Be it VFX or Post Production outfits, investing in Digital Intermediate Infrastructure and Equipment is the in-thing these days. But DI as a complete creative excercise is just beginning to evolve and many argue that there is a lot more potential that can be achieved from this technique as the entire pipeline as well as the men behind the machines start gaining in experience.
Headquartered in Bandra, Mumbai, and having its branches in Dubai and London, Rajtaru Studios is in the process of setting up a spanking new DI pipeline.
Speaking to Animation ‘xpress, Rajtaru Chairman Ramesh Agarwal said,”We believe that a digital intermediate color grading system is one link in the entire DI pipeline. The Film scanner and Recorder as well as the technique in which the scanning and recording is done matters a lot too”
Continuing, he added,”At Rajtaru besides 2 Discreet Lustre systems we also are in the midst of installing one of the most advanced film scanners, Imagica (which was used by WETA Digital for LOTR) and the Fury Film Recorder (from Cellco). The usual scanner cum telecines actually scan at 1k and interpolate the scan to give a 2k output. Most studios today use those kind of scanners as it is a cost effective way of doing things. But we have invested in a standalone scanner because of its true 2K & 4K scanning capabilities, no interpolation involved”
“When it comes to film recording, one has to keep in mind that Film is in reality an analog data and the entire projection process (majority) is an analog one, being a play of light on negative. Hence we have opted for Fury which is based on CRT technology which is analogue and more true to film”
Sharing some more technical details, Tarun Agarwal Joint MD Rajtaru Studios quipped,” We also have a Background Renderfarm and a Backburn integrated within our DI system to ensure real time modifications and for any change in content to reflect automatically across all the editing and VFX systems”
The new DI pipeline at Rajtaru is to be supervised by Mohan who has worked at WETA Digital during the Lord Of The Rings.
The studio recently concluded work on prestigous mega budget short film entitled ‘Kaala’ for Middle East Royalty. The film features 8 minutes of high realism 3D and involves some great artistry and compositing. Close to 35 artists worked long hours for over 2 months to create this work of art.