The art of dying

Abstract

The Art of Dying is an individual, interdisciplinary project between Film and Visual Communications. The project consists of the ‘pitch package’ for a 6-episode web series, the screenplay for 3 of the episodes and supporting marketing collateral like posters, and a website for the series. Each episode is 12 to 15 minutes long. The series is a comedy-drama about 28-year-old Vicky Gupta who is tired of living under the constant scrutiny of his power crazy, micromanaging father (and boss). He’s offered a welcome escape when he accidentally inherits a floundering funeral services company. As the series progresses, he is tasked with the responsibility of leading a cast of uninterested and lazy characters to breathe new life into the inherited company, and in the process, faces a host of hardships he's never faced before. The series is set in present-day Diva, a small, less developed suburb located on the northwestern fringe of Mumbai.This report is a written documentation of my journey as a screenwriter and of how The Art of Dyingcame to be from conceptualization to marketing. It is a descriptive reflection of some of the technical choices I have made while writing the story, challenges faced and lessons learnt. It is also a brief documentation of how this project has helped me grow as a person over the past year.