Flipkart TV Ad Acting Coach, Shaun Williams on becoming an Entrepreneur and making it in Showbiz !!!

Most of us have seen the humorous Flipkart TV ads depicting children as adults. Shaun Williams is the man behind the stellar acting of those kids. 

Tell us about yourself.
I like to call myself an artist, an entertainer, a producer. Also, a wannabe healer of the world.

Which project are you currently working on these days?
Currently, I’m looking into expanding the scope of The Cellar Door’s activities. I’m spending my time pondering questions like, “Which projects will be fun? What can generate revenue? What kind of workshops can I design?”
“How much should I charge?” Haha.
Followed by a lot more time working on the answers! That’s the exciting bit. While I’m doing this, I juggle acting assignments, auditions and teaching children drama in two schools, that’s something I truly love. The latter is through a company called Theatre Professionals to which I owe a lot to.

What was the last project that you were active with?
I just got done with producing and directing a small skit for the release of the recent TinTin feature film. As with all my projects, I learnt a lot! This time more about myself as a producer / employer and about cementing ideas and philosophies by which this company will operate and treat its partners. Work not by rules, but by conscience and common sense
I learnt a lot about how I can be as a producer and genuinely look out for the care and comfort of my team on the road. Once in while, even with a decent budget, one is tempted to scrounge and cut corners to the detriment of one’s production and partners. But I can say that I didn’t. I was tempted often though, on the littlest things, but people remember the littlest things as they are what bother us all.

You had a regular job, right? So, why did you change lanes?
I’ve had several jobs working with event management companies, call centres and what not. A gentleman from Orange (now Vodafone) once told me “I think you’re great at getting a job but not good at staying in one.” He then hired me.
My last job was with a Hollywood Studio. I stayed there the longest. I started off as a theatre checker whose duty was to visit multiplexes and check whether they were playing our trailers and if posters were up. In time, the studio let me go beyond this profile and I ended up running the PR machinery for the country. The job was so satisfying that I was on my way to “settle” in life and had pretty much decided to kiss the theatre and performing arts goodbye.
Unfortunately, due to several reasons, my relationships within the company started to sour. When the relationship became very toxic I decided to tender in my resignation. The hard work and the victories suddenly seemed meaningless.
Why am i bringing this up? To come clear about the fact that I didn’t, as some people think, “Take a brave decision to quit the corporate world and try out a new venture.” I was just severely frustrated! That’s when I decided to delve back into the things that i loved. Anything related to entertainment and the performing arts. Anything that could pay my bills.

How did everybody around you react to your decision? What made you stick to your chose path?
Stubbornness and pride, mostly. Everyone around knew I was more suited for the performing arts. Almost everyone was encouraging. Even my parents, understandably worried, accepted that the life I had chosen was best suited to my personality.

Since then, you have come a long way. How has the journey been?
Like a crazy roller coaster ride. Ups and downs. A series of well deserved blows to my ego. A most important realignment with God.
The biggest thing affecting my progress was my ego, my lack of negotiation skills and my laziness. I really didn’t do anything to find work. I waited for it to fall in my lap. Eventually though, I was in another city every weekend, working for months at a stretch with no holidays. And then recession came! Since I was doing so well, I didn’t think it would affect me. I even made large part payments for a home loan. I had several  cheques waiting to come and I ended up just waiting.
My savings depleted. I went bankrupt. For almost a year, I was without work and pending cheques didn’t come. Once, in one week, I lost two lucrative writing assignments after having worked on them for a month and after having refused other work so that i could focus on them. I was on a film set for an assignment at the time, and almost cried when i got the news. But i had to get back on set for a shot. Damn recession didn’t let me cry either. The turning point took place when I did an acting workshop that year. Ironically, when I had the money, I didn’t have time for it. The same company asked me to join them as a drama teacher and two years later, I’m here with my own company.
I have since then stopped taking on writing assignments. I continue to train myself in acting and teaching via workshops and sometimes have to forgo lucrative assignments for the same. It hurts but the long term benefits are great.

You are associated with many theatre and other artistic groups.
Yes. I was born on stage with QTP, spent my adolescent years with Akvarious productions and matured as an actor and drama practioner in Theatre Professionals.

And the person who has made the biggest impact in your life?
My mother. We fight a lot. And jesus, with whom I have fought the most.

Shaun Williams with the Flipkart TV ads kids

How did the theme for the Flipkart ads strike in?
Well the credit for that goes to the copywriters and the production house, Foot Candles. I only came in to workshop the kids. The main idea being to remove all typical cutesy-pie “TV Ad acting” from the kids and make them more grown up.

Tell us about a few other names and projects you have worked with.
I was contracted by the agency Engage4more to produce and direct a skit for their client Pernod Ricard. The employees wanted to act in a play dedicated to their outgoing CEO. I went in and trained and directed them for about six days and did the sound cues on the final day of the show. It was great to see even senior management getting their hands dirty with this theatre exercises and acting business. This assignment was so much fun.

Which project has brought you the most satisfaction?
I’d say, the Flipkart assignment. I got to work with great kids. For the first time, I was behind the camera. The experience gave me newfound respect for directors. We never rested. As an actor i could go back to my vanity van between shots but as come-on behind the camera, we were on set 99% of the time

You even have a few movies to brag about?
Yes. Since I don’t believe in a mass market, I have acted in films which no one sees, haha. Drona, Guzaarish, Turning 30 and Jashnn, to name some. Just before the interval of Ghajini you will see a young guy with long hair being booed off stage. That was me. So I did have a part to play in one of India’s biggest hits, sucks that my friend says it was one because I walked off the stage.
My most satisfying acting assignment would have to be the Imperial blue “Men Will Be Men” TVC. In film, it would have to be an as yet unreleased horror film called “Missing Persons Report “.

We heard you had bigger plans for the future. Tell us more about that.
The plan is to surprise the average theatre patron with productions that they thought were never possible. Not in scale but in depth, quality of acting and things like that. I plan to get into short film projects and live events showcasing various talents from musicians to painters to anyone with a skill. I have a children’s book which I’d like to get published as well.
What do you wish to achieve with ‘The Cellar Door’
The plan is to make The Cellar Door a powerful brand. The goal is to be the big guy without an attitude. To have, what I perceive to be the dignity and humility of Mr. Ratan Tata but still retain the insanity of Mr. Richard Branson. I want The Cellar Door to be known as a great employer. A company that cares for its people.

How will it be different?
I’m not as concerned about being different as a I am about being awesome. The mundane and everyday thing, if attacked with sincerity, hard work and honesty will be different.  You can make any old script exciting. I’m hoping I can be that guy who can make people sit up and take notice of something that is not different.

 

Should the Indian government control Google and Facebook ?

The Indian government has asked Internet companies and social media sites like Facebook to prescreen user content from India and to remove disparaging, inflammatory or defamatory content before it goes online according to this New York Times report. 

The Indian government also plans to set up its own unit to monitor information posted on Web sites and social media sites, executives said, which will report to Gulshan Rai, the director general of India’s cyber-security monitor.
The demand is the Indian government’s latest attempt to monitor and control electronic information. In April, the ministry issued rules demanding Internet service providers delete information posted on Web sites that officials or private citizens deemed disparaging or harassing. Last year, the government battled with Blackberry’s manufacturer, Research In Motion, threatening to shut the company’s service off in India if it did not allow government officials greater access to users’ messages.
Is this a move to stifle the growing power of the internet and social media? Does the government have to police the cyber space? Do let us know what you think by commenting below.

An ATM designed for illiterate users

NCR has developed an ATM that taps biometric technologies to make it suitable for use by illiterate and semi-illiterate populations.

More than 50 percent of the global population has no access to banking services, making it very difficult for them to climb out of poverty. As part of a program to address this issue — known as financial exclusion — technology giant NCR has developed an ATM that taps biometric technologies to make it suitable for use by illiterate and semi-illiterate populations.

NCR’s EasyPoint 70 Tijori machines are already automating the collection and disbursement of loans in India, and soon the company hopes to introduce its Pillar ATMs there as well. These new devices are the result of research in the largely illiterate slums of Mumbai, and feature a contactless card reader, a biometric fingerprint scanner, fast cash buttons, a dispenser and a receipt printer. Users of the freestanding device can simply place their thumb on the sensor and push the color-coded button for the amount of cash they want to take out. For security, the waist-high ATM can be bolted to the ground, and its shape minimizes the chance of theft via crowbar, a Scientific American report explains. Not only that, but the machine’s cash box will also collapse in the event of a breach.

Five prototype Pillar ATMs will reportedly be tested in the US, and then potentially brought to developing markets within a year. Future plans may include allowing consumers to conduct transactions via a mobile phone with near-field communications capabilities. Banking and social-minded entrepreneurs: an effort to get involved in?
Website: www.ncr.com
Contact: www.ncr.com/home/contact-us

 

 

In India, Facebook used to find blood donors in emergencies!!!

Socialblood uses Facebook to connect people of the same blood group, facilitating blood donations in emergency situations.

Hospitals around the world depend on blood donors for the treatment of patients in emergency situations, as well as for the treatment of patients with ongoing conditions. Some blood types, however, are less common than others, making it harder to find matches. Now in India, Socialblood is taking advantage of Facebook to connect people of the same blood group, facilitating blood donations in emergency situations.

Socialblood was launched this summer by 22-year-old founder Karthik Naralasetty who won the Staples/Ashoka Youth Social Entrepreneur competition. The Facebook app invites users to register simply by selecting their blood group. They are then connected to one of eight Facebook groups — one for each blood type. They can invite friends to join the campaign via Facebook, post a message in case of an emergency or respond to requests for blood donations. Already Socialblood has seen participation from 1,500 people, and Naralasetty says a recent post from a man asking for blood for his daughter received 74 responses in 24 hours.

Could a similar campaign help hospitals find suitable blood donor matches quicker in your locality, and could you be the one to set it up?
Website: www.socialblood.org
Contact: hello@socialblood.org

 

 

What’s with those glaring ‘Donate’ banner ads on Wikipedia?

There would hardly be anyone reading this who wouldn’t know about what we’re talking about here. Yes, Jimmy Wales and the Wikipedia Banner ads. Just to give a short testimony to what the man has been able to create: Wikipedia is currently the 5th most viewed site on the net with close to 420 million unique visitors each month and the number is steadily growing. This not-for-profit organization has become the biggest resource for knowledge online with about 19 million articles in more than 270 languages.

This stat-saga can go on but we’re here to talk about the irritating (if you may let me call them so) banner ads. Much has been written on blogs about how these ads have got on the nerves of some not-so-tolerant people. A pretty famous such diatribe comes from oatmeal but if this is the case, why does Wikipedia use these banner ads?

There is a simple reason for this. The ads work! Wiki started out with carrying tests wherein they put in a picture of Jimmy Wales and the donations more than doubled! Compared to some of their worst banner performances, the Jimmy Banner managed to bring in fifteen times more! So a personal touch definitely works and this was revealed when Jimmy Wales was interviewed by TheNextWeb

So, how much donation does Wiki generate after all? Well, last year their budget was 21 million dollars and they raised it through the fundraising campaign which ran for a span of 59 days. This year they’re looking at generating 28 to 29 million to keep the fire burning at the Wiki Foundation.
They’ve been trying other faces like in June they tried out with programmer Brandon Harris and Operating engineer Ryan Lane. Brandon has a glamorous rock star look with long hair and a macho image while Ryan has a subtle and sober look. No one would be able to say what would work or generate more clicks and conversions but as it turned out, Brandon won the A/B Test (a test to ascertain which variable is more affective in getting the desired result.) Brandon was able to bring in more donations which might be attributed to his quirkiness. The amount was not as big as it was with Jimmy Wales but it was comparable and to spruce up the things, you might see more such faces.

It’s difficult to judge as to what works and what does not on the internet as you might agree and this modern-age conundrum is comparable to the not-so-primitive-age question “What is the meaning of life?” But to wrap the findings in the preceding paragraphs with a cover of meaning, I’d like to conclude that the personal touch does work if anything else doesn’t. People feel good when they see a human face while donating money. There is a sense of security and more often than not, a connecting chord. So, the picture might feel a wee bit annoying but that is what keeps Wikipedia ticking. And this is an aspect which can be incorporated by other ventures or entrepreneurs who’re looking at developing a brand and a loyal customer base.