Both parts of Baahubai have been a treat to one's senses, and the key to that has been nothing but special effects and VFX! By no means has it been a small part! VFX and special effects have dominated each and every inch of these films.
Here are 6 unique things about these films:
Point # 1: The majority of Bahubali's visual effects were "made in India"! Yes, an astounding 90% of the work was done in India by Indian VFX technicians and specialists who were highly regarded even by Hollywood.
In fact, in some circles, Bahubali has a higher VFX rating than Hollywood blockbusters like 300! We will only see more, better, and grander things coming from India in the future! Even a song from the film, "Bahubali Manohari," became famous, as did the people who appeared in it, including dancers Gabriela Bertante, Scarlett Wilson, and Nora Fatehi!
Point # 2: Broad application of LIDAR (LIght Detection And Ranging): LIDAR is used to see what RADAR is listening for! And this technology was used extensively for the first time in this film. It is costly, but it produces results!
And they did it in a fraction of the time it would take to map the city and show it in 3D. LIDAR completed the job in less than a week, scanning the city's topography digitally with high, high accuracy, which will help digitally enhance parts of the city when and where needed.
Point # 3: Use Animatronics liberally! When you combine animation and electronics, you get science that mimics the movements of animals so that they appear real. These were used extensively in Bahubali because the film itself had ample and more scope to do so. Animal movements were thus captured in their most natural forms, whether walking, running, or fighting!
And this is precisely where the film Bahubali excelled! In making things appear to be real. Very, very genuine! Elephants are enormous, and making them dance to one's music can be a massive undertaking. Elephants in Bahubali were animated to appear in many scenes that would otherwise be impossible to film!
Point # 4: The presence of a genius called V Srinivas Mohan, the guy who single-handedly was the reason for the astounding VFX in the movie! He had been up to it in the past with films like Robot, I, and Sivaji the Boss and was known to use extreme camera techniques to get the shot that he wanted.
In Bahubali, he went miles ahead of his earlier commitments and bringing to the fore all his experiences, shot the VFX in spectacular fashion. With the Director’s blessings and full freedom to experiment and perform V Srinivas Mohan has brought about more than a Magnum Opus.
Point # 5: The use of specialized studios and equipment(s), including the Makuta Visual Effects Studio, raised the visual quality of Bahubali to an unrivaled level in the Indian and foreign film industries!
Makuta is one of the world's best post-production houses, having won the Best Visual Effects award at Film Fare and Cinema A in 2012. Based in Hyderabad, they perform extensive post-production work with highly skilled personnel and cutting-edge machinery.
They created nearly 5000 VFX shots for Bahubali using all known techniques such as Rotoscoping, Matte Painting, Chroma removal, Set extension, rig and wire removals, 2D and 3D Tracking, and 3D creation, to name a few.
Point # 6: The presence of a genius named V Srinivas Mohan, who was solely responsible for the film's incredible visual effects! He'd done it before with films like Robot, I, and Sivaji the Boss, and was known for using extreme camera techniques to get the shot he wanted.
He went miles ahead of his previous commitments in Bahubali, bringing to the forefront all of his experiences and shooting the VFX in spectacular fashion. V Srinivas Mohan has created more than a Magnum Opus with the Director's blessings and complete freedom to experiment and perform. In fact, Bahubali is a thousand times better!!