NEON TANK PRODUCTION.
“What money we did have, that needed to go on set design, things you’re going to see” the software, I thought I’d do it myself. I kept it orchestral, classic and timeless.” Similarly, Bharj worked on visual effects, adding holograms to his vision of a future London. “I did plenty with Adobe After Effects,” he points out, “combining the holograms, with a lot of composite blending as I worked the additional visual elements into the story. “We did lots of cutting, blending in people who weren’t there, fusing CGI, fake backgrounds, the gunshots. But I couldn’t do the colouring, that’s such an art form itself.” For other post-production, he turned to Fiverr, working with people from different countries for mixing and mastering, as he sought to maximise his budget. “I think I got a lot of work for a good price because the project was cool and people just wanted their name on it.” For distribution, he went to Filmhub, which in turn led to the deal with Amazon. “With Amazon, if they’re looking for westerns, sci-fi, noir, action, these sort of categories, you can submit it and they vet it at their discretion. As for
UNDER PRESSURE In one adrenaline-fuelled night, five scenes were filmed over a single five-hour session at Broadley Studio in Marylebone, London (below)
how well it’ll do financially, I’m waiting for the figures back,” he smiles, “I’m not sure it’s going to be great.” Whatever the financial reward, Bharj has crafted a calling card and found major distribution. “I nearly gave up,” he says. “Even two weeks in, we had a disaster when a Chinese restaurant pulled out. I couldn’t afford a replacement location and we’d got loads of cool props, swords and weapons. I thought that might be the end – I may have to give up and make a documentary about someone trying to make a film!” Neon Tank is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video
MATES’ RATES A number of favours were called in for location work. Scenes were shot at bars owned by friends of the crew, and even at Bharj’s mum’s house
59. NOVEMBER 2022
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