FTII’s journey now open to public!

March 17, 2017

The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII recently announced that it will keep the institution open for two days for special public tours. The tour will give a history of how the institution came to be in 1960 when it was the famed, Prabhat Film Studios.

In this photo story, we provide a glimpse into the various departments within the institution that teach different aspects in cinema and its technicalities.

Although most filmmakers and production houses have made the shift from shooting in-film to shooting digitally, most cinephiles still take pride in the old charm of shooting on film. There are various cameras used to give a varying depths and quality. The institution houses several renowned brands like Arri and Red equipment.

The institution provides for getting the best from post production by having a large sound proof room wherein students are able to see the audio and visuals blend in as they work on the film. The room is large enough to give a cinema-like experience to test the results before the film is released.

As you walk amidst the tall shady trees and piles of foliage, you come across a small dome-like structure. A tiny yellow door opens to a curved tunnel. This is the reverb chamber. Back when the studios were up and running, this chamber was used to record multiple voices by placing a speaker inside it. The chamber would pick up the sound and it would get recorded in the sound studio.

The editing suite is a room full of machines taking us back in time when a film had to be spliced to be edited. The Steenbeck machine or the flatbed editor was once used to edit both audio and video together. You can see the difference between the different film rolls all lined up against white light.

A museum housing numerous props used by the studio displays musical instruments, clothing, jewellery, old photographs, urns and much more. This museum is like a treasure trove for any film lover or aspiring art director on the kind of craft that went into making every detail of the film seem realistic.

FTII is open to women, children and senior citizens on March 18 whereas it is open to the general public on March 19. You can register here or at the main gate.