India is one of the largest contributors of VFX in international cinema. Today, with the rise of generative AI tools and platforms such as Wonder Studio, Kapnetix, WithPoly, NVIDIA’s Omniverse, and Magic3D, the industry is on the brink of disruption, and there are concerns about job losses from AI or automation.
He has worked on major Hollywood films such as Deadpool, X-Men Apocalypse, and Spider-Man: Homecoming, including Red Chillies, Digital Domain, Phantom FX, Prana Studios, MPC, and Prime Focus. The company has been severely punished.
“Although AI is still in its infancy and has limitations, it is revolutionizing the VFX industry by increasing efficiency and providing more realistic outputs. AI is unlikely to replace humans in the VFX arena.” But AI allows VFX artists to work more efficiently,” said Keitan Yadav, Chief Operating Officer of Red Chillies Entertainment, one of India’s leading VFX makers. He said the industry is eagerly exploring the potential of AI and other emerging technologies to improve the quality of his VFX and filmmaking deliverables.
But this brings us a problem with the Indian VFX ecosystem. The key question here is whether this wave of advances in technology and tools will lead the Hollywood filmmaker to reduce his reliance on his VFX company in India, and how they will take advantage of his AI-powered tools. and start producing in-house. In response, Yadav said not everything in the industry can be automated due to the nature of the industry.
He added that global studios have already established a presence in India, attracted by the existing film industry and readily available workforce. Initially, India focused on low-level tasks, but now it is branching out into more complex tasks for both the Indian and Hollywood markets.
“Certain jobs may be sped up, but certain jobs may not be sped up. I need to be sent to India, but I think there are a lot of other VFX jobs. They will eventually continue to come to India for the reasons I mentioned earlier, and as it is never possible to fully automate, it will always be human intervention. That’s my view, I think it’s going to be a golden decade for VFX.”
Yadav believes the VFX industry will continue to grow in India because of India’s unique ecosystem, cost effectiveness and human intervention are key. He foresees a promising future for Indian animation and his AVGC (animation, visual effects, games and comics) workspace. This is being driven by government support, evolving human resources and cost advantages.
Yadav started his career as a VFX artist in 1996. He made his foray into film VFX in 2003, starting with the film ‘Main Hoon Na’ produced by Shah Rukh Khan’s company Red Chili’s Entertainment as a VFX Supervisor and VFX Producer. Red Chillies Entertainment followed in 2006 when he founded a visual effects studio called redchillies.vfx, which Yadav has helmed ever since.
Generative AI Limitations and Opportunities
Yadav said that while certain tasks can be done quickly and easily with generative AI tools, there is always demand for new, never-before-seen work. He emphasized that each project presents new challenges and the need for professional setups and levels to consistently deliver high-quality animation and VFX.
Citing Wonder Studio, he said that while promising tools were being developed, they were still in the early stages and not considered fully professional. Yadav believes that as the industry evolves, these tools will become more sophisticated, allowing VFX studios to incorporate them into their pipelines, offering many opportunities.
Yadav believes that as the industry evolves, these tools will become more sophisticated, allowing VFX studios to incorporate them into their pipelines, offering many opportunities.
He acknowledged that while AI may not provide perfect results at first, it has the potential to automate many processes that are currently done manually. He stressed that the industry is already leveraging machine learning and AI as tools, and as research and development advances, more tasks will be taken over by AI-powered software. Furthermore, he notes that the software and tools used in the VFX industry are becoming more standardized globally, and advances in AI technology will impact studios around the world, including in India.
Inside Red Chillies Studio
“The VFX industry has always been at the forefront in terms of technology and the use of the latest machines. The fastest machines, the best tools, the best software. AI/ML) has already started and is making an impact in the VFX world, so there are some pipeline software… they’re already starting to incorporate machine learning and AI to help with large projects. To do that, we automate a lot of the work that was previously done manually,” said Yadav.
“There is already some software out there, and they are also using AI…to some degree, maybe not completely, but I am confident that this use will continue to grow in the future.” he added.
At Red Chillies, Yadav explains that AI is being used to create, modify and enhance human faces, where traditional 3D modeling and sculpting methods are used to analyze real images of actors to create realistic models. I mentioned that it’s been replaced by machine learning algorithms that render. In addition, AI tools also enable face swapping and face swapping, as demonstrated in the short film “Face Swap” showing the effects of deepfakes.
Citing Disney research, Keitan said there is a lot of beauty software out there that can age or rejuvenate actors based on images from different eras. He acknowledged that while AI might not provide perfect results at first, it could potentially automate many time-consuming tasks.
“On the artistic side. Yes. There is some beauty software that basically ages and ages actors. So all the images of the actor are taken, right? His 18 years old?” to the present day and as needed.Look, ban that person, those tools are about to end,” Yadav said.
“So these are all uses of AI in our industry,” he added, noting that the use of AI will certainly automate a lot. “Of course, you’re not going to get 100% results, but they say you start getting results at 30% and then improve to 50, 60, 70. And maybe someday, You may get near-perfect results, but it will take time.”
Yadav said more tasks will be taken over by AI-powered software as research and development progresses. He points out that his VFX industry in India uses standardized software and hardware that are also used globally, and that advances in AI technology will impact studios around the world, including India. Did.
