How to Download Kalpana at Pad.ma

Tuesday, May 28, 2013
I recently discovered a way to download the entire length of Uday Shankar's 1948 dance film Kalpana (uploaded at Pad.ma as previously discussed at length) in .webm video file format without having to deal with a torrent file or torrent client.  Since I've had a few people ask me about this and it can be tricky to explain, I thought I would create a quick visual explanation!

This method allows for easy offline viewing and is perfect for educational/classroom use (especially for times when Pad.ma is loading slowly), both of which are usages Pad.ma has explicitly stated are OK due to Kalpana's upload under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License and Padma General License which allow for copying, redistribution, and remixing as long as the copyright/license info is retained/noted and the same resolution used.

Here's my quick silent video tutorial about downloading Kalpana using Pad.ma's editor view, https://pad.ma/CFN/editorCheck out my newly-minted Camtasia skills! ;)


You can also use this method to download specific dances that are annotated.  Simply click on a dance annotation and select "download selection." Easy as pie!

Edit/Note: I'm receiving a few reports that video-downloading capable programs (like Realplayer) and browser add-in's like Firefox's "Flash video downloader" will download .webm files from Pad.ma without having to use the method above. 

A few tips:
  • Pad.ma sometimes "remembers" your last visit and will revert the URL for that visit no matter what you type.  Try entering "00:00:00:00" after the URL to force it; for example, https://pad.ma/CFN/editor/00:00:00:00
  • The video is a WebM file, so to play it offline you'll need a media player that supports it.  VLC and Media Player Classic will, and Windows Media Player should but requires a filter/component installation.  Or you can convert it to another format, but the quality will degrade (it seems there isn't a lossless conversion option at present). 
  • Pad.ma does not support Internet Explorer; use Firefox, Chrome, Opera, etc.
  • You can also make your selections (with the in and out points) and go to "embed selection" to get the embed code for a blog post or website (though I've had trouble with slow loading)
  • Update: If audio comes out of only one side, try switching the setting from stereo to mono in your media player program.

More information/past posts:

Happy downloading!

12 comments:

  1. Nice tutorial! I used the realplayer plugin to download the full movie.

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    1. Oh really? That didn't work for me, but I assumed it was because Realplayer didn't support webm grabs. Good to know that is another, easier option for some.

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  2. Hi Minai

    You could also try using the Videodownloadhelper plugin for Firefox. Downloading videos is a breeze.

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  3. Have you seen this one, btw?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRMx0eftPB8

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    1. cram - Hello! Long time no talk! Thanks for sharing another video downloading option. Apparently I was having technical difficulties and assumed Pad.ma's videos weren't downloadable by external programs. :)

      That song you linked looks vaguely familiar--looks like Raja Sulochana and another dancer I don't recognize. I love the all female musical ensemble!

      I noticed you haven't posted any videos on YouTube for a while--I miss your lovely uploads!

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    2. Hi Minai

      Yeah it's been way too long. And yeah, I badly need to revive Youtube activity. Been terribly busy at work. Just can't seem to find the time or energy. Hopefully things will change soon. :)

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  4. The other dancer is Girija; I do not think that she is well known for her dances. The Telugu, Hindi versions are both termed 'Suvarna Sundari;. It is a terrible film, I saw it a few months back, but has some great songs. I think that P. Adinarayana rao won the Filmfare award for music in this film.

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  5. Hi Minai, Iv been eagerly waiting to get hold of a copy of Kalpana for the last three years! Thanks for bringing this news to notice. The torrent method didn't work (no seeders), so I tried this pad.ma editor method given above. I could download it and played it on VLC media player (version 2.0.7 Twoflower). However, the visuals are working fine, but there is no audio, just some distorted sounds. Can you suggest something?

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    1. Hello Deepan - I forgot to mention this in the post, but I remember when first played the downloaded Kalpana file audio came out of only one side, so I changed it from stereo to mono I believe and that fixed it. Try that and see if it helps. Otherwise, you might want to try downloading it through a different method with a free downloading program. If you have realplayer (free download if you don't), that will download any streaming video you come across online, as will a number of other programs and browser plugins (like Videodownloadhelper for Firefox as cram mentioned above). Hope one of those methods works for you!

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    2. Hey, changing it to mono worked!! Its working fine now. Thanks a ton! :-)

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  6. Hi, due to a hard disk crash, I have to download Kalpana again. However, when I tried downloading it the same way as last time (using the editor view and then download selection) only an error page is opening saying '500 error'. I also tried the real player plugin but its not detecting the video in pad.ma. Can you help?

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    1. Hello again Deepan - I just tried it and it worked for me, so it sounds like there is some issue on your side. You could try using a different browser or two and see if that helps...also making sure your browser plugins/extensions are up to date might help. Good luck!

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