Beyond the veil of Pentafour’s animated Sinbad

DECEMBER 20: Saturday. Sterling. 5 pm. An unusually large number of adults have arrived for the screening of an animation film. Many of th...

DECEMBER 20: Saturday. Sterling. 5 pm. An unusually large number of adults have arrived for the screening of an animation film. Many of these are well-known faces from leading IT companies. But then, this isn’t just any other animation film it’s Sinbad: Beyond the Veil of Mists, a film which has created a number of firsts using the unbeatable combination of talent and technology.

For one, it was done in a record eighteen months as opposed to the usual two years and more. Two: the expenditure was surprisingly low. The average cost for such productions is around $ 40 million, but in this case it was only $ 14 million. How was this achieved? For those who are well-aware of the quality work of Indians, the answer is simple: it was made in India.

The more complex explanation is that it was done using motion capture technology’ which reduced both time and cost by a third. It also made Sinbad the world’s first full-length 3D performance animation film.

Elaborates V Chandrasekaran, CMD of Pentafour Software and Exports Ltd which made the film, “Ninety-five per cent of animation movies are 2D. The rest are 2D converted to 3D. What we have done for the first time is capture the motion of real human beings and apply it to digitally created 3D models.” The technology to make this possible was developed in-house by Pentafour. The production was done on Silicon Graphics workstations, high-end computer systems, that creative shops swear by.

“The motion capture ensures near life-like action and adventure,” says Prasad V Medury, managing director of SGI-India (formerly Silicon Graphics Inc India). The achievement earned Pentafour a top number three ranking in multimedia guru Robi Roncarelli’s 1998 list of animation and special effects leaders. It was placed ahead of industry greats Pixar (A Bug’s Life) and SKG Dreamworks (Antz). The ranking is an achievement which is surpassed only by Lucas Digital (Star Wars) and Disney Studios.

Following this, lots more orders have started arriving at Pentafour’s door. "In this field you get noticed late and accepted fast," says Chandrasekaran. His company is now working on a film on the Pandavas (to be completed in March 2000) and another on Alibaba and the Forty Thieves (June 2000). A TV serial based on the Panchatantra tales is also on the cards. All three projects will tap Pentafour’s expertise in 3D motion capture technology.By making it to the Roncarelli’s rankings, Pentafour has clearly established that Indian companies have the right recipe for Hollywood production houses. Now it remains to be seen if Hollywood takes the bait and starts looking seriously at India to outsource its special effects and animation requirements.