Life & Work with Pujan Yogesh Chheda

Today we’d like to introduce you to Pujan Yogesh Chheda.

Hi Pujan Yogesh, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The free-fall, the farewell, and the fireball.

They call Mumbai the land of dreams, a place where people come from across the country to find their calling. I grew up in a tiny South-Indian neighbourhood that spoke Telugu and Tamil whilst I spoke Kutchi (a branch of Gujurati language) in a Marathi speaking land while completing my formal education in English. So I hail from a land, where people may be multilingual but all aspire to follow the same path of setting up their own businesses. I wasn’t really surrounded by people with dreams rather people having a love for business and even more love for cricket. Of course, taking cricket out of an Indian is just impossible.

Hailing from a business family. I was pretty much talked into following a career that my father, and later my brother followed — you guessed it, business. It was a no-brainer for me. All my life I’ve only heard tales of my father’s bravery, what’s good for the business, and top-notch bargaining. Oh yes, you must believe it’s one of my strongest know-hows and a skill one must possess to navigate thriftily through life in my opinion. Now, I had picked the best field I could for myself (just kidding), and I said yes to whatever my parents though would suit best for me. It was decided that I should do my undergrad in Commerce and later pursue an MBA. Now, this where the story gets interesting. I was on track to make everyone proud and I hit rock bottom (first of many). I had to repeat my senior year in high school for not being able to clear the German language exam. That year was the hardest year, which is when I realized maybe academics wasn’t my real forte. Since I was a kid, sports and movies always grabbed my attention over anything else. I found solace in playing cricket. I would put my heart and soul into training and not give up until the very last. It felt nice to finally belong somewhere. Cricket is something that connected people from all walks of life. That’s where I would meet folks with mutual interest, i.e. movies that was the most happiest feeling. Two things it taught me are sportsmanship and sheer diligence. And I think that is something that I’ve carried and practiced till date.

So the year I had to take a break from school, I decided to take up a course in Animation & Visual Effects at Arena Animations in Mumbai, while playing for a local club’s cricket team. Ironically, the worst year of my life became the most influential year for my life ahead. I never would have thought that my interest would play such a strong role in building the foundation of my professional life ahead. The more I learnt about visual effects, the more I got convinced to alter the career path chosen by my family. But fighting all odds isn’t so easy, so while pursuing the visual effects course, I also started my bachelor’s in commerce to fulfill family expectations. I also had to juggle with a part-time job at a gaming company to get industry experience. Now, living a conservative life surrounded by gruntled friends and loving people, one gets complacent. And I’m talking about yours truly here. I was in a colourful train that moved fast but I didn’t have the courage to ask where to? And if I don’t want to go to the predetermined destination, rather hop out and move towards something that ignites some sort of a fire. I just had to stop and ask Mumbai is a land of whose dreams? Certainly not mine. And I knew then there was more to life. Towards the final year of bachelor’s, I was sure of getting into visual effects full-time, and due to the lack of advanced courses in Mumbai or even India, I started looking at courses abroad.

That is when I came across SCAD and that was it. I went through the website and researched through the subjects and the professors. I knew it was my calling. Studying and working in the company of such a credible crew would only further my knowledge and expand my once-narrow horizon. So I interviewed in person with SCAD at Mumbai, but hit the second rock bottom (yes, there are quite a few) as this time when I wasn’t granted admission. However, I had my eyes on the prize. I knew if not now, I would for sure someday make a portfolio so strong that I would be among the top contenders for admission. Here comes another interesting choice I made then — joining the New York Film Academy to pursue a certificate course in Visual Effects, which I excelled in. Learning becomes fun when you’re into the subject. But I knew only this wasn’t enough, so I also found work at L. A. Castle Studio, to gain industry experience in the world of Virtual Production and Visual Effects.

And after two years of constant hustling, learning, and thriving came in the mail a document for me. It was my Harry Potter moment. I had just received the acceptance from, you guessed it, SCAD. And let me tell you about the fire I was talking about earlier, had finally payed off and had only multiplied ten-fold. I started channeling myself to become a compositor and started working with professors and classmates to achieve this goal by the end of the course. And when all was going rather well, after just one quarter came the apocalypse, the pandemic. Also known as the third rock bottom in this case. I was thoroughly disappointed for not being able to accomplish my dream course on campus. Call me old fashioned but losing hope is just not in me. I felt grateful for the efforts made by SCAD to provide for students and I was here for the challenge. Towards the end of this saga, I not only graduated with a 4.0 but also felt extremely confident presenting myself to the industry. Only if I knew each rock bottom would just present me with new opportunities and a renewed approach to life.

After graduating from SCAD, I started working full-time at Pixomondo as a Junior Compositor while also mentoring students as a TA at New York Film Academy, LA. I got the opportunity to work on some HBO & Netflix shows and feature films like John Wick 4 while also helping students aspiring to start their professional careers as compositors. The next chapter of my life after having spent 1.5 years in TV & Film industry, is an advertisement. I got associated to The Mill as a compositor to witness the fast-paced world of advertisement and continue to work here till date.

This was my concise yet eventful tale of ups and downs, to pull the plug on procrastination, realizing my goal, my vision bid farewell to the complacent life, and choosing a path that would not only bring immense joy to me but one day to millions of people. (If they wait till the end credits, which they totally should) And I’m grateful for every little mishap and every single highlight.

Only now do I fully know why they call it — a hero’s journey. And I’m only halfway there.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Currently, I work as a compositor at The Mill.

My passion for compositing is highly comparable to that of cooking. The possibilities of creativity are endless which is why I love integrating CG and live-action to create beautiful shots and also love integrating cooking ingredients to create tasty dishes.

As a compositor, I use Nuke as my compositing tool. My role as a compositor is to remove green/blue screens, integrate CG into real footage, rotoscoping, 3d/2d tracking, and relighting CG scenes.

During my 1.5 years working in the TV/Film industry with Pixomondo, I worked on Orville S3 (Netflix), Los in Space S3 (Netflix), Day Shift (Netflix), The Winning Time: The Rise of Lakers Dynasty (HBO), Love & Death ( HBO) and John Wick: Chapter 4 (Feature Film).

In my current position, I’ve worked on commercials for Kia (Super Bowl Spot), Frito Women’s FIFA World Cup, Lexus, Hyundai, Pepsi Summer, and Corona.

I feel extremely proud and grateful to have worked on such amazing Netflix, HBO shows and also a Feature Film during the very first chapter of my professional career. In spite of the wonderful opportunity, I decided to challenge myself even further by entering the fast-paced world of advertisements and commercials.

I believe that the values that I bring to my professional career from my background in sports set me apart. Not only am I passionate about what I do, I also have the utmost respect for everyone’s input that leads to a finished project, no matter what phase they come in. I also value time management, team bonding & team spirit, persistence & determination that lead to greater success.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I would like to thank my family- my parents, brother & grandparents who supported me through my journey. All of them hail from a background in business, & had no idea about the Visual Effects industry, but they stood by my side every step of the way.

My professors at NYFA & SCAD are the reason I was able to even set foot in the industry. They have not just taught me the technical skills but also encouraged & motivated me to dream big.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://pchheda.wixsite.com/pujanchheda
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pujanchheda