KOCHI: For architect and digital artist Shibin T C, reality can be removed twice. While movies reflect life, his art reflects movies. Shibin can conjure entire cinematic worlds through his computer. A world so akin to the reality, that you fail to recognise its artifice and artifice so striking that you marvel at its brilliance. Shibin, who recreated pivotal locations and shots from Dileesh Pothan’s 2016 movie ‘Maheshinte Prathikaaram’ caught the attention of prominent figures like Aashiq Abu, who shared the video on their Instagram stories. The genesis for the one-of-its-kind project which went viral took seed in Shibin’s love for movies. “I have seen the movie several times.
This led to the thought of recreating some scenes. I started off by assessing the scope of the scenes and analysed if they could be rendered digitally. There were some limitations but I tried to retain the mood of the movie and weave a narrative with the shots I could furbish,” says the 26-year-old based in Kozhikode.
After the release of the video, Shibin’s reward was a call from Ajayan Chalissery, the art director of ‘Maheshinte Prathikaaram’. “He appreciated my effort and narrated the true story which led to the making of the movie. I also received messages from prominent editors and cinematographers in the Malayalam film industry,” adds Shibin. His maiden project, which caused quite the stir, was over a month ago and he only outdid himself with the second one, a six-minute-long cinematic animation of Lijo Jose Pellissery’s debut film ‘Amen’ released last week.
Shibin’s virtual camera pans across the picturesque Kumarankary (a village in Kuttanad where ‘Amen’ is set) with long narrow roads surrounded by water-filled fields and the gentle sway of coconut trees peppering the frame all coloured in vivid hues of blue and green. The attention to detail is hard to miss, the shadow cast by trees and the light dancing on water point to the bright pleasant time of the day Shibin has set his shot in. At least a minute passes before one realises that what one is seeing in fact a digital creation.
“It took me more than 45 days to make the ‘Amen’ video and I worked for 10 to 12 hours straight every day. Cinematographer Abinandhan Ramanujam commented saying the animation looks very authentic so I guess the effort paid off,” says Shibin who is currently employed at an architecture firm. Despite working a full-time job, Shibin has managed to accomplish what is by no means an easy task. Especially for someone who has had no formal training in the many software he uses.
“I work on AutoCAD, Blender, Lumion, SketchUp and Adobe Premier Pro for the projects. I learnt them by watching YouTube tutorials, my friends also have helped me a lot.” Shibin’s ambitious attempts ring true with the iconic dialogue from ‘Maheshinte Prathikaaram’, the inspiration for his first project, photography and by extension art, is not something that cannot be taught but it is something that can be learnt.
As for his next endeavour, Shibin is engaged with a unique digital project at the behest of Ajayan Chalissery. “He suggested that I work on a project related to the studio featured in ‘Maheshinte Prathikaaram’ which deals with an environmental issue. It will be out soon.” You can find his work on Instagram @shibin.tc