Shrek, The Desi Connection

Via Dr. S. S. Badrinath

The Hindu today profiled Vanitha Rangaraju-Ramanan, the lighting technical director for SHREK, the 2002 Oscar winning animation feature film. She is working on the sequel, to be released in the US on May 21st.

In 2002, `Shrek' won accolades for being the `Best Animated feature film'. DEEPA KANDASWAMY speaks to Vanita Rangaraju-Ramanan, the movie's `Lighting Technical Director', and also the first Indian woman to bask in Oscar limelight.

Every March, attention shifts to the Academy Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles, U.S. And amidst the speculation and excitement, it is not very often that one gets to know about a special Indian woman. Further,only a few know the name of that young woman. She's Vanitha Rangaraju-Ramanan, who won an Oscar for her technical work in the animation film, “Shrek”.

Vanitha Rangaraju was born in 1970 in Tiruchirapalli (Trichy), Tamil Nadu. The older of two girls, she did her schooling at the Holy Cross Girl's School and then St. Joseph's Convent, Trichy. She graduated in B.Arch from the Regional Engineering College, Trichy (now the National Institute of Technology) and went on to work for a firm in Bangalore. At Bangalore, she met Ramanan, an engineering graduate from REC, Warangal, whom she later married.

As a young girl growing up in Trichy, Vanitha says she became interested in animation. “All those Tom and Jerry cartoons I watched when I was young inspired me.” she says. But the turning point was when she decided to make the jump from architecture to animation after she watched a TV interview in 1995. It was about “Toy Story”, the first full-length 3-D computer graphics feature film. “In the interview, they talked about how people from many different fields contributed to the movie's creation,” Vanitha says. “I've always loved animation and the interview got me thinking seriously about entering the field.” While many dissuaded her, she attributes her success to those who supported her. “The people who helped me didn't think it was silly for a professional architect to want to become an animator — my parents, sister, Ramanan, and my friends Vidya, Babu and Kala.”

In 1996, Vanitha and Ramanan headed for the United States to enrol for a masters programme at the University of Texas, Austin. Vanitha did her studies in Architectural Studies, majoring in Computation and Simulation. It was while doing her masters, that she got an internship during her last semester (Fall 1998) at Industrial Light & Magic, a leading visual effects studio in Northern California.

“That was my big break. It gave me a chance to get my `foot in the door',” she says. “Right after I completed my internship, I was to finish my master's thesis in Austin when I got the job at Pacific Data Images (PDI), now PDI/DreamWorks to work on `Shrek'. This was in April 1999. Needless to say, I'm still trying to get back to school to finish my masters.”

In 2002, “Shrek” won the Oscar as the “Best Animated feature film”. The technical achievement, which translated into making “Shrek” a visual success, helped tremendously in the movie bagging the Oscar. The film is based on a picture book which is just 10 pages long, unlike other movies which are based on novels. Vanitha's credit title on “Shrek” was “Lighting Technical Director”.

Apart from digitally lighting the film, the Lighting Department is responsible for bringing the many different components of shots together — complex geometry, motion of the characters, textures, effects such as fire and dust, and the matte paintings. As a technical director, she was responsible to make this happen, using both her artistic and technical abilities. In addition, Vanitha also worked as a lighting animator on several shots, and as a co-developer for many animation sequences.

Vanitha is humble about being the first Indian woman to win an Oscar. “It felt great! Almost unreal. I'm excited to have been a part of this great team. I still remember watching the Oscars in India six years ago, wondering how it would be to touch the statuette, to feel the appreciation of the entire world for your work on a movie. Our producer Aron Warner returned with the Oscar to PDI. When I actually got to hold the statuette in my hands, it was a wonderful feeling.”

Her parents who had been watching the ceremony live on TV in Trichy were more excited according to her. Her mother then distributed sweets to everyone. “So many people whom I hadn't even kept in touch with wrote to me, congratulating. To me that's what makes it all worthwhile. I agree, it is special to be a part of the Oscar winning team but it's more special when you make your friends and family proud.”

Vanitha chose not to become an American citizen despite her successes. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband. Says Vanitha, “Trichy is my hometown. I miss home, my parents, my sister, and all my friends.” Vanitha is currently busy imparting the finishing touches to the sequel, “Shrek 2”, which is to be released in July.

Considering her drive and dedication, it wouldn't be surprising if she wins the Oscar again in 2005.

Copyright: 1995 – 2002 The Hindu

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