Creating Celluloid Fantasies

Visual effects now is key to many Bollywood moviesanalyze all the major
releases of 2010 and you will find at least 90% of them having some VFX shots or
the other. Many of them like My Name is Khan (the whole Georgia flood shot was
filmed in Mumbai), or Kites and Rajneeti had VFX accounting for more than 30% of
the lengths of these movies. Not only Bollywood, its now a widely publicized
fact that even Hollywood is now outsourcing significant VFX work to IndiaPrime
Focus involved in post-production work for James Camerons Avatar was widely
reported.

The kind of business that typically comes to India is wire removals and matte
paintings, as these are the back end of the production pipe and are
time-consuming. VFX outsourcing (offshore) now, in fact, stands at the cusp
where IT services was a decade back. In VFX, currently its wire removal,
rotoscopy, tracking, basic compositing or animation for a television series
where Indian post-production studios are at par with the west that are getting
outsourced.

Some studios like Prime Focus and VCL have already setup bases in London and
Hollywood to attract greater attention. India as a whole is less than a $500-700
mn industry and this includes both animation and VFX. On the other hand, the VFX
budgets of some of the biggest Hollywood movies alone have exceeded $200 mn.

Tech Temperature: 98 (on a scale of 1 to 100)

The major difference between Hollywood and Bollywood movies from the VFX
context is in pre-production. In Hollywood, it is very strong and all about the
development of concept arts, use of pre-visualization etc. When we speak of
pre-production, we mean the development of concept and use of pre-visualization.
Most visuals that are VFX-intensive need pre-visualization. In India, though VFX
is still at a comparatively nascent stage.

Once scripts are written that make VFX an integral part of the story-telling,
the process will automatically take over. People will realise that
pre-production and VFX can help save expensive production money and can create a
vision that complements the story-telling of the creator. But one has to keep in
mind that VFX is only a tool and not the story by itself. A movie can be shot
better if the effects specialist gets involved at the pre-production level with
the director.

According to the FICCI-KPMG Indian Media & Entertainment Industry report, the
Indian VFX industry in 2009, continued to rely on outsourced and co-production
deals that led to a growth rate of approximately 9% over 2008. Indian studios
were approached with new projects and collaborative deals indicating that market
was looking up once again in the second half (Avatar and Clash of the Titans
were prime examples). The animation services segment registered a growth rate of
15% in 2009. During the past year, no Indian animated film witnessed a
theatrical release.

The use of VFX in live action films has also seen a steady and significant
growth over the years. Taking into account the low base for this service, it is
estimated to have grown by nearly 40% over 2008. This is driven by both
international and domestic for special effects. However, billings generated by
the domestic market are at a lower price point than when compared to the rates
charged for outsourced work. While VFX demand for films continues, over 50% of
the work is currently created for ad film productions.

Bollywood movies traditionally have been low budget and not totally reliant
on VFX, a la Avatar or Inception. Film producers though are now integrating VFX
in most movies. Digital intermediate (DI) also has been well received in India.
Most films in India now go through the DI process and once the film is scanned,
it is easier to add VFX. Prime Focus delivered 664 VFX shots and full DI for Paa.
There were close to 400 shots in the film where the make-up needed to be
digitally touched up frame by frame to create a seamless look of Auros head
matching the skin tone of the prosthetic with the real skin tone.

Rajneesh De

rajneeshd@cybermedia.co.in