How We Pulled Off a Complex VFX Setup for
Thirikilli Music Video
Thirikilli
When editor and VFX artist Dinesh Raja brought in a reference from a Converse ad directed by Colin Read, we were instantly excited. The idea was bold but technically demanding. Our pre-production quickly hit a wall.
Converse AD
Our Trial Shot
The technique required three cameras stacked together, each with different focal lengths, capturing the same action from slightly varied spatial planes. In post, these layers would be composited seamlessly to create the illusion.
Simple in theory.
Brutal in execution.
Even minor misalignments in lens compression, parallax, or perspective could break the effect. Compositing and blending errors would immediately expose the trick. With limited resources and a tight timeline, we needed clarity.
So we reached out.
Raghunath,
Studiomonkeys
Hi Colin. This is Raghunath from Studio Monkeys. We are a production studio based out of Chennai, India and we are doing a Music Video for an indie artist. I saw your Converse ad released last year and was really inspired by it. If you are cool with it, I wanted to know about how you shot it. Any detail would be helpful on how to realise it. Since we are clueless how to go out and shoot, the idea translated to our music video. It would be a really great help for us.
Colin Read,
Mandibleclaw
We shot it with three 12k cameras stacked in a rig: one with a telephoto lens, one with medium, one with wide. we frame-synced all of them so they all had matching time-code, frame-perfectthen in each scene, we would shoot the action in one setup with all three cameras at once, recording long, medium, and wide angles of same action. then, we would move the rig backward so that the new setup's telephoto lens's frame matches the previous setup's wide lense frame (usually that meant we moved by ~45 feet), and shoot again. and repeat, and repeat.
Typing...
Colin read walked us through the process in detail, sharing not just the method but the potential pitfalls. Along with insights from Eric Schleicher, our confidence shifted from hesitation to precision.
After a call with Colin Read, we moved into pre-visualisation. No expensive rig, just shoe racks, wooden stools, and classic jugaad. We built a stacked setup and shot test footage.
That pre-vis changed everything.
It revealed technical issues early and gave us the confidence to commit on shoot day. What felt risky became executable.
The biggest lesson was that preparation is everything when your visual depends on geometry.
VFX Breakdown of the shot
Massive credit to Director Vijay Varadharaj, Cinematographer Balaji Maheshwar, and especially Dinesh Raja, who handled this demanding VFX challenge largely on his own. Thanks to the entire crew who patiently worked through the repetitive shooting process.
Video Credits
Director - Vijay Varadharaj |
Cinematographer - Balaji Maheshwar |
Editor - Dinesh Raja | VFX - Dinesh Raja |
Art Director - Raj Kamal | DI - Arun Sangameshwar |
Executive Producer - Raghunath Selvaraj |
Assistant Directors - Saumiya Rajah, Dinesh Raja, Yukesh |
Associate Cinematographer - Yuva Karthick |
Assistant Cinematographer: Thamizh Muthu, Jai |
Costume Designer - Reshma Dhanu | Makeup Artist - G.Vijayakumar Spot Editor - Abinaya Ponmani | Hair Stylist - Aanashtraj |
Publicity Designs: Dinesh Raja | Choreography - Dharma Nathan |
Still Photographer : Nanda | BTS: Deepan Rajasekaran, Sam Pranav Production Executive - S.Sethuramalingam |
KYNrecords Team : Rayappan Francis, Ashwin PM,
Hemanath Dhanalakshmi