Showing posts with label The Greatest Of All Time. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Greatest Of All Time. Show all posts
AI use comes of age in Hindi film production
8:04 AM
From storyboarding to de-aging, new-age tools likely to save up to 30% of costs
Rajesh N Naidu (THE ECONOMIC TIMES; November 26, 2024)
Mumbai: Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) is making its presence felt in the Hindi film industry as increasing use of such technology tools would help makers not only save time but also costs - both in the pre- and post-production stages of film-making.
ET spoke to producers, directors, writers, editors, and companies that provide AI tools to gauge the penetration of AI in the industry, advantages it offers to makers and how much time and cost makers save after using such tools.
Over the next two to three years, these stakeholders estimate that 40-50% makers in the industry are likely to use AI tools in various stages of a film's production from 15-20% at present. In the same period, these stakeholders estimate that AI will help save 40% of time required for post-production of a film from 20-25% at present. In terms of costs, in the same period, they estimate that producers may be able to save 25-30% of the cost involved in the making of a film from 15-20% at present.
In the past one and a half years, makers have been increasingly using generative AI tools in the various stages of a film's production.
In the pre-production stage of a film, AI plays a critical role in improving and providing relevant information about storyboarding, graphic look, scripting, poster (stills), casting, set design, costume and reece among others.
Debashis Das, an editor and veteran post production expert, said, "Today, all big production houses in the Hindi film industry are using AI tools in the pre-production stage."
One of the early stages of film-making where AI's role begins is pitching concepts and ideas.
Siddharth Roy Kapur, founder, Roy Kapur Films, said, "Currently, I can see AI tools being used by production houses, directors and writers in pitching concepts and ideas. This enables a clearer visual representation of the written word."
RECREATING SCENES
Storyboarding (visual representation of scenes) is another key area where AI tools are used considerably.
Gokul A, founder, D.cult Studio, a company which provides AI tools and has provided AI tools to 60 films in the Malayalam language, said, “One of the time-consuming processes in the pre-production is storyboarding. For the film ‘Jodhaa Akbar’ (2008), the makers took one year for pre-production. Storyboarding took a long time. A storyboard artist will take seven to ten days for drawings. Today, with the help of AI tools, drawings of a storyboard would take eight to ten hours.”
He pointed out that AI tools provide much better output as these tools generate images with colour and lighting instead of just sketches in a storyboarding.
Besides, AI tools provide relatively right promptings about the type of camera to use, lenses, and shots. To a great extent, these tools convert 2D image to 3D. Gokul A of D.cult Studio said, “AI tools are of great help in providing a clear idea about set design. This is a key reason why it is much easier to make a period film with AI-enabled tools today.”
According to industry observers, these tasks take a long time in a shooting schedule where time is money. A senior executive of a production who wished to be unnamed said, “With the help of a proper storyboard and a team to implement AI tools, a producer can save five to eight days of shooting days. This is a good saving considering the per day cost of a shooting schedule.”
It is estimated that production cost of a day’s schedule of a Hindi film is in the range of Rs. 15-50 lakh. Girish Johar, producer and film business expert, said, “If a producer saves time, then the producer saves money. If a producer saves five to ten days of a shooting schedule because of efficient AI tools, then it is a reasonably good saving.”
In the post-production stage of film-making, AI tools are being used for dubbing, subtitling, visual effects (VFX), animation, editing, cleaning and other laborious tasks.
Mautik Tolia, managing director, Bodhitree Multimedia, a content production company, said, “This is the first phase of Generative AI, which enhances or replaces services. This is most noticeably seen in subtitling and dubbing among others.”
Recently, AI tools were used to dub the Tamil film ‘Kanguva’ in eight languages. Upgradation and improvement in language templates have made dubbing through AI tools relatively accurate. This has saved time for film-makers.
Bhavika Karwarkar, founder, Mumbai Posst House, a post production studio based in Mumbai, said, “Earlier we required three people for dubbing. Today, with the help of AI, we require one person to monitor dubbing. AI tools have a wide range of language templates which help save time in dubbing.”
She added that a lot of tasks related to the backend work done in the post-production stage of a film are being swiftly done through AI tools.
She said, “These tasks in the post-production stage of films form 15-20% of the cost of production of a film. So, one can estimate how much a producer c an save.” She estimated that in the next two to three years, 40-45% of film-makers in the Hindi film industry will use AI tools from 15-20% at present.
EDITORS’ FAVOURITE
In addition to dubbing and subtitling, AI tools help save time in editing. The time taken to create a line-up of scenes for editing has been reduced drastically, pointed out veteran editors.
Vaibhav Desai, a veteran editor and owner, Videshi, an editing studio in Mumbai, said, “Once I feed my inputs to a machine using an AI tool in the night, I have a complete lineup of my scenes the next morning. Earlier this whole exercise would take two to three days.”
In the next two to three years, filmmakers will save at least 40% of their time on post-production work as more people use AI tools and more AI tools become available, he added. At present, in the Hindi film industry, AI tools help in saving 20-25% of the time on t asks related to post-production.
A clear and big advantage AI tools have provided Hindi film-makers in recent years is in animation and VFX domains. The spate of spectacle films across languages reflect this trend.
Bhavika Karwarkar of Mumbai Posst House, said, “AI is mainly used for 2D animation and VFX among other things. This is a great advantage especially if a film has heavy VFX. With AI tools, a director and cinematographer can easily explain lighting, camera angles, and colour of a film to the crew.”
Given these advantages, the Hindi film industry has been experimenting a lot with AI tools in recent years. The much popular deaging technique is being used prominently in Hindi films. A case in point is the younger version of actor Amitabh Bachchan’s character in the film ‘Kalki 2898 AD’. Even film director duo Raj & DK used AI tools to create character sketches of their recent web series ‘Citadel: Honey Bunny’. Down south, the makers of the Tamil film ‘The Greatest Of All Time’ used AI tools to use late actor-politician Vijayakanth’s AI version in the film. In the West, AI-enabled film-making has become an accepted norm.
ON-TAP INTELLIGENCE
Suniel Wadhwa, co-founder & director, Karmic Films, said, “In the West, AI is used in every stage of a film’s making. These include scriptwriting, audience analysis, real-time virtual production and advanced post-production.”
Concurring with him, film editor Debashis Das said, “70-80% of studios in the West use AI tools. If a person from a department of film-making turns up late on a set, then the whole shooting schedule goes for a toss.”
The recently released film ‘Here’ of actor Tom Hanks, which shows a young version of Tom Hanks for the large part of the film, is an example of how well AI tools have become integral to film-making in the west. Even director Martin Scorsese’s film ‘The Irishman’ used the de-aging technique seamlessly.
Globally, according to Business Research Company, a global market intelligence firm, generative AI in movies market is estimated to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 24.1% in the next four years to reach to $0.77 billion (Rs. 6,545 crore) by 2028 from $0.32 billion (Rs. 2,720 crore) in 2024. This shows how AI tools are being rapidly adopted. Although AI tools are being used extensively, the underlying rationale behind their usage is to provide enough time to directors to focus on creative aspects of film-making.
I have never spoken to Vijay about his political entry-Prabhudheva
7:55 AM
Roopa Radhakrishnan (BOMBAY TIMES; November 15, 2024)
I’m chilled out, but I also give my 200 per cent to work,” shares Prabhudeva. The actor, who has several films in the pipeline, will next be seen playing a corpse in Jolly O Gymkhana. In a chat with us, he opens up about how his prep for dance sequences has changed over the years, and hints at his son’s entry into films...
ON PLAYING A CORPSE...
Jolly O Gymkhana will be a different kind of film. I’m acting as a corpse, but I won’t be seen stiff all the time. There are scenes in which I had to wear roller skates. During the shoot, I fell down many times and got hurt, but it’s part of the job.
ON HIS SON’S INTEREST IN THE FILM INDUSTRY…
In the last one year, my son has developed an interest in films. He is a big boy now. I don’t give him any advice, but I told him it’s important to be hardworking, sincere, and disciplined to be successful not only in the film industry but in life as well.
ON PLAYING THE ANTAGONIST IN THE GOAT…
People kept telling me, ‘Sir, you were the villain! We didn’t even imagine that.’ But there was no preparation for portraying the antagonist. The Greatest Of All Time was a full-on Vijay film. All three of us — Vijay, Prashanth and I — were happy to be working together. Prashant and I were in a holiday mood during the film’s shoot.
ON MAINTAINING HIS FITNESS AND PREPARATIONS FOR DANCING ONSCREEN…
I will have to maintain my fitness or else it will get very difficult when I dance. Sleep is also important. So, I always exercise, even when I am travelling and shooting for films. I pay attention to what I eat, and I refrain from eating after 7 pm. If I’m doing a dance number, I start getting ready 15 days prior to keep up with the young dancers. I will also go through rehearsals for two to three hours every day. A lot of effort goes into making my dance look effortless.
ON HIS FILMS NOT DOING WELL AT THE BOX OFFICE…
I am giving 200 per cent for every film, but when a film doesn’t do well, I of course wonder why. That said, I can’t keep thinking about it, so I try harder next time. The entire team gives their all, but at the end of the day, the audience is the judge. We have to accept their decision and move ahead.
ON CREATING A SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR WOMEN ON FILM SETS…
When we choreograph with 100 girls and 100 boys, we try to make it a safe workplace. Not just me, but everyone, including the director, the lightman, and the cameraman, make sure it’s a safe space for women. If there’s a problem, the team will take action. But bad instances have happened to women in some places, and this has to be corrected.
On the recent films and songs that he liked…
I recently saw Meiyazhagan and really liked it. There was something new in that film. I liked the choreography of the song Aayi Nai (Stree 2). I also like the songs that are being made in Telugu because they are very elaborate.
On Vijay’s political entry…
Vijay has taken the decision, and it is his wish. My conversations with him have always been about simple matters. We have never spoken about his political entry.
Fenil's Bollywood Talk # 846
11:06 PM
EMERGENCY POSTPONED; NO NEW RELEASES FOR BOLLYWOOD; VIJAY’S THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME TO DOMINATE
After a period of no significant releases, the Hindi film industry was gearing up for the release of a major film, Kangana Ranaut’s Emergency, on September 6. But on September 1, the makers of the film decided to postpone its release indefinitely. This was done after the Central Board of Film Certificate withheld the certificate. There is also a court case on the film as there are allegations that the film might hurt a section of society.
Meanwhile, Thalapathy Vijay’s The Greatest of All Time was released in cinemas today, that is, September 5. It took an earth-shattering opening in the Tamil version and collections are expected to be around Rs. 50 crores. Interestingly, in Mumbai, there were shows at 4:00 am and 5:00 am in many cinemas and almost all of them were sold out.
Often, biggies down South open strongly and then fall if the reports are not positive. But if word of mouth is encouraging, it’ll go on to do huge business. The response to The Greatest of All Time seems positive and it seems like it’ll do well. But since the response is not out of the world, it’ll fall at some point, maybe on the weekdays. However, by then, it’ll manage to become a success. This is Thalapathy Vijay’s second last film and hence, the excitement is even more for this flick.
The Hindi version is titled Thalapathy Is The G.O.A.T. and has also been released today. However, the buzz for it is very low and it collected around Rs. 1.50-2 crores. But often, dubbed versions of South films open slowly and then pick up if the film has been liked. Moreover, there’s no competition other than Stree 2. Hence, many theatres have also given the film a good showcasing.
Stree 2, meanwhile, continues its dream run. It collected Rs. 494.54 crores until Wednesday. It’ll now enter the Rs. 500 crore club on Friday, September 6. With little competition until October 2, there’s now a high chance that it’ll cross the collections of Jawan and emerge as the biggest Hindi grosser ever!
After a period of no significant releases, the Hindi film industry was gearing up for the release of a major film, Kangana Ranaut’s Emergency, on September 6. But on September 1, the makers of the film decided to postpone its release indefinitely. This was done after the Central Board of Film Certificate withheld the certificate. There is also a court case on the film as there are allegations that the film might hurt a section of society.
Meanwhile, Thalapathy Vijay’s The Greatest of All Time was released in cinemas today, that is, September 5. It took an earth-shattering opening in the Tamil version and collections are expected to be around Rs. 50 crores. Interestingly, in Mumbai, there were shows at 4:00 am and 5:00 am in many cinemas and almost all of them were sold out.
Often, biggies down South open strongly and then fall if the reports are not positive. But if word of mouth is encouraging, it’ll go on to do huge business. The response to The Greatest of All Time seems positive and it seems like it’ll do well. But since the response is not out of the world, it’ll fall at some point, maybe on the weekdays. However, by then, it’ll manage to become a success. This is Thalapathy Vijay’s second last film and hence, the excitement is even more for this flick.
The Hindi version is titled Thalapathy Is The G.O.A.T. and has also been released today. However, the buzz for it is very low and it collected around Rs. 1.50-2 crores. But often, dubbed versions of South films open slowly and then pick up if the film has been liked. Moreover, there’s no competition other than Stree 2. Hence, many theatres have also given the film a good showcasing.
Stree 2, meanwhile, continues its dream run. It collected Rs. 494.54 crores until Wednesday. It’ll now enter the Rs. 500 crore club on Friday, September 6. With little competition until October 2, there’s now a high chance that it’ll cross the collections of Jawan and emerge as the biggest Hindi grosser ever!
(Crisp) Movie Review: THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME by FENIL SETA
1:10 PM
The Greatest Of All Time is a mass action entertainer and keeps one engaged from start to finish despite a run time of 3 hours. The first half has its share of comedy along with action and even emotional scenes. A lot happens in this part of the film and makes for an entertaining watch. The twist in the interval is unexpected and sets up for a dramatic second half. Sadly, after intermission, logic takes a backseat and things happen at convenience. The music is poor and so is the placement of songs. Also, with a title like this, one expects 'the greatest film' but that surely doesn't happen. The climax thankfully makes for a good watch. The mid-credit scene is totally unnecessary. Thalapathy Vijay as expected rocks the show. The younger Vijay, especially, is quite impressive. Prabhu Dheva has minimal screen time but has a crucial part and does well. Prashanth (Sunil) and Jayaram (Naseer) leave a mark. Sneha and Meenakshi Chaudhary lend able support. Mohan (Menon) is okay. Yogi Babu as expected raises laughs. All in all, The Greatest Of All Time is a timepass film and could have been better.
My rating - *** out of 5!
My rating - *** out of 5!
After a long break, more Indian films being screened and shot in Russia
8:56 AM
Anumeha Chaturvedi (THE ECONOMIC TIMES; May 25, 2024)
Several generations of Russians grew up watching subtitled Indian films and were floored by Raj Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborty, Hema Malini and Shah Rukh Khan years ago. Now, after a gap of about three decades, industry players and authorities are working to reignite the old cultural affiliation through Indian films by increasing film shoots and screenings of Indian films in Russia.
Film production and distribution companies and government officials in Russia are looking to attract Indian filmmakers and films now that Hollywood films are absent in Russia following the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Sarfaraz Alam Safu, who runs Kartina Entertainment, a line production company for Indian films in Russia and CIS countries, said Indian filmmakers are showing increasing interest and parts of some recent films including Sardar Udham, Pathaan, Tiger 3 and JugJugg Jeeyo were shot there.
“I am also working on a film, which is a biopic of Rakesh Sharma (the first Indian in space) to be shot here, which will be produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur,” Safu said. “Companies such as Dharma Productions, Excel Entertainment, Emmay Entertainment, Rohit Shetty Productions, and many more are in touch with us for several projects,” he added.
Local authorities are hoping to attract more Indian filmmakers this year through discounted production costs.
“We are now like the front office or supermarket of any services for filmmakers, as we are trying to cut their production expenses as much as possible by offering a low price to shoot here,” said Evgeny Kozlov, first deputy head of the office of the mayor and the government of Moscow. Upcoming Tamil action film ‘The Greatest Of All Time’ last month became the first foreign film to be shot as part of the ‘Moscow-City of Cinema’ programme that provides subsidies to filmmakers.
“I hope we will see several Bollywood projects from India being shot this year in Moscow,” Kozlov said. “We have started working deeply with Bollywood firms to invite Bollywood filmmakers to the Moscow cinema cluster. My colleagues from the Moscow Department of Culture who are responsible for attracting filmmakers are also trying to establish connections with Bollywood filmmakers.” Kozlov is also the chairman of the Moscow City Tourism Committee.
Meanwhile, more Indian films are being screened across Russia as Hollywood blockbusters, which have been mostly ruling Russian cinemas post the collapse of Soviet Union in the early 1990s, are no longer released in Russia.
Besides Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Indian films are being screened in over 40 locations in the country including Arkhangelsk, Belgorod, Kazan, Penza, Saratov, Tula, Ulyanovsk, and Cheboksary.
Mirzoyan Karen Rudolfovich, a general producer of Indian films in Russia, said he is hoping Indian films will capture about 20% of the Russian films market in the next four to five years, up from less than 5% now. “Hollywood made a lot of investments in popularizing their actors in Russia. That’s missing for Indian films,” said Rudolfovich, who has been working on Indian projects for the past eight years.
“We work with production houses such as Red Chillies and Dharma Productions, and our company purchases the rights of Indian films to screen them in Russia,” he said.
Abhishek Anand, a Russian language translator and interpreter who also acted in a recent Indian film shot in Russia, said the older generation of Russians have a totally different emotion for Indians as they were very fond of actors such as Raj Kapoor. “But films such as Pathaan, Pushpa, Bahubali and RRR have also done well here,” he said. “Pathaan was shot here and there is a Russian dialogue in the film that resonated very well with the audience here,” Anand added.
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