Satish Babu Ratakonda is a famous Visual
Effects Artist based in San Mateo, California. Born in Khammam, Andhra Pradesh,
Satish’s career grew organically in Television, Gaming
and Feature Film Visual Effects. Today he
works at Sony Interactive working on Product design as well
as cutting edge imaging technologies like Virtual Reality and HDR.
What
are Visual effects? Where do we use Visual effects?
Visual
effects are the cool tricks and processes by which imagery is created and/or
manipulated outside the context of live action. Visual effects are mostly used
in film making and it is these visual effects that help make imaginations come
live.
Some
of the works I did were used in the films Pirates of
the Caribbean, Harry Potter, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Avengers: Age of
Ultron etc
Can
you tell me little bit about childhood or may be your school life?
I was an above average student, if not the best in school. I
have always been interested in science and especially physics. As a child I was
very observant (I was told) and as I came to realize that I was more interested
in observing visually than doing anything else. For example, I was more
interested in how the Fire looked and how it moved visually then the technical
science and reasoning behind that. My parents or teachers never gave it enough
importance to my thinking, in fact I did not know at that time that it was my
way of interpreting things and that there could be any meaningful outcome to
that. The only known outlet for me was to express it in Drawings, but I was not
interested in traditional art, so I would draw more than detailed and shaded
illustrations in science records than a required simple outline illustration,
which was again mostly overlooked. I now realize that at that point of time,
there was lack of emphasis on visual science or 'art of science'.
When
and how did you get into Visual Effects Artist?
After
my Bachelors in Arts & Science, I have thought about going for higher
education in Genetics and one day I met my uncle working in CCMB (Center for Cellular
and Micro Biology) to get some guidance. He was in the middle of preparing a
presentation and he asked me to help him with few designs and pictures for the
presentation. To my surprise I thoroughly enjoyed drawing designs, and pictures
I did a good job on the work.
Then
I choose to join a Multimedia Institute (Training or technical/vocational
center) and enrolled myself in Photoshop course. During this training and with
the tool - Adobe Photo Shop, my interest and attention to details were put to
use and was able to bring my art projects to life. I worked on few assignments,
made a profile with few random designs and ideas and went on looking for a job carrying
my profile and I found my first job in Ramoji Film City as Digital Compositor.
Was
it easy finding a job after taking a course in Multimedia Institute?
No.
It was not an easy task. I didn’t have any mentor/ guide throughout any phase
of my life and I had to go find information and get updates in my career and
path. It was not simple like I learn a technology/software and do the same task
every time in each project. I learned about
what’s trending, what companies do Visual Effects, what skills are required at
every stage of my life and I assigned a goal for myself.
Can
you please explain your work and what it’s like?
My
projects/tasks start with visionary/ my directors explaining how they want the
picture. I am responsible for bringing some one’s imagination to life and this
process can be some visionary just using words and explaining it or it could be
some pictures on paper/story boards.
I
work with multiple technologies and techniques every day to bring imagination
to life. I don’t get to use same technology/technique on every project and it
all comes down to how well I brought an imagination to life on screen. Some of
the Software
/ programming languages I use are Autodesk Maya, Autodesk Flame, Foundry Nuke,
Adobe after Effects, Adobe Photoshop, Houdini, Cinema4D, and Python.
Learning the fundamentals of commercial art
(television/films) , learning the craft of motion picture visual effects, which
involves color theory, cameras, lenses, film, film procession adding computer
graphics, all the way to the process of delivering to the big screen or a
television broadcast, needed a lot patience, foresight and hard work. While the
above mentioned were fundamentals which would never change and are key to one's
survival, the software and other tools are just mere tools which you would keep
up with as the technology evolves.
What
advice can you give to our readers?
To build a career in Visual Effects, you don’t need to have high level degrees. However, formal
education is strongly recommended because course work is designed to gradually
develop your skills and give time to develop your own vision, style and
approach towards the career and industry.
Top Vfx artists are generally very
observant, have a keen ear, respectful of others and their ideas, work well in
team environment and ok to work long hours. Ask yourself what your dream as a
Vfx Artist/Animator, try to find out what’s the most inspiring to you and if
you think you have it in you to emulate / chase or even do better. Have a plan
with open mind. Keep smiling :-)
To
learn more about Satish Ratakonda, visit http://www.animationmagazine.net/vfx/the-artists-toolbox-tools-of-top-animators/
