 First 3D TV serial
 GV Films Ltd has entered the TV arena with a bang. It has lannched the shoot of 'Paramapadam', the first-ever live 3D television serial in India. Mukesh Khanna, the lead man of 'Shaktimaan', who earned all-round praise for her performance as Bheeshma in 'Mahabharat', has been signed up as the lead actor.
Billed as a fantasy thriller, it is being made simultaenously in Tamil and Hindi.
GV Films has acquired the technology and exclusive rights to produce live 3D content in India from D3, a Los Angeles company that has patented technology for out-of-the-box effects, said V Ravee, its CEO.
"First, let it be known that, practically speaking, it is not currently possible to convert an existing TV programme or film to REAL 3D (3DR). There have been gags for many years that use various tricks to give a "depth-like" effect, but none have proven commercially acceptable. By this we mean it remains a fact that to achieve REAL 3D, you have to produce it (shoot it) in REAL 3D. Any form of "conversion" will yield less than "real" 3D. The public at large is better able than ever to distinguish REAL 3D trom fake," says
Ravee.
"There are two primary systems for professional 3D television production: Natural Vision (Anaglyph) shot with a special camera rig comprising two cameras, producing a 'left eye view' and a 'right eye view'. The two resulting video tapes are edited (more-or-less conventionally), then encoded using a patented 3D encoding system. The result is a single video tape, in 3D, ready for broadcast. This is the only, REAL 3D system, F.C.C. approved for broadcast. It allows 'off screen' 3D effects. But, without 3D glasses, the image looks somewhat 'out of register'. In practice, this has not been a problem in the many 3D broadcasts worldwide."
Danniel Symmes from Los Angeles, the inventor of 3DR is in Chennai to shoot 'Paramapadam' 3D - the 52 episode serial - along with international standard crew.
The production of the serial commenced on August 29, at AVM studios in a bi-lingual production (Tamil and Hindi) to be telecast by leading Tamil and Hindi channels. M Saravanan of AVM group launched the production.
Paramapadam - 3D is the story based on the famous snake & ladder game concept, directed by Naaga. Naaga is a well-known director of several successful serials in the recent past.
'Paramapadam' is a traditional game played in India. The traditional form is an offshoot of the Indian Karma Theory. Devoid of a clear concept of Heaven and Hell, Indians believe in the now and here as the fall-out of one's doings in the past, popularly known as Karma. A game of Paramapadam is a travel through the various permutations and combinations of the routes a soul might take in its journey. Effects of Karma are defined by the ladders and snakes, which dot the game. A good Karma fetches you up on to a better plane of existence and a bad Karma sets you back on a lesser plane.
This is to give a sense of the entire existence cycle and a figurative taste of the journey, which is supposed to span over eras without going through it actually.
What if there exists a game of Paramapadam which puts you through the experience actually?
The story will be treated as a larger narrative and individual adventures with smaller narratives will be strung through it till the end of the game played, Ravee said.
Back and forth travel to the same idea is a possibility. In such cases the core idea of the smaller narratives will be retained with small modifications to give rise to a completely new adventure.
"Space and time will be treated as per the idea of the individual smaller narratives," Ravee added.
An attempt will be made to finish the individual adventures within the given episode, and a lead given to the forthcoming adventure by the roll of the dice.
Crew
Danniel handles the camera, assisted by Arul Mani, screenplay is by Radhika, music is by Sharath, while art direction is by Bhavani Sankar.
The serial is slated to go on air around Deepavali and subsequently every weekend.
Negotiations are on with TV channels, Ravee said. However, sources in GV Films said the channel in Tamil could be Jaya TV.
While the 3D effect can be viewed only through special spectacles, GV Films is hoping to overcome the cost barrier by getting some companies to provide them free to viewers in return for a branding slot, Ravee said. The 3D scenes will be available for only a few minutes in every episode (hour-long) as otherwise too much of it could be considered boring, he felt.
However, the sheer novelty of it is bound to bring a lot of viewership every weekend, Ravee added.
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