Today we’d like to introduce you to Vivek Kandasamy.
Vivek, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started working at a very young age. Due to my health issues, I wasn’t allowed to go outside to play, so I channeled all my energy to my father’s computer and started browsing and reading. I was always fascinated by technology and its wonders, so I dived into it and built a software company with my cousin brother at the age of 17. Our company grew, we hired more employees and eventually sold it to a bigger company for a great price. I spent the money to buy a house and a car in my hometown as I thought that was what it was all about. Earn money and settle. I ran out of money within six months.
What next? I knew one of my uncles was part of the movie business. I asked him if I could be on set. He agreed. I moved to Chennai with just a spark of exploring a new dimension. No money, no place to live. I had streets to sleep and one meal of bread per day. I used to work 12- 15 hour shifts just serving tea to the crew and watching the camera operator do his job. Fascinated by storytelling and the equipment, I decided to work as a technical consultant for films in Mumbai. I observed, learned and grabbed any and every opportunity of working with the camera. A few years later, I founded my Visual Entertainment Services firm, Film Engineers.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Initially, it wasn’t. After a few years, I got what people call a smooth road- money, work, house, car and respect. But I still struggled within my own mind. First, the struggles were the “lack of”. You think that you need money, work, a decent place to live in, a great car to commute in. When I got that, I realized that my life was so normal. It was boring and monotonous. So the struggle afterward was not about having what I lacked before, it was “Am I really gaining something?” I used to go to work, party on my off days, but it wasn’t what I really aspired for. And so, I understood that it’s time for change.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Film Engineers – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
Film Engineers is a Visual Entertainment Services firm that specializes in providing creative and technical services via custom designed tools/ gears for Films, Broadcast, Commercials, Gaming and Media industries. It’s functional across India and have offices located in Mumbai and services in Budapest as well. My goal now is to bring it to Los Angeles, so that entertainment professionals in Hollywood can take advantage of these resources.
I specialize in Virtual Cinematography, Pre-viz, Film engineering (Research & Development of innovative tools & methods that can be used to reap the most out of available technology to favor filming), Color Grading, Visual effects & Compositing.
I believe my sincere work and ethics along with the right attitude towards success and failure in all walks of life and the fact that I keep on learning and creating everyday, without settling for the norm or the normal is my strength.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I am currently working on a product, “Portal”, a system that integrates a proprietary camera accessory & Unreal Engine (a game development platform) to generate photorealistic CGI environments in real-time at a studio space without the need to go to a particular location. i.e, if you want to shoot in London, flying down a 200 member crew, providing them accommodation, transport & other charges incurred in organizing with a local line producer, you can totally avoid that by sending a four member crew to scan the location you want to shoot in and recreate it in the virtual studio space back in your hometown at your ease.
Though this procedure of shooting already exists and in practice, the cost to implement this with existing technology is up to 1 million USD. What sets “Portal” apart, is that the cost is drastically reduced by 70% so that this technology is not just limited to big production companies, but also accessible to independent filmmakers and productions with amazing scripts and ideas. So basically, I have created an affordable system that will motivate filmmakers to keep the innovations alive and create new stories for our audience.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.filmengineers.com
- Email: [email protected]
Image Credit:
Mostly BTS Crew
Simar Makker
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