of the shading for the lower floors.

II Year - Transient Housing for Construction Workers

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UNIT PLANS The bachelors’ dwelling unit, which is a dormitory, is shaped like an octagon. This is done so that all the beds face each other, thus enhancing communication inside the dwelling.

Here, the central space inside also acts as a mini community space. Each individual’s storage space is next to their respective beds.

The family dwelling consists of two families. It has been designed in such a way that the width of the octagonal bachelors’ dwelling is same as the length of the rectangular family dwelling. Each family unit has a double bed and a single bed, thus catering to the needs of families who do or don’t have children. The roll-in single bed also has storage in it. The family units on the first floor have an attached terrace.

The first floor has only family units and hence the creche is located on this floor. The creche is also equally accessible from the family units on both the ground and the second floor. The ground and the second floor have both family units and bachelor units, aiding in interaction between them.

SPACES IN TRANSITION THE MIGRATION STORY OF CONSTRUCTION W The main shift of the rural population around the world took place during the industrial revolution from the 18th century. In India, urbanism hit in the 20th century. A lot of people moved from the villages to the cities due to the increase in job opportunities. The people who started living in the cities got absorbed into the fast pace urban lifestyle.

More and more people from the villages started aspiring to go the cities due to many factors, including the unpredictability of the occupations that they were pursuing in the villages. But many farmers felt uncertain about abandoning the primary source of income which helped them earn their daily bread until the time of the industrial revolution. So they left their families in the village to take care of their farms throughout the year.

SPACES IN TRANSITION THE MIGRATION STORY OF CONSTRUCTION WORKERS

During the time of harvest, when they need more manpower, the men come back from the cities. The main breadwinners of the family, the males, who had migrated to cities, cast an influence on the attitude and ways of life of those who still live in the villages. Ranipura is one such village.

Ranipura retains almost all of the aspects of

a village, but one can see some attributes of urban life creeping into the rural landscape.

It can be considered to be similar to selective cultural diffusion, where a few ideas are absorbed and the others which seem too foreign are rejected since each culture is selective in what it absorbs.

There are many components in the village which have been touched by urbanism. What have become successful are determined by the following factors. The innovation should surpass the existing ideas in terms of satisfaction and convenience, i.e., the new idea should seem better than the old one for it to become a successful one. Secondly, the new idea should be compatible with the needs and practices of the members of the village. It shouldn’t seem too foreign for the villagers to accept. The idea also needs to be simple, so that it is easily decipherable.

The simpler the idea, the better the chance of it working out. People always prefer to have the option of experimenting with something before implementing it. So, the possibility of testing the idea for a period of time before adopting it, is an important factor in deciding if the innovation can be successful or not. Faster results always lead

to easier acceptance. Hence, the sooner you get the results for the usage of the new innovation, faster the commitment to it.

Government schemes which are aimed for the betterment of the villages have been introduced in this village. This is where design plays a major role. But the people who had been made in-charge to construct basic facilities in the village, did not try to construct something which will fit into the village landscape. There weren’t any awareness programs either which would guide the inhabitants of the village in using the newly constructed structures.

In a village where all the built structures are merely used as storage spaces, they introduced a panchayat ghar, made of bricks and concrete, which was a completely covered structure. They didn’t feel comfortable in gathering in a place where they were shut in from all the four sides. The villagers only found this to be an alien structure. It was completely different from what they were used to. Hence, the building which was supposed to make them feel secure, made them feel trapped.

Consequently, the panchayat ghar remains

abandoned and unused in the middle of the village. The columns of this building, though, are being used as a place where they can tie their cattle to!

This village has no bathrooms. An outsider might consider this to be a major hygienic issue that needs to be dealt with. Hence, the government ended up constructing toilet blocks in the middle of the village, where people could access it easily. But they did not worry themselves about the drainage system that accompanies a typical toilet block and since the village did not have any sort of drainage system, everything would’ve had to be done from scratch.

Moreover, the villagers are habitual in defecating in spaces where they would not be easily spotted, like the open fields, i.e. away from places where people gather.

Therefore it is quite apparent as to why they wouldn’t prefer to defecate in the middle of the village. Comparing the experience of being in an open field and being in a one square meter cubicle, one can understand how the people would feel claustrophobic in the newly constructed toilets. Hence, even these remain abandoned.

This shows that careful planning needs to be done before the designing of any building. If this primary purpose of the building, of making it suitable for people to inhabit it, cannot be fulfilled, then the structure purely becomes a waste of space and resources. There are many factors that need to be kept in mind before the designing of any structure, like the location, climate, socio-economic factors, etc. This is an example of the new innovation being forced upon a community.

be done in an open space, to allow the smoke to escape: to prevent problems for ventilation. A room next to it was used as a storage space. Recently, the family have started using a stove. This has resulted in a considerable reduction in the use of the open space. The room next to it has now become the official kitchen and all the activities related to cooking are carried out in this relatively small area, when the large open area in between has been abandoned.

This is an innovation which got accepted, but resulted in the wastage of resources.

Now, consider an example of the Yadav family, which is a relatively well-off family in the village of Ranipura. This house had been constructed according to utility. A few years ago, the male members of the family had migrated to nearby cities like Indore, Delhi, etc. due to the construction job opportunities there. When they visited their village later, they brought some urban ideas along with them, which they imprinted on their house. The Yadav house has a central open space which is used for cooking purposes, because when Choolas are used, cooking needs to

The village of Ranipura is a self-sustained village in a basic sense. If it starts imitating the outside world, it might lose its characteristic values and qualities. So it is necessary to enhance their self-sustaining characteristics.

Selective adoption is crucial for the future of the village. The villagers should restrict themselves from blindly allowing influence to infiltrate their deportment. It is also quite ironic to notice how, many villages aspire to become cities and lose their characteristic sustainable way of living and how, the cities try to find ways to become more sustainable.

KUNG FU PANDA POSTERS This section shows the volunteer work that I had done for an academic research project for a senior. The task was to depict the quotes from the Kung Fu Panda movie in a Kung Fu Panda-like world using a personal choice of visual presentation. I had chosen to use photoshop compositing for this exercise to bring forth a visual language similar to that of the movie, without using exact scenes from it.

The initial inspiration for this composite came from ‘Two roads diverged in a wood’ of The Road not Taken by Robert Frost. However the character Po doesn’t choose the path that leads to his destiny; destiny meets him on the path that he takes. Hence an image with a single path was chosen to represent how we can’t always predict the outcome of our choices and that we may be surprised by where life takes us.

PS: Please click on the compositions to view the images that were used to produce the final result.

For this quote, I tried to create a visually magical setting.

However, it really is only a normal setting. Yet, the everyday simplicity, like the vibrant colours of a butterfly and a beautiful morning in a meadow seems magical because of how the character feels - open and prepared to absorb the magic that has always been around.

This composite shows the character in action to depict the idea of the quote. To exaggerate the action, converging beams have been used like in superhero movies when the hero comes forward and saves the day. It depicts the inner confidence and light that shines through when you finally realise that you were the only thing that was holding you back.

I decided to do a pseudo-comical depiction of this quote.

Through the inner peace attained through meditation, the character is elevated and a glow of aura is visible around his physical body.

To view all six of the composited images, please click here

MODELLING Appy Fizz Ad Competition

MODELLING Pichhuka - Handcrafted Jewellery & Lifestyle Products

MODELLING Self Project - Queen of Hearts with the Eye of Horus

PHOTOGRAPHY Location : Banana Island, Qatar Year : 2019

Location : Vagator Beach, Goa Year : 2019

Location : Vagator Beach, Goa Year : 2019

Please click here to view the rest of the photos

ANIMAL VIDEOGRAPHY COMPOSITION This composition shows the compilation of shots of various animals, birds and insects captured using a phone camera. This includes a dozen ants trying to climb a leaf, a crab digging a hole, a spider building a web, cat fights in a family and sexual tension between pigeons. They’ve been linked together and edited using a copyright-free music called Funky element from Bensound.

Please click on the image to watch the video composition

ARTWORKS Title : Adam’s Apple Medium : Digital Painting in PENUP Colouring Year : 2021

Please click on the image to view the lineart on PENUP.

Title : Perched Medium : Oil Pastel on Paper Year : 2014

Title : Bliss Medium : Graphic Pencils on Paper Year : 2014 Please click here to view all seven artworks

SHORT STORY FROM KEYWORDS The task was to write a short story with 100-150 words from the given keywords in 10 minutes. These are two short stories that I had written as part of this exercise.

Man Suit Doorbell Butler Apron

Table Chair Pencil Window Frog

After job hunting for a year, a man decides to go for go an interview for which a job title wasn’t mentioned. Wearing his best suit, he rings the doorbell to the house mentioned in the address, wondering what job he could land. The apron on the table led him to believe that he was interviewing to be a butler. Just as he was about to sit, he was sure that he had heard a human scream, right before a man shut a door and emerged from the dark wearing a bloodstained coat, asking him to follow him. ‘But don’t forget the apron and the gloves. You don’t want to get your hands dirty’, he added with a devilish wink. He was sure he could’ve cried in relief when he saw the board that said ‘Joe’s Dental Clinic’.

As she falls asleep, a classroom materialises around her - floating tables, chairs, pencils, blackboard. An open window on the opposite wall catches her eye, through which she could see trees rustling in the wind. What she’d missed at first glance was a green lump on the window sill - a frog, that instantly catches her eye, blinks twice and jumps off into the sea of green. She has the sudden urge to follow. Was she going to be led into a magical world full of surprises? She did not want to waste a minute to find out as a grim realisation started dawning on her that a dream would be the only place where she would dare to embark on such an unpredictable adventure.

THANK YOU