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It Started with Physics
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Nikola initially studied Physics, but thanks to his high school benchmate who
showed up one day with an old Praktica camera, Nikola had been swept into the
fascinating world of film and photography. He enrolled and had been accepted in
the Film Academy. NUBE thanks the benchmate, the camera, and his zest to look at
the world through the lens!
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On Asia, Europe and Living Life
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Nikola’s work has been expansive, as have his work places. He began in his home
country Serbia, his work took him to India (with NUBE), followed by China (where he
worked with MPC, the giant company of the industry), Japan and now back in India at
NUBE, where we are thrilled to work with him again. He has worked with a host of
cultures, palettes, directors, and concepts. Nikola says, ‘The way people perceive
and engage with life and its many colors is very unique in Asia. People here know
how to live, emote, build community, and all of that reflects in the visual media
and colors.’
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Work, Aspirations and Plans at NUBE
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With over a decade of experience in different forms and formats, commercials were
Nikola's focus, where he has a reputation for being the go-to person for beauty,
fashion and automobiles. He works both with Baselight and Resolve.
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Advertising and Emotions
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Nikola notes how advertising is treated differently in India. For an audience that
is emotional, community oriented, and a conservative spender, selling a product or
service means touching on these aspects. Indian ads hence, tend to have a story,
characters, more creative potential, a vibrant color palette; this makes them a
longer format with the possibilities to create moods, tell a story, and touch
emotions.
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Photography to Cinematography and Beyond
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‘It is important to believe in the story, to be able to endure what it takes to be a
DOP’.
Long and absurd working hours, rigor, technical soundness, an eye for detail are
just some of the qualities and challenges Nikola mentions. Having been a DOP
himself, working alongside one allows a commonground of familiarity, of challenges
and problems that arise on the job, and figure out the best ways to tackle them. The
role and experience as a DOP also informs cinematographic work, where, at the end of
the day, believing in a story makes it all worthwhile and produces stellar results.
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Fun Facts about Nikola
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Apart from being an excellent colorist, Nikola also derives great satisfaction from
working with wood. He has a panache for FPV drones, off-grid technologies, and even
more cerebral activities like a game of chess.
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Favorite cinematographer: Janusz Kaminski (of Saving Private Ryan and other Stephen
Spielberg movies)
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Loves post apocalyptic films like Madmax.
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