My Fascination with Cinematography as a Career

As I remember from my days at military school, I walked a path not chosen by many. Every evening, I used to sit and write about glimpses of the day through stories and poem. I read it to my friends and share it with my parents through letters. In my 7th grade, I participated in the school essay competition where I got the first prize and this motivated me to pursue writing. Meanwhile, I watched “The Departed” and got enthralled by its storyline since it was different from the regional cinema I used to watch. I wished I could do thing of such caliber in my life and this boosted my spirits to continue on my chosen path.

As I was growing up, technological advancements in Information Technology made me curious to learn more about computers. As a result, I chose to take up computer science as my major, where I gained knowledge of various programming languages as well as operating systems. Along with it, I continued my original passion of writing stories. In sophomore year of my undergraduate program, I was introduced to “Film Appreciation and understanding” course. This subject was about extracting jinx and writing down interesting aspects from global cinema. The course also included exclusive screenings followed by gripping discussions with film enthusiasts. Additionally, I joined “Mirage” – Asia’s first campus film society where I served as executive head of film selection. My active involvement in Mirage introduced me people from various backgrounds having unique opinions and this experience was helpful in critical thinking, watching cinema and understand its various aspects.

During my bachelor’s, what drew me towards writing stories were the struggles of our daily lives, the relationships we have, the lack of them, the imperfections, the fights, the love, and the emotions. I enjoyed expressing these topics through my own stories and started finding ways to best express myself in the form of short films. I realized that I needed groundwork to share things close to my heart but also be admirable to the audience. In the making of short films I enjoyed the creative efforts where my intellectual conscience was both stoked and challenged. I read a lot of screenplays which were available online, studied and broke down scripts. To improve my writing abilities, I attended a workshop “Foundation course in screenplay writing” conducted by Film and Television Institute of India. During the course I met outstanding professors, fellow writers and gained insights about evolving platforms for screenplay writing.

I continued making short films as listed in my Resume, also worked on a feature film. The fundamental aspect I understood while creating short films was coming up with an innovative way and finding optimized solutions to the smallest of problems faced. I inculcated these qualities while working on coding assignments and mini projects in my undergraduate program. Similarly, I linked my testing techniques after coding to the post-production changes while working on short films. These experiences helped me develop qualities like team spirit, good interpersonal relationships, time and resource management and effective communication.

While browsing through the dramatic writing graduate program offered by NYU Tisch school of arts, I was intrigued by the variety of courses and specialization tracks offered. I believe courses like “Text Analysis”, “Dramatic Strategies”, “Graduate Seminar in Playwriting I” will enhance my knowledge in film, playwriting and TV writing. An academically stimulating environment of NYU Tisch school of arts, erudite faculty and fascinating learning experiences shared by current students of dramatic writing program make NYU TISCH School of Arts a compelling choice for me. Pursuing masters from NYU Tisch school of arts will not only motivate me but also nurture and nourish my creative abilities which will set me on the road to my long-term goal of to explore and subsequently, I’ll be able to make a substantial contribution to the progressive industry.