Vfx merges Chandni Chowk with Times Square in Delhi-6 : Bollywood News

Can you share with us any complex shots from Delhi 6?

Probably the most complicated shot was where three different plates were stitched together for a 360 degree in Times Square. This shot has Sonam and Abhishek in cycle rickshaws coming towards the camera as it pans with her. They both go past the camera... then there is a dolly zoom, so the backgrounds keeps changing. Further, the camera continues to come off them, goes right and you see the inhabitants of Delhi worshipping a cow. Meanwhile the camera keeps panning around, and you see Sonam and Abhishek entering the frame again.

This was the most complex shot because, a) it was a very long shot, b) it was made up of three different shots which were stitched together to be able to do the 360 degree pan, to make it look like the camera never cut.

Another shot involved putting mid town Manhattan behind the CG empire state building while the camera orbits around it. This was entirely made up as a 2.5 D technique. Each building was very low resolution geometry with high resolution textures and care was taken to ensure that enough parallax was visible during the orbit by placing the buildings in correct 3D space. Traffic, lights, etc. were added.

Most of the shots were designed and worked in the camera field of view only. This made the process cost effective and iterative.

Do you see Bollywood opting for visual effects as a cost-saving measure?

Visual effects arent really only about cost-cutting; it is about telling stories. So if you have a story where vfx are pertinent, they are a viable means of production. Although, typically most of the vfx in the Indian film industry is about green screen or chroma. But thats just the basics of vfx and the tip of the iceberg.

We hope to see filmmakers moving beyond green screen and wire removal as the staple vfx. Environments, creatures, natural phenomenon, digital doubles, etc. and their intelligent use in story ideas will happen with adequate time and budget given to pre-production to plan and execute. There are no short cuts and to execute well, you have to plan and prepare well.

Why havent vfx-driven films worked on box office?

I dont think vfx is what determines whether a film does well or not. A film has to have a compelling story and structure. I am not an expert on what works in India and what doesnt work but I believe cutting edge vfx supporting a good story will succeed. Its about quality and not quantity of shots in a film. However, adequate time and budget are required. You get what you pay for is an accurate age old adage. There are no short cuts and to execute cutting edge work well, you need to know what youre doing and how youre going to do it, keeping the entire production process in mind from pre-production to the digital intermediate (DI) in mind.