Today we're talking with Amal from Luma Pixels Studios. Luma Pixels is a production house working out of India that has been working on some pretty cool projects. They recently completed visual effects work on a music video for artist HIRO for their song "Aneanti." We had the pleasure of interviewing them about their production process and learned what it took to bring the music video to life.
Amal Singha
Q: Thanks for being willing to answer some questions! To start, can you tell us a little about Luma Pixels Studios?
Luma Pixels Studios is a production/post-production studio based out of the North-Eastern part of India. We started out as a VFX/animation freelancing team back in 2014. We evolved into a production house that creates content for the entertainment market. Our services include production and post-production tasks delivered with great quality and under decent schedules.
Luma Pixels Studios' recent work on "Aneanti" was rendered using Blendergrid during post-production. You can watch the music video (with more than half a million views on YouTube) here:
Q: You mentioned that the music video "Aneanti" was a collaboration between your studio and video's director Shelis Alix; what was it like collaborating on this project?
Well, to be honest, the experience with Shelis is one of a kind. Every time we come together to work on a project, it's always fascinating, interesting, and has proper planning. I guess a proper plan is what makes anyone's life easier, and Shelis is good at that.
Q: Can you walk us through your workflow on this project, from conception to production and final release?
Initially, we were provided with frame grabs from different YouTube videos that the team thought would fit best with the narrative of the song. We were then asked to prepare different scenarios in which we could seamlessly integrate the singer/actors in the CG environments. After a few iterations, we finalized the look, and everyone was very happy with it.
Q: A lot of the VFX in the music video is pretty subtle and integrated deeply into live-action footage. What challenges did that pose?
The best part was the single source lights which helped us put CG light sources at the right position, which helped sell the idea that the characters are, in fact, in that environment, which of course, is the hardest in Visual Effects.
Q: The topic of this interview is obviously the work you've done on French artist Hiro's music video. But to add context, what other kinds of 3d projects do you work on?
Our works range from music videos to using 3D & VFX in commercials and Films, both feature & short. They are always awesome to work on as they involve a lot of brainstorming, and almost every time, there is something new to learn.
Q: How do you use Blender in your workflow? Are there any other tools that you use in conjunction with Blender?
For the CG part, Blender is the main go-to application that we deploy. We mostly try to do almost everything in Blender, even compositing and editing. For complex works like simulations and particle dynamics, we resort to tools like FumeFx, Rayfire, etc. One can even do video editing in Blender; I mean, hey?
Q: What made your team pick Blender over other tools?
The answer is its free nature of accessibility/availability and the all-in-one integration of almost everything a 3D/VFX pipeline needs.
Q: What challenges did you deal with (technical or creative) on this project, and how did you overcome them?
The challenges were mostly solved by saving time by investing in Blendergrid. That was one main challenge, overcoming the heavy CPU usage and saving rendering times.
Q: How do you use Blendergrid? What render engine do you use?
We use the Cycles render engine through Blendergrid. The dynamic price quote is what I love the most. Everything is almost real-time.
Q: What's next for the studio?
We are working on our original content and will definitely need services from Blendergrid again. It will be a short film Titled "49", a story set in a near-distant future.
Thanks for sharing with us! You can find more of Luma Pixels Studios work on their website and social media by visiting the links below: