ndiantelevision.com Team

(14 August 2006 4:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Visual Computing Labs (VCL), a division of Tata
Elxsi, provided the Visual Effects (VFX) for Karan Johar's third directorial venture -Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (KANK)-.starring Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Preity Zinta, Abhishek Bachchan and Kiron Kher in pivotal roles.

The movie was shot over a 90-day stint in the USA and a few on four large sets in Mumbai's studios.

"This is VCL's second project for Dharma Productions, having worked with them earlier on Kal Ho Na Ho. In KANK,VCL has executed more than 45 minutes of effects work" said VCL head K.Chandrashekhar.

Says Visual Computing Labs, Tata Elxsi Creative Director Pankaj Khandpur, "The most outstanding work in the multi starrer movie was the creation of a Computer Graphic Image (CGI) football stadium and the neighboring city in the aerial views. It is for the first time in India that the creation of thousands of stadium crowds in all the long-shots was all done in computer graphics!"

"The creation of CGI crowds in the stadium was particularly challenging as we were combining CGI characters in the distance with existing live-action actors in the foreground. Each of the CGI 'agents' had to reflect the same level of movement and excitement as the live-action actors, so that both types of 'actors' could blend seamlessly in the same shot's. Even the relative clothing, hair etc. had to be similar! Apart from the blending, the biggest challenge was rendering a crowd of 75,000 people in CG, each in complete 3D, with clothes, caps, shoes, and even tubs of popcorn!" he further added.

All the environment effects like snow and rain for many of the scenes,
including depicting the 'changing' of seasons in real time were created in CG by VCL An important requirement was to ensure the seamless integration from one scene to the other; this required the creation of 'matched' trees, as well as matching the 'grounds' of various shots, and the creation of freshly fallen digital 'snow' in the Shahrukh shot. This was challenging considering the individual shots had been shot at different locations, and at different times, weeks apart from each other.

Apart from animation for the movie and the film logo, VCL has designed the opening credits of the film, as well as many minutes of 'hidden' effects: cosmetic fixes, embellishment, transitions, and day-for-night effects.

Visual Computing Labs, a division of Tata Elxsi Ltd, is a creative facility offering animation, gaming and special effects for the global entertainment and broadcast industry. Headquartered in Bangalore, Visual Computing Labs is a unique mix of engineering and creative skills, which provides solutions from scripting, pre/post production, character modelling & Animation, VFX and Development services among others.