After conquering 3D animation, India is diving into the vfx world by starting with CG work on domestic, live-action feature films. Courtesy of iStockphoto.

If you have the QuickTime plug-in, you can view clips from some of India’s top vfx houses, Prasad EFX, Paprikaas Animation Studios and Rayudu Vision Media Limited by simply clicking the images.

The vfx/CG industry in India is driven by fully 3D-animated entertainment productions, mainly outsourced from U.S. or European companies. But there is a growing trend toward the creation of vfx, with an initial focus on domestic, live-action feature films.

Bollywood movies traditionally have been low budget and not reliant on vfx. Film producers are starting to consider integrating vfx in certain cases, however, although their use is often limited to a few scenes. The sophistication is growing as well, with some films featuring CG work such as set extensions or missile explosions, according to Tarun Agarwal, joint managing director of Mumbai-based Rajtaru Studios. Rajtaru is a high-end production facility offering vfx, CG animation, HD post-production, digital interface and other services.

Digital intermediate also has been well received, according to Agarwal. “Most films in India now go through the DI process and once the film is scanned, it’s easier to add vfx. Directors are then willing to go the extra step to enhance their sequence, if it’s something simple like adding clouds to increase the impact or beauty of a shot.”

Agarwal adds, “The biggest challenge for the Indian vfx industry, in my opinion, is to have the vfx well-defined at the scripting stage, where the shots form a part of the story and are not just a value-add because a facility is available.”

The sophistication of Indian vfx is growing, reports Tarun Agarwal of Rajtaru Studios. But the biggest challenge is to have the vfx well defined at the screenplay stage and not just be a value-add because a facility is available.

Some films have started to increase their vfx budgets and have brought the vfx producers and supervisors in early, even opting for 3D previs. One recent vfx-heavy movie that was produced and released in India was Krrish. Indian vfx studio Prasad EFX did 1,400 shots (almost 90 minutes) for the movie, according to Mohan Krishnan, head of corporate communications at the Prasad Group.

A relatively new trend is the outsourcing of feature vfx work from Hollywood, sometimes through straight work-for-hire agreements and other times through co-productions or joint ventures. In large part, the initial focus has been on labor-intensive tasks such as wire removal or rotoscoping, due to the lack of experience the industry has in high-end effects.

“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,” suggests Agarwal. “However, Indian talent is now being more evaluated, and requirements or expectation levels are moving from wire removals or matte paintings to completion of entire shots, like bluescreen composites, or compositing CG with live action.”

The market leader in high-end vfx for global films is Rhythm & Hues India, a five-year-old, 130-employee, Mumbai-based subsidiary of the major U.S. vfx house. It has worked on more than 20 Hollywood films, from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to Superman Returns. Recent projects have included Garfield 2 and The Fast and the Furious 3; it is currently at work on The Golden Compass, The Kingdom, A Night at the Museum, Charlotte’s Web and Evan Almighty.

“The volume of vfx in Indian movies will grow to a large extent,” predicts Krishnan, who also believes Indian studios will “move up the value chain and be a major player in the outsourced project segment.”

“The next level is definitely better planning for vfx within Indian films, with a well planned-out workflow and a sensible deadline attached to the project, as this is crucial for delivering a high-standard product,” Agarwal adds.

Prasad EFX created 1,400 vfx shots for Krrish that was produced and released in India. © Prasad EFX.

The CG Animation Sector
Most of the work in the fully CG animation segment is centered on television or direct-to-DVD productions, although some studios have worked on features as well. For example, Prana Studios, an L.A.-based vfx studio with a production facility in Mumbai, produced 100% of the lighting and complete shot finaling, along with 350 vfx shots, on the 2005 CG-animated feature Hoodwinked. It currently is producing all the animation in an entirely CG film to be released by one of the Hollywood studios.

“Most studios in India today focus on TV animated series or direct-to-DVD animated projects, which tend to be less demanding than theatrical feature film animation/vfx work,” says Saraswathi Balgam, director of Rhythm & Hues India. “There are very few success stories at the high end of the market in India today.”

Nandish Domlur, ceo of Paprikaas Animation Studios, a CG and vfx studio in Bangalore, believes India will become a hub for the production of full-length animated feature films within the next decade. This will be due not just to the reasonable cost of animation in India, he says, but also because of an art and technology talent pool that will have been built and nurtured through the country’s service experience. Paprikaas’s recent projects include the 3D-animated series FARMkids, vfx for Lexmark Printer and Nissan Motors commercials and the documentary Elephus Maximus, and in-game cinematics and videos for interactive games.