Endhiran, Jeans, Pandavas, Athadu, Sainikudu has one in common; Alagarsamy Mayan

CG Today : You had an opportunity to work with the veteran filmmaker, Mr. Shankar for two of his films, ‘Endthiran’ and ‘Jeans’. How has working with Mr.Shankar influenced you?

Alagar : I have worked with Mr. Shankar on many past projects like Jeans, Mudhalvan, Nayak, Boys and Shivaji. He is one of the most creative and dynamic directors I have worked with. He is focused and when it comes to work, ‘No compromise’ is his principle.

CG Today : You have won the National Award for best Visual Effects Movie in 1998 for the film Jeans. It’s more than a decade now; can you compare the technology of those days with your current project?

Alagar : I was a part of the National award winning project ‘Jeans’. Under my leadership, my team worked on more than 25 minutes of VFX in that movie. I think, concept-wise nothing much has changed, but the nature of work and pipeline differs now. The latest technology, in terms of speed, advancement, software, hardware etc. has advanced a lot. I think that the availability of experienced talent has also made a difference now.

CG Today : What would you say is the greatest challenge VenSat faces technically in the next year?

Alagar : VenSat is technologically strong and a quality conscious company. One key differentiators among many would be our delivery pipeline, which can cater to large, medium and micro screen projects (Film, TV & PC, Mobile and iphone).

CG Today : What is the current project going on at Vensat, can you share with us?

Alagar : Privacy policies prevent me from sharing details about the projects that VenSat is working on. We have Non-Disclosure Agreements with most of our international and domestic clients.

CG Today : You spent ten years at Penta Media Graphics, Ltd. Was this a good beginning job for you in terms of learning more about animation and film-making?

Alagar : Working with Penta Media graphics was certainly an enriching experience as I started my career there as a photoshop artist. When I moved out I was the General Manager wherein, I developed my business network, both domestically and internationally.

CG Today : How do you find the new young talent in the areas of VFX and Animation? Is there a large employee pool available now in India?

Alagar : The young Indian talent is promising. We have creative skills which can be further honed and channelized. The current talent pool is acquired from multimedia Institutes, fine Arts colleges, etc. An Industry - Academia relationship needs to be built and strengthened.

CG Today : What’s your favorite VFX movie and why does this one make the top of the list?

Alagar : Jurassic Park tops my list, and there’s an interesting reason why it is my favorite. It was after watching this movie as a student, I got fascinated with Animation and decided to make my career in this industry. Admittedly, that was the defining moment of my career.

CG Today : What is the best avenue for young artists to take if they want to become VFX supervisors?

Alagar : If an artist is creative and innovative, then he has the potential to become a successful VFX supervisor. In parallel, he needs to be up-to-date in terms of technical ability. Nowadays, the expectations of our film directors are huge and the VFX supervisors need to hit the ground running.

CG Today : Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule for us, Mr. Alagarsamy. Is there anything you would like to share with our CG Today readers?

Alagar : As an artist, my advice to the aspiring artist is to keep themselves updated in terms of technology, watch high quality films, and discuss them with colleagues / supervisors.

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Alagarsamy Mayan - Global Delivery Head,
VenSat Tech Services Pvt Ltd

Chennai, India.

Website : Vensat

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