When the time is ripe for your pilot film

Pilot films have been making their rounds in the television industry since forever. Take any of your favourite series, and it is sure to have had a pilot. From F.R.I.E.N.D.S to Game of Thrones to any of the web series, pilots are being employed increasingly to gauge the audience’s reaction to the basic idea behind the series.

But that’s old news. Did you know that filmmakers are now resorting to making pilots for their feature films? Thotakal Poovachu is one such venture by Director Vishnu Subhash and team.

The trailer for the 40-minute pilot version of the romantic thriller is out and it looks impressive, to say the least.

So what’s this idea behind filmmakers making pilot films? What’s to gain from it? Can anyone make a pilot film? We talk to Vishnu to find out.

When you’re confident that you can, go ahead and make one

Vishnu has the experience of working on the cinematography in popular movies like Linga and Darling 2, and also of directing about 14 short films. He is confident that he has gained knowledge and experience enough to begin his directorial venture into feature length cinema. His confidence is clearly reflected in the trailer which every bit professional as he sounds.

His advice to aspiring filmmakers is that each of us have varying learning curves, so it best to wait till we’ve reached the point where we’re sure we’ve got what it takes before plummeting into new horizons.

Because pictures speak more than words

Apart from helping in testing the waters, Pilot films are slowly beginning to be used as a means to approach producers. While a convincing script is fully capable of winning over a producer, a pilot film will visually demonstrate the all-round competency of the entire team.

While making a pilot for the producer, there may be 2 approaches to it- making it a synopsis to the feature to come like in the case of Jil Jung Jung that wooed itself a producer with the help of its 20-minute pilot in which the entire story plays out.

Or, like in the case of Thotakkal Poovachu, a select sequence from the script can be made into a pilot. Vishnu says they have added a start and end to the pilot, which are otherwise not present in the original script, in order to provide closure. This is however, not mandatory. So whether or not you offer a closure in the pilot is entirely up to you.

But of course there’s a catch

The funny bit about pitching a pilot to a producer is that you need money to make the pilot first. If you’ve got some, good for you. And if you don’t?

That’s where you’ve to learn to do with what you have while trying not to compromise on the story’s needs. That means sacrificing comforts and not the story!

Thotakkal Poovachu that seems to mostly take place inside a cafe, after failing repeatedly to find the perfect location, finally settled for a small café in the city. The crew had to hire and rearrange the furniture at the café and shoot at nights, but the output has sure paid off. It is commendable how the small space has been made to look spacious and picturesque in the trailer. Shooting outdoors wasn’t easy either, the shoot with a 2-day deadline was further delayed when they were confronted by the cops for failing to get the necessary permissions. However, they talked their way out of it and all was well at the end of the shoot.

Lesson to be learnt- it won’t be easy but at the end it’ll be worth it!

Not ashamed to be inspired

At a time when plagiarists and vehement denials are on the rise, movies that admit that they are inspired from classics are a welcome break. Vishal cheerily admits that it’s inspired from Gautham Vasudev Menon’s style of filmmaking. He also adds that movie will be interspersed with Maniratnam references, like the audio from Mouna Ragam that we see in the beginning of the trailer.

So if you’re looking for a way to approach a producer and willing to give it all you’ve got, pilot films might be just what you need!

Happy Filming! ☺