WORLD RENOWNED CAMERA OPERATOR SHARATH CHANDRA

A friend of mine was a camera operator for a few films and he told me that it can be a highly stressful job. He would get really nervous just before the director yelled “Action” even though he had worked the camera scores of times before that. My friend, unfortunately, got out of the film business because he felt he couldn’t handle the anxiety of being a camera operator.

That’s certainly understandable. However, we are glad that some people can handle the responsibility and stress of working a camera during a multi-thousand dollar scene. Sharath Chandra is one of those rare beings who not only has a great eye when it comes to composing photographic shots for movies but he has the calmness and the confidence that the job requires. Does he get nervous before the word “Action” is called? Of course, he does. The difference between Sharath and other people though is that he knows how to control his inner feelings as he immerses himself in the filming of the scene.

When he is behind the camera Sharath becomes one with the camera just like all the other great cinematographers of the past one hundred years. His goal, on every picture he has ever contributed to, is to do the best that he can do and to get the best shot possible. That means doing homework the night before and being prepared for the next day’s shoot. He has to know ahead of time what images the camera is going capture and where and when the camera is going to move.

When he worked on Shake Off The world, his attitude mirrored the film premise itself. In the movie, the main character is a rising football star and has his whole life all mapped out. When the coach makes an unexpected decision, it forces him to change the course of his life. He finds himself in a new home, new school and a new set of friends and problems. Just when it seems that the character is down and out, he gets up, ‘shakes off the world’ and forever changes his destiny.

While the movie is much more dramatic on the surface than the concept of Sharath shaking off his nervousness and anxiety, it is basically the same story. It’s the story of how successful people become successful in their chosen field. Sharath is successful because when he is working on film he is able to control his feelings and move forward with confidence because he can shake off the world and not let it get in the way.