PRODUC T I ON . WE ARE LADY PARTS
COLOUR SPECTRUM From the hazy darkness of the punk scene to bright pastels, lighting is crucial to the narrative
whole thing in an hour, because we were able to finesse the lighting and blocking. In the end, we didn’t take more time than we would have otherwise. It was worth it, since it was such an exciting new way of doing things.” As a viewer, the scene itself is engaging – the smooth, circling motion of the camera captures the apprehensive energy perfectly. “Some things are hard to just imagine, you also have to try them. It was nice not to completely struggle because it didn’t go how it was supposed to when we were planning – it doesn’t have to be locked in.” This approach helped with some of the larger-than-life surrealist elements. Our protagonist Amina is – especially in comparison to her bandmates – sensitive, sweet, sometimes naive and lives partly in her own head. The use of this narrative device is one of the things that makes the show so charming and watchable. The sets are inventive, and the production team commit to the aesthetic in a way that makes these scenes more effective and enjoyable. It did mean they were planning for complicated sets that they could not rehearse in before the shoot days – therefore decisions had to be made on the day to achieve the desired look and feel. The first such scene occurs towards the end of the very first episode when
“There’s a scene in the bedsit... we were planning to shoot it handheld and have it more in Saira’s style. But, as we rehearsed, I asked Nida what she thought – and she said we should shoot with Steadicam”
surreal. It’s like when you’re in a bar and the police drive by, creating a very bright light and vivid colour. We had never done something like that for Saira, and I remember asking Nida if she was okay with it.” BEAT OF THEIR OWN DRUM As Olifirova explains, there was often the opportunity to experiment and make decisions on the day, because of the director’s approach to production. “I think Nida was very happy with things not being perfect – rough and not glossy or flashy.” This speaks to the nature of the series – because the content and themes centre around punk music and riot grrrl aesthetics, perfection no longer needs to be the goal. A fast and loose,
experimental approach translates to punchy, dynamic visuals. Moments of collaboration often altered the direction of the production. “There’s a scene where they have a parlay in the bedsit, and they are trying to convince Saira to let them launch an online presence for the band. We were planning to shoot it handheld and have it more in Saira’s style. But, as we rehearsed, I asked Nida what she thought – and she said we should shoot with Steadicam.” Time on-set is often tight, and although the thought of deviating from a well-laid plan at the last minute may seem counterproductive, Olifirova says it paid off. “It was a super-big challenge. We spent about two hours rehearsing it, making it work. But then we covered the
Did you know?
Along with her television work, Singaporean star
Anjana Vasan (left) has been
involved in several stage productions
12. DEFINITIONMAGAZINE.COM
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