CHALLENGES AND VFX USED IN TUBELIGHT MOVIE MAKING

One of the most awaited movies of 2017 was Salman Khan Starrer movie Tubelight. In our today’s blog we will be discussing about the making of the movie with special mention to VFX and special effects used in the making of the movie.

According to the superstar that this film was emotionally challenging for him to act.

“I loved the character as it was narrated to be. This was my best role. I don’t think I will get any better role that this as this man is simple and emotional. This was the most loved character that I have ever played.”

The toughest challenge he faced was to walk and talk like Laxman Singh Bisht   the character he played.

Lots of other challenges being faced while shooting for the movie too.

The crew initially decided the second schedule to be shot in Kashmir, which due to some delays was changed to Manali.

The weather had gone against Salman Khan and Kabir Khan, who are in Manali to shoot the second schedule of their film Tubelight.  The set was completely wrapped with clouds.

They had built a set  of 12000 feet high in the mountains. But when the crew went to shoot they found the set was completely covered with clouds all over.

Tubelight,  also starring Chinese actress Zhu Zhu along and the movie revolves around a love story set in the 1965 Sino-Indian war.

The makers of Tubelight have released a behind the scenes video from the film’s Ladakh schedule. The video exemplifies the difficulty the film’s unit had to face while shooting in the region.

Mostly the war scenes have been shot in Ladakh, which feature Sohail Khan in the avatar of Bharat Singh Bisht, a soldier.

The film was shot in Leh for around 15 days, informs the lead actor cum producer Salman Khan. Talking about shooting in different locations, director Kabir Khan said, “Locations for me are very important. I seriously feel that locations bring in a certain character into the film.”

Salman’s brother and co-star Sohail Khan elaborated on the difficulties the unit had to face while shooting in Ladakh.

According to him, all actors were still a little pampered, since they just had to get ready for the shot but the unit was working in between the shots.

The terrain was difficult, the winds used to begin from 132 onwards. Those winds were nasty because they used to carry mud and pebbles that used to hit on the eyes and ears.

Although the makers had a tough time filming in Ladakh, the war scenes shot in scenic locales were surely a delight to the eyes!

Tubelight opened to poor reviews from critics on Friday. The film was not showered with love by the audience either.

Box office performance of the movie bears testimony to this fact.

On its 5th day, Tuesday, the movie collected Rs 13.50 crores at the box office and now stands with a total of 97.36 crores at the domestic box office.

This surely was a disappointment for a Salman Khan film and is quite surprising that it could not enter the 100-cr-club on its opening weekend.

Based on the story of the original film ‘Little Boy’, Tubelight is an upcoming Indian historical war drama film written and directed by Kabir Khan.

Prime Focus has delivered VFX, DI and EQR services for the film. The VFX and Digital Intermediate of Salman Khan Films’ Tubelight is has been done at Prime Focus.

Tubelight is not a VFX-heavy film.  But VFX is being used a little bit of crowd multiplication, in the background here and there.

TV Shows With High-End VFX

TV has come a long way over the years. There have been some incredible highs that have almost literally gotten the whole world talking, as well as some abysmal lows populated with shows that are better left unmentioned.  VFX is used in serials in television to enhancing the look and feel of a particular scene and helps to create the scene more visually appealing.

As things have progressed, so too has the job of the visual effect artist, a job which has changed dramatically over the years. It’s always worth taking a minute to review what lead us to where we are today.

So, without further delay, let’s begin our tour of visual effects in popular television channels that have stolen our hearts.

VFX-driven TV shows have always been liked by the audience regardless of their age. After all, why would anyone not like the idea of escaping from the real world and watching something which is possible only in the reel world?

The trend of using visual effects in TV shows began with Ramanand Sagara’s superhit mythological show, Ramayan based on the life of Lord Rama.

Usage of  VFX was one of the biggest reasons that viewers were drawn to the show. Much has changed since then and the kind of VFX we get to see in today’s shows is way ahead of what we saw during our childhood.

What hasn’t changed is the fondness for VFX which infuses life and drama to these shows. Let’s take a look at some TV shows which are making the best use of VFX €

Maha Kumbh: Ek Rahasaya, Ek Kahani: It is a thriller show set in the backdrop of Uttar Pradesh.

The story deals with Rudra, a boy who possesses supernatural powers but is unaware of them. A perfect blend of contemporary and period drama, the show features fight sequences with VFX adding a flavour to them.

The 35-member VFX team leaves no stone unturned in creating a fascinating make-believe world.

Razia Sultan: & TV show Razia Sultan is the story of Delhi’s first queen, Razia Sultan. Having a grand set in Gujarat’s Umargaon, the show’s  production team consists of 200 members.

According to a report on Animationxpress.com, a sequence from the show which shows Razia taking on a tiger took as long as two and a half months to create.

Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat: Based on the life of Indian Emperor of Maurya Dynasty, Ashoka, the periodic drama is being shot on a large scale in parts of Kerala, Jaisalmer, Mumbai Film City and Karjat.

The ambitious project is handled by a team of 500 people. Featuring first-rate VFX, the show is becoming hot favorite among the audience.

Maharakshak Devi: Maharakshak Devi revolves around Devi, the most powerful girl in the world who is shown fighting evils of the contemporary world.

The highly advanced VFX imparts an eye-catching look to the show and infuses life into the riveting story line.

These are just few examples of serials which are using vfx on regular basis.  And many many more to come. This gives us an idea how much scope vfx artist holds after completing his course.

Visual Effect Treat Disney’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’

Visual Effect treat and the live-action remake of the animated Disney classic Beauty and the beast opens in the theater hall all across with a record-setting opening, making the movie the seventh-largest domestic opening of all time.

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast has hit the market with a roar actually a roar indeed.

Taking in $170 million domestically, Beauty and the Beast has actually had  topped the previous year March month opening  which had recorded of $166 million  Us dollar set by Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice .

It has also proved to be the  seventh largest opening weekend ever, ahead of the $169.1 million opening from the popular movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.

Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” is a live-action re-telling of the studio’s animated classic which refashions the classic characters from the tale as old as time for a contemporary audience, staying true to the original music while updating the score with several new songs.

“Beauty and the Beast” is the fantastic journey of Belle, a bright, beautiful and independent young woman who is taken prisoner by a beast in his castle.

Despite her fears, she befriends the castle’s enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the Beast’s hideous exterior and realize the kind heart and soul of the true Prince within.

The film stars: Emma Watson as Belle; Dan Stevens as the Beast; Luke Evans as Gaston.

The sheer dexterity is overwhelming, and only the sternest viewer will be able to resist the onslaught of such thoroughly marketed magic.

Disney has indeed ripped a jewel out of its casing and set it in something far more elaborate; the effect is garish rather than nostalgic, frustrating rather than memorable.

Though it may come with much familiarity and not much tweaking in its story, the film is still a magical tale that rekindles the classical aura of the Disney original animation.

Beauty and the Beast shines with its immense star power, dazzling visuals and infectious tunes that refreshes a tale as old as time for new and old audiences.

This is a live-action remake of Disney’s classic love story. ‘Beauty lies within’ is what an enchantress expects a vain and arrogant prince (Dan Stevens) to know.

He learns it the hard way when her curse turns him into a terrifying beast. Her spell can only be broken if he finds true love. Meanwhile, Belle (Emma Watson), the non-conforming daughter of a village inventor and artist, seeks an adventure. She stumbles upon the beast and magic unfolds…
The special effects, sound, costumes, voice-overs, songs – overall production values are first-rate.

The movie  make us  live the fairy-tale once again since it takes  us to the castle along with Belle, experiencing her new unfold adventure.

The movie depiction of eternal love between Watson and mo-cap Stevens.

It’s become awe-inspiring to view the overall visual excellence and grandeur of this spectacular production. It is actually a visual effect treat to our eye.

While story-wise it stays true to the original animated film, the execution is a lot darker, grimmer.
The beast gets a terrifying CGI makeover with Stevens rendering a decent motion-capture memorable performance.

Watson plays the feminist heroine with conviction.

While we like this feisty protagonist, her slightly modified character lacks a certain amount of compassion, making her seem a tad conceited more than confident.

Luke Evans is equally impressive as the self-obsessed, hare-brained Romeo.

What essentially works for ‘Beauty and the Beast’ is its relevance. The sets the grandeur the visual effect shorts makes it  a brilliant movie to watch.

It stands out because no matter how old the tale, it holds significance especially today, when smart phones and selfies have turned us all into beauty loving beasts.

The special effects, sound, costumes, voice-overs, songs – overall production values are first-rate.

Its a live the fairy-tale which will transported you to the castle along with Belle, experiencing her adventure.

With the amount of visual effect use that we get to see in the movie actually opens up the door of aspirant visual effect artist to acquire the set skills and being apart of such a project.

The popularity of visual effect is growing moves are actually being made and liked since we are giving such Visual effect treat to our viewers.

ANOTHER FEATHER IN THE CAP OF MAAC CHOWRINGHEE

MAAC Chowringhee as a leading Animation, VFX & Multimedia training institute in Kolkata, was wearing a very plain & simple cap on his head.

With the success of its students this cap is becoming more and more beautiful every day. Another feather of success has been added to this cap by one of its ex student Mr. Abhishek Ghorui ,who is working with  MPC, Bangalore as a Digital Artist since more than three years & growing in the field each day.

Earlier his claim to success was being a part of the epic Oscar winning film “Life of Pi” followed by, now, another Oscars in VFX for the Hollywood Blockbuster  “The Jungle Book”.

His recent success found him a place on the front page and the second page of The Time of India, Kolkata Edition on 28th Feb ’17.

The article is attached herewith, which is self explanatory, and is a inspiration to all youngster aspiring  to have a successful and Dream Career in this wonderful world of Animation and VFX.


All eyes were on the Academy Awards on Monday and as the clock ticked, a collective groan went up as `Lion’, a major part of which is based in Kolkata, lost out on the golden statuette.

However, `Jungle Book’ -that captures young Mowgli’s heroics in an Indian jungle -bagged the Oscar in the `Visual Effects’ category , giving Bengal a reason to cheer.

Digital artist Abhishek Ghorui of Durgapur, who was part of a Bangalore team that worked on the movie’s VFX, is now waiting to hold the statuette a second time in four years.

As part of the `Life of Pi’ team, he was one of the privileged ones to pick up the Oscar when it was brought down to the company he works for in 2013.

“I was part of the roto-prep department in `Jungle Book’. For example, when Mowgli is moving, the animal characters shown on screen -be it Bagheera or Baloo -are in reality dummies or actors in suits.

Our job was to prepare these figures such that they can be seamlessly replaced with CGI,“ said 30-year old Abhishek.

His dream run hasn’t been smooth.Rather, it was pockmarked with hurdles.After completing a course at a Park Street centre, he boarded a train to Mumbai to try his luck and took shelter in a friend’s room, handing out pamphlets to earn a little.

Multiple interviews at animation studios later, he finally got a call and landed his first screen credit with `Tron: Legacy’ (in 2010 as digital compositor).

“When the time came to decide on a career, he said everyone is aiming to be a doctor or engineer but he wants to pursue his dream. I was scared as we had no contacts in Mumbai but he’s so strong mentally , everything has fallen into place,“ said his father Subhash Chandra Ghorui, a retired coal official.

“After Plus 2, I had taken up computer science at a college under Calcutta University . But programming didn’t attract me at all. So I decided to give VFX a go.When two of the films I has worked for were nominated, I was hopeful to be part of Oscar history . But the surreal moment came when `Life of Pi’ bagged the top prize and the statuette was brought to our office,”  Abhishek told TOI on Monday .

While he waits to get close to the golden icon, this time it could be double the dizziness. “We won the BAFTA earlier this month and it’s likely the two awards will travel together to the country,“ he said. Of course, he wouldn’t miss a photoop for the world.

A lot has changed between `Pi’ and `Jungle book’. “I got married, for one.Then, career-wise, whereas I was an artist, I am now the show leader for my team,“ Abhishek reflected.

The Durgapur boy is now waiting for Alien: Covethe release of Ridley Scott’s ` nant’, where he is credited as a digital artist.

The legendary Scott, who has so far been nominated four times for his masterpieces ((Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down and The Martian), is yet to bag an Oscar.

Will Abhishek turn out to be his lucky charm next year?