WHERE DID VISHNU PERUMAL’S ECCENTRIC APPROACH COME FROM?

No matter what job you do, there are two types of people doing it; those who want it to be as easy as possible and those who want it to be challenging and engaging. For Vishnu Perumal the choice is unquestionably the later. This editor always runs directly towards the unconventional and quirky jobs; the ones that will teach him something new and may have him pulling out his hair while doing them. Loving something so much that you don’t do it for the recognition or the paycheck but because you love the art form is a requirement for an artist. This is how the art form thrives and continues, through individuals who are passionate in the most genuine and authentic sense. Every venture is not a hit with the public because they are not trying to appeal to a mass audience but rather are focused on growing in their own abilities and inspiring others with their vulnerability. For Vishnu, working in less traditional mediums and utilizing modern approaches has resulted in a signature style which continues to attract many mainstream productions to his work. While he has serves as editor on a wide variety of productions, it’s the less obvious ones which he finds create the growth in his abilities in which he relishes.
Perumal openly admits that he has something of an eclectic perspective, sometimes even bordering on bipolar. Conceding that this comes from an early influence he states, “I grew up watching Disney movies as a child but the first theatre live action movie experience I remember was Terminator 2. I was about four or five years old when I saw it. An aunt was tasked to take care of me one afternoon but she wanted to go to the theatre and watch Terminator 2 so she took me along with her. I was thoroughly confused by the plot and thought it was a futuristic horror movie with monsters. In spite of my confusion, I was wowed by the effects and was genuinely intrigued on how they achieved such magic. Years later, I would finally watch the film on television, where it would serve as one of my favorite films and my inspiration for my interested in filmmaking.” The juxtaposition of Disney and futuristic robot assassins laid the bedrock for the idea that variety creates interest for a young Vishnu; an approach he would take to heart in his professional career.
COPS is an ideal example of drama and unintentional comedy in a TV production. This decades long series displays anything but actions of an insipid nature. Vacillating between hair-raising fright and stooge like foibles, the individuals which the police officers deal with in every episode present a plethora of opportunities for an editor. Perumal was hired to edit promos and social media videos for this production. These avenues boast impressive results for COPS and Vishnu with 96,858 subscribers to its YouTube Channel and 1,432,767 likes on the Facebook page. Each week, he would edit promos about the show and feature interviews with the officers on each program. Karen Hori (Head of Production for Langley Productions which create “COPS”) confirms, “Vishnu’s work was superb. I put him on the spot at his interview and asked him to cut a three-minute interview of an officer describing a domestic disturbance. He showed me right then that he could work quickly and compress an idea down to a very short spot and still retain the feel and tone of the show. It was like a concentrated form of the program. Vishnu is enthusiastic and fun to work with as well, which always serves to increase the amount of professionals who want to work with you in this business.”

Equally as unusual and entertaining is the webseries “Sexcapdes” which Perumal edited for Stephen Thomas. The web has become a major player in delivering entertainment. Much of the younger generation foregoes a TV in preference of watching online. This not only grants them greater accessibility but also removes the middle man of the network and their ability to decide what is watchable or not and places the power in the hands of the audience and the buzz created by purveyors of SM and the web. Writer/director Thomas notes, “Vishnu is exceptional as an editor. He did something very unique for ‘Sexcapades.’ He has an amazing understanding of timing in film and comedy. By repeating certain sequences via his edits, he actually created comic moments that were not previously there or planned in the script. He recognized the potential for certain ideas and created his own comedy bits out of that. It was incredible!” “Sexcapades”, begins with the two main characters (James and Julia) preparing for and engaging in intercourse with each other. When James experiences “performance issues”, tempers flare between the two. James storms out of the room but not before it is revealed that their parents are soon to marry and they will become legal (rather than hereditary) siblings. The soon to be brother and sister engage in a competition of sexual conquest with others as a means of revenge against each other. The series is at times both hilarious and cringe worthy. Several awards and recognitions were received by “Sexcapades” from the LA Web Fest and Miami Web Fest.
None of his work exemplifies Vishnu’s desire to do the unthinkable and challenging more so than “Tipping Point.” With a script three pages long and a shockingly miniscule running time of sixty seconds, Perumal edited down a story that displays a dinner, a friendly combative discussion of the merits of tipping to service providers, and a surprise revealing twist at the end of the story from the person you least expect. Vishnu openly admits that he did it just to prove to himself and others that it was possible. Alex Wolff (Producer of “Tipping Point”) boasts, “Vishnu is quite simply amazing as an editor. His constant attention to story and impeccable focus on brevity managed to turn what would have been a four-minute film into a 60 second comedy piece, while at the same time retaining all of the quirks and soul of the story and the performances. There is definitely some magic in what he does.” If you view these many riveting and eclectic productions which Vishnu Perumal has edited, you’ll believe in magic too.
