MUMBAI: Choreographer Bosco Leslie Martis' directorial debut, a dance-horror-comedy, has been titled "Rocket Gang" and the makers will use real-time Virtual Reality (VR) to shoot some of its sequences.
Bosco said the use of VR in "Rocket Gang" would come as a "huge support" amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The process would reduce post-production time and decrease expected manpower, thereby adhering to safety guidelines when the film goes on floors.
"The strength of the film is the virtual reality experience which would be first of its kind in Bollywood. It will be challenging but we are very excited to explore this. Especially in today's times when we are fighting COVID-19 and the situation we are in right now."
"We can't get the support of the full team so how does one work? We would follow all the norms and VR is going to help us in a big way to support this", Bosco told PTI.
"Rocket Gang" stars "Student of the Year 2" actor Aditya Seal, Nikita Dutta, last seen in Netflix's "Maska", and five kids.
It would also feature select dancers who participated in the reality show, "Dance India Dance".
The film was supposed to go on floors on March 18 but was pushed due to the coronavirus-induced nationwide lockdown. The team ultimately had to pull down the set but Bosco said when he pitched the idea of VR to producers Zee Studios, they immediately came on board.
"The challenge was how to start the film as soon as possible because I don't want the kids to grow up, because they were cast for a certain reason and look.
"Then VR came into play and we started working on it. I shared it with Shariq (Patel, CEO, Zee Studios) and he loved it. The team needs to be excited for the vision and I'm so glad we all are," Bosco added.
With VR, the choreographer said, he would "pre-visualise scenes and atmosphere" and would also create a three-dimensional virtual set to enhance the experience.
"Earlier a set would have a green screen and the actors would perform, with visual effects added later."
"With this, the actors would get to see what's happening 'in the atmosphere created by VR' through the monitor. They can see if they're standing on a cliff, or a tree. It's all there for us to explore," he added.
While there is no clarity on the exact date, Bosco said the team plans to go on floors "in a couple of months."
"VR needs to have certain planning, you need to create the world. So in a couple of months we will be there."
Produced by Zee Studios, "Rocket Gang" is slated to release in summer 2021.