VISUAL EFFECTS DEMONSTRATION: MAKING OF ENTHIRAN: THE ROBOT
In a two day workshop conducted by FICCI the Indian visual effects designer Mr. Srinivas Mohan conducted an afternoon session throwing light on the technology that went behind the making of one of the biggest blockbusters in Indian cinema, Endhiran.
According to Mr. Mohan, there are four stages of film making-
1. the pre-production stage
2. the production stage
3. and the execution or climactic stage.
The first of these is usually carried out with the involvement of a large number of people, using the technique of “worldwide communication”. This is when a pre-visualisation is conducted and the story board put forward is on an animated level. More than half the total number of scenes in the movie Enthiran was animated before the director allowed final output. Whether it be dubbing or the lights man, the sound or technology, every person involved with a movie has equal involvement.
4. One of the primary concerns in such cases should be the allocation of budget. No money should be wasted in the process and to suit this, the director gives proper instructions about what he wants to achieve a heightened magnitude and visual effects.
[ Pre-Production- Concept, Art, Storyboards and Previz
VFX- Planning and Techniques ]
Visual Effects Workflow(Hollywood details in Indian budget)
How to plan and execute effects using technology and available talent in the production constraints of budget and time. The few methods being-
1. Human body scanning, which is laser scan and dome light scan in order to get the full body in 3D space.
2. Motion control rig
3. animatronics
4. Motion capture
Animatronics:
1. Mechanical electronic controlled puppets with realistic look
2. Physical objects moving in real time in front of the camera
3. May be operated manually with the help of engineers.
In short, Animatronics has nothing to do with Computer Graphics or CG. A team of officials from the Stan Winston Studios had been in Chennai for a duration of over 2 months during the making of the film Endhiran.
Production- This stage involves the on-location decisions in shooting. A lot of coordination is needed as each member of the crew needs to be alert while he works at the lighting, scale and timing.
Execution – Execution means paying attention to details to make an animated film as believable and aunthentic to the audience as possible.
The speaker thus keeps his focus on the visual effects of film-making citing Endhiran as an example!
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