VFX effects worked wonders to Wake Up Sid

If you thought that visual effects (VFX) were used only in hardcore action films, think again. The recently released Wake Up Sid used an ample dose of VFX in the post-production stage, whether it be for background replacement or for making a cosy moment between Ranbir Kapoor and Konkana Sen Sharma seem more romantic.

The post-production of the film was executed by Prime Focus over a period of 45 days and ran into 25 minutes (196 VFX shots). The VFX shots for the most part included techniques like digital matte painting, chroma compositing, CG rain, time lapse transitions, etc. The Prime Focus team was headed by VFX supervisor Reupal Rawal under the creative guidance of Merzin Tavaria, Creative Head, Prime Focus, and included compositors, matte painters, motion graphics artists and a small team of roto and cleanup artists.

The film's director Ayan Mukerji, who was completely new to vfx, said, "When I started off, I was unaware of the technical process and had limited knowledge on film post. From a post-production point of view, Wake Up Sid is a simple film. I think simple films are the hardest to work on. But courtesy Prime Focus, I totally enjoyed working with both the VFX and DI team and am definitely coming back to them for my next."

Here is an exclusive peek into a couple of VFX shots executed by Mumbai based post-production house Prime Focus.

This chroma shot was shot in a studio and the background was later replaced to make it look like Ranbir's pad in the film. Separate layers for the background and rain were added to make the effect look real on the big screen. Says Merzin Tavaria, "Though the composite shots looked very simple, they were quite difficult as the fore ground chroma plates had details of green plants which had to be keyed out and blended in with the back ground and the CG rain."