You cannot call visual effects (VFX) cutting edge anymore. It has instead become an integral part of Bollywood, TV serials and advertisements. Virtually, every movie made these days relies on this technology and ad makers too use it liberally whether they are creating an ad for Microsoft, Bajaj or Fevicol. Insiders insist that today you see more computer-generated images than the real shoot.
Movies of course have completely embraced the technology. ?From about 20 to 30 shots of VFX per film about seven years ago, it has gone up to 500 to 1,000 high-end VFX shots in a film these days. This means that there are more computer-generated images than real shoot, which has translated to better production effects, cost savings on set extensions or any other physical infrastructure?, says Pankaj Kedia, Autodesk media and entertainment division director (South East Asia and India).
And as the demand goes up, excitement around the business potential is not limited to local production houses. The US VFX community is also eyeing a piece of the fast-growing pie and the Visual Effects Society (VES) of Hollywood, a representative body of visual effects practitioners, recently visited Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai. The delegation comprising Tim McGovern, co-chairman; Eric Roth, executive director and Peter Chiang, member of the Board, VES UK, interacted with Indian artists through a series of community and exclusive events.
The Indian industry bigwigs seem convinced that collaboration would further propel growth in the industry. The Indian industry is sure that there would be some collaborative arrangements between the creative artists and business of both the countries. Quite a few expect some of these collaborations to take shape this month itself.
For the uninitiated, VFX (short for visual effects) refers to integration of live-action footage with computer-generated imagery to create scenarios that look realistic and would be costly or dangerous or impossible to capture on film. It is different from special effects done on the sets like rain, snow or smoke, and is usually done at the post-production stage. Already popular in big-budget films, the visual effects are also gaining acceptance in smaller films as more affordable animation and compositing software is coming to the market.
Interestingly, India is also emerging as a hot destination for global post-production. The global animation business was estimated at $5 billion in 2005, and is expected to grow to $75 billion in 2009, at a CAGR of 8%, according to a recent Nasscom study. Animation has found use in entertainment (including TV broadcast, fully animated movies, direct-to-DVD and VFX), e-education and web designing, with the entertainment market generating close to 73% of the overall revenue during 2005.
Developers are making moolah too. The animation sector notched up a turnover of around $25 billion in 2005, and is expected to rise to $35 billion by 2009 (at a CAGR of 8.7% during 2005-09). The size of the VFX market was expected to go up to $95 million by 2009 from $15 million, with the offshore market estimated to double. Going by the size of the global pie, we can expect the nascent Indian market to grow exponentially as outsourcing opportunities multiply.
Demand in the domestic industry is growing fast too. It?s easy to see why. Blockbusters like Dhoom 2 and Anniyan have liberally used the VFX technology. Movies like Saawariya, Om Shanti Om and Akbar Jodha have not shied away from VFX either. Also, there has been extensive use of this technology in the commercials of Fevicol (with aliens), Xbox (India launch ad), Happydent (the multi-award winning commercial) and Bajaj Pulsar.
?These days, popularity of VFX is clearly visible in the film industry.
A year back, there were only 10-15 movies a year, which used VFX. Now nearly 10 films get done with the same technology at a time,? says Pankaj Kedia.
Meanwhile, it is becoming an integral part of our admakers? lives. ?For a commercial, we need an aircraft sequence in which man should look hanging from the aircraft. To make it seem realistic and in order to create this illusion, we suspended a man from a crane and created a plane in 3D, using Autodesk?s 3Ds Max Software. We then composited these elements, using Autodesk?s Smoke by adding the correct sky and other atmospheric elements like dust, motion, blur etc to make the seen look real,? says Sabu Jose, creative director, visual effects and design, Prime Focus.
?Now, we have started seeing an increasing demand for VFX in advertisements along with colour corrections using digital imaging (DI). The main reason being production that looks larger than life, ability to show visuals and stories, which were not possible to produce earlier, help the narrative (like the Happydent and Xbox commercial), high impact visual which creates high brand recall,? agrees Kedia.
Computer-generated imagery is clearly all set to rule the reel life.