In less than six minutes, cinematographer/editor Sameer Sakariya’s Kerala tourism promotion video ‘Go Kochi’ showcases places in the city that people living here don’t know about. Recently uploaded on YouTube and shared by many celebrities on their social media, it is increasing in viewership.
With the aim of showcasing the city as a tourist destination, the video is a love note to it. What sets the fast-paced video apart is how Sameer ‘shows’ the familiar, well-known places and hidden gems of Kochi, “I didn’t want to show specific landmarks.” The scenes he has captured change the way we ‘see’ even familiar landmarks – the iconic Thopampadi Bridge at sunset, St. George’s Foren Church at Edapally, Bolgatty Palace, the Chinese fishing nets of Fort Kochi and many more. other.
“Angles make all the difference. Something could have been photographed multiple times, but a different angle changes it,” he says. So much so that he got calls asking where certain places were.
“For example a lot of people asked me about the Ernakulam old railway station, which is behind the Kerala High Court. Many people don’t know it is there. Similarly a place in Mangalavanam, which I found during my hunting trip to one of the places. The video footage is the result of 18 days of filming. It could not be shot randomly, each location was carefully chosen.
Not wanting to be shown specific landmarks associated with Kochi, he sought out places – finding some on his own and others showing the way. “I would get in my car and just go. I’ve literally stumbled upon a few of these places. All the places are within 25-30 km radius of Kochi.
Travel videos like this are challenging because time is a luxury. “I opted for fast-cut editing which helped pack in multiple destinations. Otherwise it would not have been possible.” His production company is Playmaker Film House.
This is his second video in the ‘Go…’ series for Kerala Tourism; first animal Go Trivandrum (2018). He will follow it up with similar videos on Calicut, Kannur and Alappuzha. The video from Kochi was ready before the lockdown, but he requested that it be released after the situation normalises and people start the journey.
An engineer who picked up the camera for his love, he has taught himself everything he knows about not only photography but editing as well. The Varkala native quit the IT industry and spent the last nine years chasing his dream. “It’s the only thing I’ve done, practiced and experimented with until I figured it out.” He wants to direct a film, for which he is soon ready. His first film will be a survival thriller in Hindi, the filming will start soon.
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