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

Mumbai and Los Angeles-based visual effects biggie Prana Studios recently completed few complex shots for Rakeysh Omprakash Mehras Delhi 6. Prana has also been actively involved in working for some of the biggest international animation/vfx movies.

In an exclusive interview Samir Hoon, President-Visual Effects, Prana, talks about Delhi 6, his working relationship with Rakeysh Mehra and the vfx scenario in India.

With over 17 years of experience working on Hollywoods biggest blockbusters including 101 Dalmatians, Jurassic Park: Lost World, Jurrasic Park III, Terminator III, Star Wars Episode III, XXX, Pirates of the Caribbean III, Samir Hoon joined Prana Studios in 2007 to head its VFX division with the goal of bringing cutting-edge visual effects to Bollywood.

How many shots has Prana done for Delhi 6?

We did about 50-odd shots, primarily relating to the New York sequences.

How was your experience of working with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra?

I enjoyed working with Rakeysh. He explained what he had in mind and then DOP Binod, he and I sat down and figured out what we were trying to achieve. I got them to start doing some storyboards and we took over at a later stage. Then we did a pre-visualization, which told us how big our set needed to be. They had a green screen set built to specifications in Madh Island. Everyone involved with principal shoot, including the choreographer had a very clear idea of exactly what the intent and requirements of the shoot were. Following the shoot, we spent 3-4 days in New York, shooting digital stills, aerial plates and HD footage needed for the shots.

What is Rakeyshs understanding of visual effects?

I know that he understands enough about the process (of visual effects). Also the great thing about him was that he trusted us completely and let us lead them through the process from start to finish. He and his team were committed to the process and locked their edits and sequences prior to us commencing the shots. It was a true collaboration.

Rakeysh has also evinced interest in animationâ€¦

We have talked about a couple of things including a script that Rakeysh has. I really like the script especially since its a vfx heavy film.

Rakeysh does have interest in animation as well, and that is also one of the things Prana does very well. Yes we have discussed - I cant go into specifics - but we have talked about working together. We enjoyed working with each other, so we definitely see ourselves working together again.