Girish Balakrishnan

My Greatest Accomplishment

Even as a child, I dreamed of working on a Disney film. I was humbled by the opportunity to work on Jon Favreau’s “The Jungle Book,” a story very personal to me. Through this experience, I worked along-side the most talented artists and engineers in the industry to build new technologies of visualization for the chief creatives, leveraging game engine, motion capture and virtual reality tech. Collaborating directly with the director, production designer, cinematographer and visual effects supervisor, we brought storyboard frames to life and meticulously virtually composed, shot and lit every sequence in the computer before working on set with live actors. There is a sense of pride when you see the evolution of your team’s work from pencil sketch to final render — that journey is unforgettable and the final product is nothing short of movie magic. I personally can’t wait to see the credits roll on this one real soon!

How Drexel Helped

The key for all creative minds is to give them the freedom to explore and learn their craft. The Digital Media program provided me that platform to figure out exactly where I belong in this vast field. The faculty and peers are the lifeblood of any college experience, and the program’s culture of self-motivation, student-driven learning and collaboration is one of its key strengths. Being a tinkerer, I was encouraged by my professors to experiment with pushing the boundaries of new media which paved the way for my thesis work in virtual cinematography, which unsurprisingly has become the very fabric of my career today.

Where I’ll be in Five Years

Looking into the crystal ball, we are at the dawn of a brand new medium. I hope to keep pushing the boundaries of cinematic storytelling well beyond feature film into new realms of virtual, mixed and augmented reality. More importantly, I wish to continue bringing wonder to audiences for years to come!