On our first episode of the podcast ‘Technically Speaking’, Mr. Jaykar Arudra, the VFX supervisor for films like Venom, Tron, and Bombay Velvet, talks about multifarious aspects of a VFX artist’s life. He shares his personal experiences as an artist working behind the screens.
When asked about the responsibilities of a VFX supervisor, he expresses, “It is mainly about helping our teams. So especially in the context of Brahmastra or any other project, I generally start talking to the director and his team to kind of educate them. As a VFX supervisor, I would think that my first thing would be to team up really with the director, DOP, and the team. To kind of explain to them what is the process of visual effects. I need my team to understand how much time the HDR takes.”
According to him, as a VFX supervisor, he shoulders the team with good communication which is paramount. He adds, “Each department looks only at their small piece. But as a visual effects supervisor, you have to communicate with all teams. I think that’s the beauty of it. The biggest part as a VFX supervisor would be to communicate with the on-shoot teams, the director, and everyone as to what we have planned before.”
When asked about the best part of his job, here is what he has to say, “I don’t think it’s one thing. It’s like 10 things. I think it’s creative satisfaction. Creating a world, creating an image which becomes part of the storytelling process.”
On the contrary, when asked about the defects of the job, he adds, “You have different kinds of directors, clients. I have worked across a plethora of clients. Some are very specific and some are extremely vague. Some are as specific as ‘I just want four bubbles there’. It becomes a little tricky because effects have their own dynamics and you don’t want to bend the dynamics. Because it will start looking very unreal. But if someone pushes you at that, it gets a little frustrating at times.”
There are a lot of discussions about the conditions of VFX artists. The issue came to light after artists shared their situations as VFX artists on Reddit. They claimed to be underpaid and overworked. Talking about the genuineness of the subject, Mr. Jaykar Arudra said,
“Everyone needs to understand a little bit about how things work. It’s a creative field. No one’s telling you that make a square or a sphere. If I tell you to make a square it’s very clear you would make a square. There is no need for any corrections. But if I say draw a creature, it can be anything. On top of it you would have the director or a production house kind of driving that thing and giving you inputs. There is a budget for everything. But for a client, it’s only satisfaction.”
VFX is a creative field. It requires hard work and dedication. Mr. Jaykar Arudra’s experience and time in the industry make him stand out from the rest. For aspiring VFX artists, he advised, “Be passionate. Patience is very important. Because listening is an art.”
Watch the full video on Youtube. The link is given below.
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