Industry veteran Virendra Chauhan has joined 88 Pictures as VP production and operations. Spanning over illustrious career of three decades with robust experience across creative and production management, Chauhan is an eminent personality in the Indian animation industry.
88 Pictures founder and CEO Milind Shinde said, “We have always talked about disruption and our endless efforts to reach to the moon. This stands true in the kind of brand I am trying to build or type of super challenging projects we do combined with world class infrastructure. We are building a very artist friendly creative work culture here. This very philosophy also extends in the type of people I want to get on board to further build our brand stronger and larger. Virendra is a rare blend of highly accomplished creative talent combined with apt production management mentality which is not only ‘fast+affordable+good’ but also a very artist friendly and empathetic in nature.
Chauhan began his career as a generalist and then went on to direct some well-known ad films, and then moved on to become a VFX supervisor working on numerous TV series and live action films. He was one of the key architects for one of the biggest studios of that time, Crest Animation, playing a vital role in taking the studio from mere 20 artists to 700+ artists by 2004. In his role as a creative director, Chauhan spearheaded many international projects and managed creative and technical sectors with an acute sense of production making him a strong force to beacon with.
In 2008 Chauhan moved to work with Dreamworks Animation when they decided to have a presence in India. He was a key member of the core group responsible for setting up DreamWorks dedicated unit in Bangalore, India. In his eight-year stint there, Chauhan went on to work on some of the best feature film projects including Boss Baby, Trolls, Kung Fu Panda 3, Madagascar3, Home, Penguins of Madagascar, Puss in Boots.
Virendra commented, “Film making journey gives me high where passionate group of people from all walks of life such as creative, technocrats, operations, support, come together with a single goal to create a product of endless passion, art and creativity. I have been fortunate to be a part of this journey so far and my next move had to be the one which not only challenges me to next level but also satisfies my desires to do more and offer more whatever I have learned so far in my career.
Besides animation, Chauhan’s last stint comes from the VFX world. He was tasked to set up the Technicolor Production Services (TIPS) for the MILL Ad Films and MrX (VFX for feature and television) where he played a role of head of production taking the studio form a count of 175+ artists in a span of 15 months, working on feature films like Goosebumps 2, CREED 2, Vikings S6 and series of Unfortunate Events season3 to name a few.
“88 Pictures is one of the best studios in the horizon today where the management has a single minded focus of creating a world class studio that not only creates the best shows but also nurtures the best talent giving them creative freedom. I think artistic environment is a key to create and motivate people to produce world class product which 88 Pictures very much has in its DNA. I genuinely believe happy people can create happy contents. I see a lot of happy faces here and I need to create many more!” Chauhan concluded.
Chauhan likes to spend time following his passion apart from work which includes photography, reading, trekking and outdoor sports.
