Leading Post Production and DI house Pixion has launched a new, dedicated division for CGI /VFX work. CG expert CB Arun Kumar who recently joined the studio will be at the helm of affairs at the new division.
Pixion has also gone in for a major infrastructure and equipment ramp up at its Post Production & DI facility powered by the latest versions of Autodesk systems. The company has installed an additional Autodesk Lustre Incinerator connected on Infiniband, three Smokes, one Flame and an upgradation of all its Autodesk systems to the latest versions. In addition Pixion has more than 75 TB of central and primary storage on Infiniband for DI and Video work. It has also added Quantel systems for Video and Film pipeline; making it the largest installed base of Quantel systems in the world.
Speaking to AnimationXpress.com, Pixion CEO Naresh Malik shared, “Pixion is committed to the path of growth, both as an organization and for the people who have chosen to associate with us . Our infrastructure is nothing but a statement that endorses our commitment. Futuristic, state of the art, and scalable allowing the artists to deliver to their maximum potential. Our positive and disciplined attitude towards work is showing an increased level of confidence in our clients and therefore we are experiencing a greater desire by our prospective clients to partner with us . Our infrastructure is going to see a multi-pronged growth in VFX/CGI, Film DI, Film Restoration, and TVC segment. We also realize that a studio which is at par with any other studio in the world, we need to keep ourselves updated to the latest in technology, therefore you would see PIXION bringing in many â€?firstsâ€? to this industry soon”
While Pixion has been doing hi-end VFX work for National as well as International TV Commercials for a while now, the digital intermediate work that it did for Don heralded its Bollywood projects. Currently the studio has close to 7-8 top Bollywood projects in its kitty including the recently released Honeymoon Travels, Namastey London, Shaka Laka Boom Boom, Khoya Khoya Chand, No Smoking to name a few. The studio is also working on the VFX of a couple of Hollywood movies.
Commenting on the infrastructure ramp up, Autodeskâ€?s Regional Manager, South East Asia & India, Pankaj Kedia shared, “The latest version of our Lustre Incenerator that Pixion has upgraded to, offers a lot of new creative workflows which if used interactively can process multiple options in real time and enhance the creative decision making process. The Incinerator is an add on option which is â€?In Line Processingâ€? on clustered CPUs, linked on Infiniband. What this means in out put capability is that while in the standard Lustre, one can view primary grading in real time (even as secondary grading is rendered), in the Incinerator, the secondary grading too can be viewed in real time and is a phenomenal experience for Directors and DOPs to work on”
“Interestingly the Incinerator at Pixion has been structured in a way that it supports both the Lustres and is the first studio in the country to have done so.” added Kedia.
�In fact, keeping in mind future growth and expansion as well as its need to have the most cutting edge technology, Pixion has also enrolled in Autodesk’s subscription program. This allows them to have access to the latest versions of our software free of cost and the minute it hits the market� says Pankaj.
Counting the CG / VFX division, the total team strength at Pixion has shot from 60 artists six months ago, to 150 as of now. The studio plans to ramp up further. Century Communications Limited (Parent co of Pixion) HR Head Deepak Deshpande who also heads the Pixion HR shared, “We have been able to attract some of the best talent and are doing our best to have the best HR methodologies across the life cycle of the employee including practices like Personality Assessment Tools, Leadership Development Modules, Exit Interviews etc”
On a concluding note, the studio Management also shared that it was all for working together with the industry on outreach programmes to raise awareness of the great career opportunity that this field offered.