Day two of the summit kicked off with a keynote presentation by two-time technical Academy Award winner and co-founder of Pixar, Alvy Ray Smith, who highlighted his aim to recreate the future of cinema once again. He said: My next holy grail is a complete CG-generated live-action movie. Thats the next step and game-changer for […]
Day two of the summit kicked off with a keynote presentation by two-time technical Academy Award winner and co-founder of Pixar, Alvy Ray Smith, who highlighted his aim to recreate the future of cinema once again.
He said: My next holy grail is a complete CG-generated live-action movie. Thats the next step and game-changer for me.
However, Smith stressed, in line
with earlier discussions at the summit, that digital humans on screen is not the replacement of actors but merely the representation of the actors on the screen.
Recently movies are increasingly using digitised actors to portray characters. Both Stephen Lang and Andy Serkis have thrived in the progressively CGI-oriented industry. They were quizzed by Dr. Paul Debevec, a CGI leader with the experience of working on The Matrix trilogy, Avatar and The Hulk, on whether actors should be concerned or should they be excited with this eminent change.
Stephen Lang emphasised the opportunities for actors through CG and explained: Its definitely a collaborative effort. As an actor, I want my performance to be the best it can be and if that means a stuntman or even an animator can enhance the performance, then thats great.
Collaboration of East and West in the past has resulted in Tom Cruise performing stunts on the top of Burj Khalifa, Iron Man 3 being adapted for Chinese audience and Ang Lee directing Life of Pi with Indian cast. Cooperation between East and West was one of the main areas of debate for the day. The panel discussion featured Reliance Entertainments CEO Sanjeev Lamba, Troy Craig Poon, CEO, Perfect Storm Entertainment, Head of Investment Banking from FFA Private Bank, Julien Khabbaz, David Linde, CEO, Lava Bear Films and Khalid Benkirane, Film Financing Grants Manager, Doha Film Institute.
Besides partnering with Stephen Spielberg for DreamWorks Studios, Nicholas Cage’s Saturn Films and Tom Hanks Playtone Productions for Hollywood movies, Reliance Entertainment also produces and distributes several Bollywood movies.
Lamba added: Throughout Indias 100 year film history, the sector was dominated by family businesses. However, in the last 10 years, that trend is changing which has given companies like ours the opportunity to enter the market. This has in turn led to an increase in the level of co-operation and sharing of not just talent but also technology opening new doors for Indian cinema to become more dominant in the west and vice-versa.
Executive Producer of Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon, David Linde concluded: There have already been cases of Indian filmmakers producing movies not just for the Indian market but also the west, such as Bend It Like Beckham and it would be very interesting to see how movies like this will help shape future collaborations and market trends.
The attending audience also witnessed a demonstration of Audio Spotlight. The demo was done by Joseph Pompei, Founder and Owner of Holosonics, who showcased a truly directional audio system which generates high quality sound and is installed in Walt Disney, Yale Art Gallery, Boston Museum of Science and the Seattle Space Needle.
The summit was closed by celebrated Producer Walter Parkes. He has developed and written stories that have demanded the use of some of the most advanced filmmaking technologies available: from the first computer tech-thrillers WarGames and Sneakers, to Gladiator, Minority Report and the Men in Black series. While presenting his vision for the future, Parkes noted that the key to his success was not to think about the technology first.
