The India branch of Visual Effects Society (VES) held its offline meetup recently in the Mumbai and Chennai cities. The Mumbai meetup was organised by VES India chairperson Rutul Patel, while the one in Chennai was organised by VES India board member and secretary Praveen Kumar.
VES is an international honourary society that represents the full breadth of visual effects practitioners. The society has 5,000 members in more than 45 countries that contribute to film, television, commercials, animation, special venues, games and new media. The society has allowed for the creation of local sections to fulfill its mission and serve its global membership, giving birth to an India section in 2017.
“When I joined VES in 2017, we had 50 members and now we have 85 plus,” said Patel, who is also the CEO of Digital District India. “In 2017, VES India had two women; now it has eight to 10 and I am hoping that number will grow post this drive. I believe we now have more diversity in the mix of members than we did in 2017.”
The meetup in Mumbai which took place in Bandra, saw about 25 people while that in Chennai was attended by 33 people, including existing as well as potential VES India members. These members comprised artists who are either working for a studio or working independently.
VFX supervisor Ronak Sanghadia, who is a VES India member and attended the Mumbai meetup said, “It was wonderful meeting the best people from the VFX industry. I enjoyed chatting with the VES members and non-members from the creative, production and technical segments.” Rohit Ranjan, the founder/CEO of R2VFX Studios who joined VES India last year added, “VES is community with the major industry veterans. It is always good to connect with each other, explore opportunities for working together and exchange knowledge.” Natalie Millar Jadhav, phantomFX’s executive producer and a VES member since November 2021, exclaimed, “I had a great time – inspiring and interesting conversations with a whole range of people in the VFX industry. It motivates me and makes me feel connected.”
“I learned about VES India through a friend who works as a VFX supervisor. The positive experiences and the opportunity to connect with other members from the Los Angeles chapter piqued my interest in joining the society,” said Film Engineers founder Vivek Kandasamy, who is a potential VES India member. “Yesterday’s meetup was fantastic. It was enlightening to engage with like-minded professionals and discuss our shared passions.” Another potential member Vruti Pandya wishes to join the India section to make her contribution to the VFX industry. Pandya, who is a senior VFX coordinator at Netflix said,
About the Chennai meetup, Kumar said, “Our existing members invited colleagues with at least five years of experience in the VFX industry, and discussed with them what the society is about, how they can join and the benefits they get out of VES. It was a great chance to catch up with fellow people like Yogalakshmi Sundaram, Priyanka Balasubramanian, Balakrishnan, Pinto, Harish Ram, Shankar Natarajan, Jaikishan Vyas and Senthil.”
Highlighting the benefits of joining VES, Pankaj Verma (Mumbai), who has been in the industry for 18 years and is currently an FX supervisor at DNEG said, “Lot of people do not know how to reach to other professionals in the field. VES provides the opportunity to network and reach out to likeminded people not just in India but globally. Apart from that, members get subscriptions to world-class magazines, online education material, webinars and seminars, free movie screenings, and the opportunity to judge Before-After clips for the VES awards. And all these are not restricted to your home country but if you travel anywhere where VES section is present, you can utilise these benefits there too.”
Over the past year, VES India has undertaken several initiatives. “We kicked off January 2023 with the VES Awards nomination event hosted at Netflix,” shared VES India co-chairperson and Cineom executive director Priyan Parab (Mumbai).
Last year, VES collaborated with Famous Studios in Mahalaxmi, Mumbai for their theatre space, enabling international movie screeners, akin to premieres, for VES members and their families and friends, occurring every Saturday. In March and September 2023, they successfully conducted their Membership Drive and Meet & Greet event. Finally, they forged a community partnership at the VFX Summit (part of IndiaJoy) in Hyderabad. This collaboration provided its members with exclusive discounts on entry passes.
The benefit of such meetups is that people get to “network with a variety of VFX industry professionals and exchange ideas and knowledge. I have benefited a lot from all VES events,” revealed Patel. Verma added, “These meetups build a sense of community. In-person meets help in building relations and allowing members to share their experience being part of VES India.”
“We all need a group, home or common place where like minded and same field people can connect. We can share our issues, knowledge and opportunities. VES has been a great platform for this. It is a strong global society, bringing together VFX professionals from around the world,” said Asmita Madhu, who is an independent VFX, animation and gaming producer.
“VES is a great way to meet people from our industry because otherwise we only know our colleagues and ex-colleagues,” said Jadhav. Such events not only celebrate the craft of VFX but also prove to be a valuable forum for gaining industry insights, understanding current trends, and anticipating future developments, pointed Parab. And there is a lot more to come from VES India in the coming years, promised Patel.
For those interested in applying for VES India membership, the application deadline is 15 March 2024. The applicants must have five years of experience in the industry in the past 10 years, and need a recommendation from a current VES member.
