The second day of GAFX 2017 was dotted with talks and presentations from stalwarts all across. While almost all the sessions were met with equal importance, clearly, one session was the winner in terms of attendance and enthusiasm.
Makuta VFX, co-founder, Pete Draper was present at the venue for a session displaying the VR property of the path-breaking franchise – S.S. Rajmouli’s magnum opus, Baahubali. The film shattered previous records becoming the first Indian feature to gross Rs 1000 crore worldwide.
Before the session even began, the Grand Ballroom of Lalit Ashok, Bengaluru was overflowing with attendees so much so, that there was a huge queue outside the entrance who were gradually being ushered into the hall.
Draper showcased some moments from the creation of the VR property of Baahubali titled ‘The Sword of Baahubali’. The experience has been generated by using Amazon Lumberyard and built in a partnership with AMD / Raedon. It has been optimised for HTC Vive.
The speaker also disclosed how if the movement is too rapid, some VR videos make him nauseous, which was the case with the initial test experiences for Baahubali’s VR apparently. The same was shared by the director himself, according to Draper. However, it was later slowed down.
The test rig for the shoot had 24 cameras, all attached to a 3D printed rig, with a single controller. The VR version is kind of an extended version of the Baahubali universe and it will not spoil the movie for the people who have not watched it yet, just like its official game created by Moonfrog Labs.
An audio launch through VR has also been made with real-time stitching. As both the films are shown 25 years apart, a lot of amendments had to be done to make it seem believable.
The process for the creation of the VR experience was an exhaustive one, Draper said as almost all, even secondary characters, territories and even guards were scanned for lighting references. Even some of the territories were created exclusively for ‘The Sword of Baahubali’ and not picked up from either of the movies. However, some assets were shared from the film, like the elephant from the first part of the feature. According to him, the conversion of assets was huge.
The makers have also released a 3D video of the making of the VR property. The test video was a live 360 degree video which was used as promotional material. The pre-rendered solution apparently put forth limited output resolution, fixed travel locations and was baked with no degree of head or body position.
Another session showcasing the VFX creation of ‘Baahubali: The Conclusion’ will be presented by Draper tomorrow. We will update you on that soon enough!