TV's big cause & effect
Siya Ke Ram
Small screen shows are now investing in VFX that could rival that of Bollywood films in terms of visual quality
Taking a cue from Bollywood, which has progressed much in recent years in terms of VFX quality, the Indian TV industry too is now pumping a lot more money and energy into VFX. With genres such as supernatural and mythology being received fairly well, the industry appears to be determined to feed the audience with a superior quality of special effects. Supernatural and mythological shows have long since reigned the small screen but their quality of special effects were nothing to write home about.
But things seem to have changed in the past few months. Some of the recent shows have taken many by surprise with their VFX quality " cases in point are Siya Ke Raam, Naagin, Yeh Hai Mohabbatein and the upcoming show Janbaz Sindbad.
According to Sandiip Sikcand, creative director of YHM, this is another expression of the growing power of the small screen. He says, "Television has become a larger medium of telling stories and as creative directors, we are always looking at ways to enhance the quality of storytelling." His show YHM recently took a Khoon Bhari Maang kind of turn, where a crocodile needed to be brought into the picture. "We used VFX to create the crocodile and the entire sequence has come out brilliantly. If a certain kind of technology has been invented, it should be used in all possible mediums to enhance the quality of entertainment," Sandiip says.
For daily entertainment programmes, tight deadlines are the greatest challenge. Hardik Gajjar from Vertexvolt that works on the VFX for shows like Mahadev, Hatim and Siya Ke Ram, says, "TV has tight deadlines and we don't have the luxury of time that we usually get while working on movies. For SKR my team started working eight months before the show went on air. We have teams of 130 people each, who work two shifts, so that the VFX is ready in time for telecast." Speaking of the effects they work with mostly for SKR, Hardik adds, "We have used live action mixed with photorealism. We shoot in natural light and replace it with 3D. We have created an entire city (Ayodhya) in 3D. So we shoot in real locations, retain the lighting pattern and replace it with computer graphics."
Sometimes the roadblocks in the process may be unforeseen. Hardik shares, "For the younger Ram's introduction scene we had to scrap our work of four months and start all over again. Finding the perfect location was proving to be a problem. The plan was to shoot in Kerala but that didn't work out. We did a chroma shoot outdoor and the elephants were replaced by 3D ones and so was the statue of Shiva for the final scene. Another scene that proved to be tough to execute was the first episode that showed the exterior of Ayodha. We had to revise the entire city through VFX."
For Naagin, the makers need to ensure that someone from the VFX team is present during the shoot. Director Santram Verma says, "I am very particular about the small details. Television is very cut-to-cut, so we try and keep the quality best possible within the limited time. And there have been occasions when I have asked the team to rework a scene if I am not satisfied."
Television director Rohit Raj Goel attributes the trend to the availability and prevalence of VFX in general. "Earlier VFX was very expensive and expertise was hard to come. But these days there are a lot of people doing it. Just the last three-four years have seen Bollywood films make major use of VFX. Films like Baahubali have made VFX a big thing now, in the mainstream medium. And because TV has a trend of copying the film industry, so this is a natural progression for the small screen. In television, VFX adds a lot of new dimensions. For example, it can be used to beautify a scene or it can be used in action sequences, like they do in films. Using VFX certainly adds more quality to the scenes as compared to using ropes or camera techniques."
While the big screen is always an inspiration, the VFX used for television programmes is different from those used for films, points out Dimple Dugar, founder, The Pixellence Studio that has worked on the VFX of Naagin. "Since television works with less time, we can spare 8-10 hours for a single scene. We therefore choose lower rendering settings and HD resolution. Film VFX on the other hand requires heavy rendering settings and detailed planning," she says. Dimple goes on to add that the technologies used in Naagin are no less compared to what Hollywood uses. "We have used high-end technology to create the 3D cobra, showcasing the transformation, the fireflies, skin textures, other effects such as eyes changing, set extensions etc." The biggest challenge was to create the producer's vision for Naagin, Dimple adds. "We have worked on rotation shots and continuous moment shots which are the most difficult to match in post-production, as usually VFX shows are shot in static frames."
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