Shranjay Arora Interview by Jen Bush

Scientifically speaking, the lens is Shranjay Arora’s laboratory.  He is a filmmaker, editor and content creator who has amassed numerous international awards for his work.  Among his accolades, he was recognized by the Paris Play Film Festival and The New York Movie Awards.  Mr. Arora is currently the editor of The Shuttlepod Show.  It’s a Star Trek podcast hosted by two main cast members from Enterprise.  He accomplished the amazing feat of making an entire short film in under 48 hours.  In his own words, we will hear about his fascinating artistic journey.

“I admire science and still study it intensely, and I firmly believe “Art is Science, Science is Art,” so I find ways to combine it in my storytelling. I was on a path to becoming a doctor. However, midway through that journey, I realized I wanted to tell stories to heal and inspire people.” 

“Storytelling has intrigued me all my childhood, especially Visual Storytelling. Having edited visual content for 14 years, I can confidently say I can feel the footage and sounds individually and understand their impact on the viewer. In addition, I find it very interesting that tiny Pixels can make people feel and even move them. These two elements interact with our human behavior and psychology, and great films use them well.”

“I believe Filmmaking is as technical as it is creative. When I am finished editing my films, I make my trusted reviewers watch them with an eye-track setup to see how I retained them and what portion of the frame was a hotspot and improve from there. It’s all about the interactions of the senses.”

“What You See Is What You Believe,” “and even in our studies, we were told that “Whatever a human eye or ear sees or hears, our brains don’t know whether it’s on a virtual screen or really happening in front of them,” and I take that very seriously. I believe it can be a powerful tool to tell the story through two human emotions that are pillars of humanity itself – Hope & Fear.”

“Without hope, there is no progress or growth; without fear, there is no change. As an artist, I find myself telling stories about technology and how it interacts with us, and the modern issues we face due to technological advancement. I find it my moral duty to keep the audience aware of where we come from and, most importantly, what we have become?”    

“Films & stories are a mirror we can look at and find ourselves within. So, to me, as an artist, my projects need to have a reflection of something real or something I went through. Because if people don’t relate, you are not telling a story.” 

“Proxy was a recent short film I directed, wrote & edited, and it was about what happens when the lines between reality and fantasy get mixed. When VR gets too real… “Spotted” was another short film I directed, wrote, and edited, which was a social commentary on how viral influencers of today’s world may become too close to the cults in history. It revolves around what differentiates a “Cult” from “Culture.”

“I want to make people question the world, their behavior and actions through my films, and that’s what I have devoted my life to.”

PART II: The American Experience