Check out Krrish’s YouTube channel, and if you’d like to grab an HD version of the Teaser, you can download it here (right click-save link).

We were very interested to know more about Krrish and what inspires him, and he was kind enough to allow Phil to interview him below.

Phil: Where are you from? What effect (if any) does where you are from have on your approach to film and/or story?

Krrish: I am from Mumbai, India, home of the famous/infamous Bollywood. We have a completely different film culture. I cannot help but have some Bollywood influence on my approach to film, as both a viewer and maker.

I have been watching both Bollywood movies and World Cinema since I was 11 or 12. Human emotions are universal. The only effect that I might have on my approach to films, because of where I live, would be a slightly grander, larger than life, over the top Bollywood style approach (Laughs). Then again, I am fully aware of what other film makers around the world are pursing in film making (thanks to the Internet!). And I feel I am sensitive and educated enough to pick up the right kind of things from these film makers, things that help me make progressive films rather than regressive. So I think I am ok there.

Film makers here generally describe Bollywood movies as a blend of extreme desired fantasy and reality. One prominent director put it particularly well: “The average middle class Indian works hard 10-12 hours a day, 5-6 days a week. There are so many problems in the lives of people, so many tensions on a personal and professional front. They do not want to see the same misery on the big screen in realistic form… They need to be entertained with laughter, hope, and a small fantasy trip.” I think most film makers here accept and observe that.

Phil: How long have you been using machinima as an artistic / storytelling medium? What was your first encounter with machinima?

Krrish: I started learning machinima making a year ago.

I am a YouTube addict! So while watching videos on YouTube, I came across a video made in Second Life, SL 042 – a film by Chantal Harvey. I remember my first reaction after watching that SL video was “Dude, that’s so cool! Why am I not making them myself?” (Laughs) That was the first machinima I had ever watched. Chantal is a good friend now and she still laughs when I tell her she is the reason I started making machinimas.

Phil: What ways did you use to express yourself / tell stories before you started using machinima / animation?

Krrish: I used to play with my digicam til I was a college student (I completed my Masters in Business last year). I used to film random stuff with friends or just anything that I found interesting, but never got down to editing it, until I started making machinima films. That is when I started learning video editing software.

Phil: What drives and inspires you as a filmmaker? Do you have a particular goal or direction you wish to pursue with your film work?

Krrish: The idea of story telling comes very naturally to me. Watching great films only drives me and inspires as a film maker. I always subconsciously watch films with a director’s POV. I just love it when I feel challenged by the director while watching his/her film, where he/she outdoes my thinking regarding the film direction. Nothing inspires me more than that!

I intend to start making professional Real Life movies soon. That’s my dream! (Smiles). I had applied to film schools in India this year, and they are very tough to get into with very limited seats, let’s see how it goes.

Phil: Who are some of your influences as a filmmaker?

Krrish: From around world: James Cameron, Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Danny Boyle, etc.

From Bollywood: Farhan Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap, Vishal Bhardwaj, etc.

From Machinima : Of course you sir, Phil Rice, Tom Jantol, Lainy Voom, Surrealia Anatine, Robbie Dingo, etc.

Phil: Other than Second Life, what other software or tools are a major part of your film work (pre-production, post production, etc.)?

Krrish: I am big fan of Photoshop and I tend to use it a lot in machinima with getting a certain look for background textures. Sony Vegas works best for me as video editing software.

Phil: What’s the most recent machinima film you watched that made you say, “Wow!”?

Krrish: BLACK SONIC Official PV – Takutada. This obscure artist from Japan, who goes by the name takutada on YouTube, makes some of the best machinima music videos on the internet.

Phil: What are your plans as a director for the coming year? Is there a particular technique you are studying or project you are planning that you can tell us a little bit about?

Krrish: I am working on a short story, 5-8 minutes long, based on a character Ajmal Kasab, the lone arrested terrorist involved in recent terrorist attack in Mumbai. It’s taking long due to my busy real life work and stuff.

It’s mostly about what all is going through his mind at this hotel room he is staying, few hours before he commits that act. So it would be mostly fictional and very loosely based on police interrogation of him, which was published in print media in Mumbai. It’s an attempt to highlight how poor unemployed youth is brainwashed by some terrorist organizations to carry out these heinous acts of mass human killings.

I am done with script writing, sets and character design. I am hoping to start filming and finish it off soon!

In closing, I’d like to congratulate Krrish, as one of his most recent films, Scripted, was just announced as one of the prize-winning finalists in this year’s Bitfilm Festival. We look forward to seeing what you do next, Krrish!