Witness the life journey of Gautam Buddha in an immersive 360 degree experience – Animation…
Commissioned by Rajkiya Nirman Nigam, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, a
remarkable view into the life of Siddhartha Gautam Buddha in a 360
degree space is being designed by Charuvi Design Labs (CDL). Through
beautiful and permanent films for the upcoming museums at Sravasti
(Uttar Pradesh) and Kapilavastu (on the Prabuddha Bharat Nepal Border), the team
plans to immerse the audience from all perspectives in this one of a
kind experience.
CDL is currently conceptualising two 30-minute animated films to be
exhibited and projected as part of the museums currently being
constructed at Sravasti. This is the site where Buddha spent twenty-four
rainy seasons at the Jetavan monastery, built by his disciple Sudatta
Anathapindika and Kapilavastu which is deeply endowed with Buddha’s
origins. It is believed that Buddha spent his first early years here
before embarking on the long journey to awakenment.
The films attempt to encapsulate the brief duration of Buddha’s
exemplary life spent in both the places. The intent is to visually
depict some of the important milestones in his life whilst parallelly
showing the historical aspects of both the sites and the holistic
connection to the life story of Buddha himself. Tremendous research was
done supplemented with incredible documentation before proceeding to
conceptualise the visuals.
The 360 projection space is a permanent installation at the museum and
the content intends to soak the audience in spiritual journey aiding
with historical facts. “We have primarily used a mix of pure 3D, motion
graphics and an amalgamation with real photography, live shoots and
drone shots. Considering it’s a 360 projection, we had to formulate the
camera movement as per the surface area so that it feels seamless when
viewed from any angel,” mentioned Charuvi Design Labs founder and
director Charuvi Agarwal. During 3D production, the team used Unreal
Engine and Maya for animating majority of the shots.
For both the films, music and audio constitute half the viewing
experience. The sūtra-dhāra of the films takes one through the entire
journey of Buddha, where one can experience a captivating monologue of
Angulimaal. “We want the audience to step into a poetic rendition of the
whole experience and all this and much more can be experienced under
the soothing and sometimes dramatic musical score,” added Agarwal.
CDL was in the news years back for the 25 feet sculpture of Hanuman,
made of 26,000 bells, installed in New Delhi. This grand piece of art
was made to promote CDL’s animated film Shri Hanuman Chalisa.
Agrawal presented A Tour De Force for The Jayprakash Narayan Museum in Lucknow, where a praxinoscope titled Thali Bajao,
attempts to recreate the flash in history. The installation makes one
understand the physics and dynamics of constructing a large structure
and also takes one on an emotional ride, recreating the historical
impact of the protest and feel the deep rooted emotions attached to the
movement.
CDL, with its unique concepts and breathtaking artwork is taking
animation industry to another level. And, we just can’t wait to get
enthralled by experiencing the life of Siddhartha Gautam Buddha in a 360
degree space!