Whether you are the chief executive, a mid level artist or a budding talent in AVGC-XR segment, Bengaluru GAFX 2024 has something for everyone. The three-day gathering of industry stakeholders and enthusiastic young crowd makes this event one of its kind.
The second day of GAFX delved deep into the burning topics of emerging technology, future of AVGC education and showcased the making of successful films like Nimona, Jurrasic World and Kannada blockbuster Charlie 777.
The day commenced with a special session by DNEG on “Animation of Oscar Nominated movie Nimona.” The speakers from DNEG were Annie nominated animation lead Toby Seale, DNEG India creative director Phillipe Gluckmann and executive producer Narendra Deshpande.
Seale shared how Nimona met with a sudden setback after its initial development at Blue Sky Studios, its sudden closure in April 2021, Annapurna Studios coming on board and the work on the film thereafter.
In another session titled as “The future of immersive digital artistry- Panel on AR, VR and Metaverse,” Custom Technologies Strategy and New Business director Saurabh Sameer, Who VR founder and CEO Ajit Padmanav, Avataar AI co-founder and CPO Gaurav Baid and Viga Entertainment and Technology CTO and COO Sujay participated as speakers. Sameer’s company has been using augmented reality to teach various life skills (like crossing the road) to children with disorders like Autism. Padmanav creates VR experiences surrounding Indian monuments.
Baid interestingly pointed out that till now there is no true metaverse in the world as a lot needs to be done to provide pervasive and pertinent experiences with evolved hardware. Sujoy remarked that in 10 years metaverse content will be as good as today’s content that we consume on our mobile phones.
Veterans like Zebu Animation Studio creative director Viren Patil, USA’s University of the People Business Administration associate professor Dr Amrita M A, Viga Entertainment CEO Vivek Reddy, Technicolor India MPC creative director Rajarajan Ramakrishnan engaged in an interesting conversation with the session’s moderator Pure Imagination Studios chief executive of fun Joshua Wexler. The key takeaway of the session on “Cinematic Intelligence: Revolutionising film production with AI and Data Insights” was that AI is mostly used as a tool. The main idea is to collect and utilise data in real-time and also take decisions in real-time. Wexler concluded saying: come what may, creativity will always excel.
One of the most awaited sessions of Bengaluru GAFX 2024 was on “The Future of Education for AVGC.” Industry heavy-weights shared the dias with Karnataka government minister of higher education Dr. M C Sudhakar. In his keynote, he acknowledged the transformative impact of technology on cinematic experiences and highlighted the fusion of engineering technology with fine arts in the field. He shared that as the higher education minister, he is committed to crafting a curriculum that integrates these elements for aspiring individuals. Driven by the growing demand for skilled professionals, he stressed the need for a formalised education system with recognised certifications.
Stalwarts like Punnaryug founder Ashish Kulkarni, Pearl Academy dean CB Arun Kumar, Aptech business and operations SVP Easo Thampy Mathew, Jain School of Media CEO Satish Narayanan and Kionics chairman Sharat Bache Gowda were the speakers for this session. ABAI secretary B.S. Srinivas moderated the session. They all emphasised the importance of continuous learning. Kulkarni urged the government to inculcate creative arts in school in a serious manner, adding it within the framework of the marking system.
Industrial Light and Magic London senior visual effects supervisor David Vickery presented on “Prep Shoot and Post for Jurassic World.” He shared detailed presentation on scripting, storyboard, concept development and sneak of the visually enriching shots they created for the film.
VFX Masterclasses on a VFX supervisor’s role on sets, journey of an artist and students to professionals were conducted by MPC VFX supervisor Jateen Thakkar, DNEG creative operations head Payal and Folks VFX learning and development head Jayanthi. The experienced masters laid emphasis on technical proficiency, artistic eye, attention to detail, problem solving skills, collaboration & communication, time management and so on.
The day witnessed other sessions like “Bringing Lego Toys to Life,” “VFX breakdown of THE LAST OF US,” “VFX Breakdown of Kannada blockbuster film Charlie 777″ and “Making of VFX in Hollywood blockbuster – Antman & The Wasp: Quantumania,” “Making of Starwars Vision 2 : The Bandits of Golak by 88 pictures,” “Making of Chotta Bheem Live Action movie: Sneak Peek into the fascinating new avatar.”
Two state-of-the-art platforms were unveiled at GAFX. The first, Avataar Creator, was introduced by Avataar co-founder & CPO Gaurav Baid. This revolutionary Gen-AI platform is reshaping spatial storytelling, providing businesses and individuals with an unparalleled tool for enhancing product narratives through advanced AI and cutting-edge 3D technologies. Avataar’s proprietary Neural Radiance Field (Nerf) technology simplifies the creation of 3D assets tailored for e-commerce, complemented by the Creator SDK for high-fidelity rendering and interactive experiences.
The second reveal ScriptViz, was launched by Viga Entertainment CEO/co-founder Vivek Reddy. This platform presents an innovative tool that transforms the visualisation of scripts for filmmakers, screenwriters, and directors, incorporating the latest advancements in Large Language Model (LLM) technology.
Bengaluru GAFX is taking place from 29 to 31 January 2024 at Lalit Ashok.