Around GMA

Article Inside Page

The people behind the visual graphics and audio of Voltes V: Legacy have all put in a lot of blood, sweat, and tears.

A project that is ambitious and big like this indeed needs a lot of passion and dedication to come up with an output that is globally competitive.

According to GMA First Vice President and Head of Post Production Paul Ticzon, it is very challenging to mount a series that will air daily and is heavy in graphics.

"When this was pitched to us, talagang it was very hard to imagine and even to plan out trying to execute like this on a daily basis.

"To give you an idea kung gaano s'ya kalaki, the show will run for 80 episodes with an average run time of around 20 to 25 minutes. If you add that up, that amounts to around 2,000 minutes.

"Ang pelikula on the average has a run time of 90 minutes so if you divide 2,000 by 90 that is equivalent of post-producing 22 movies, so ganoon kalaki 'yung trabaho to be able to mount something like this.

"Not only do you have what is the equivalent of 22 movies, that's 22 movies of almost every scene na enhanced siya with graphics. So can you just imagine kung gaano kalaki ang trabahong ginawa diyan graphics-wise," the Kapuso executive shared in a virtual interview with GMA reporters today, January 16.

Besides graphics, scoring and sound design are also taken seriously.

The audio team of the GMA Post Production Department created new and distinct sound to robots, machines, and other characters in Voltes V: Legacy to add modern sound to the live-action adaptation series of the Japanese '70s anime.

Approximately, there are a hundred people working on the post-production of Voltes V: Legacy alone.

Ticzon said, "Just to describe the effort behind it, kumbaga 'yung manpower contingent ng Post, specific to the disciplines that are needed to produce Voltes V, the graphics, the editing, your scoring, and your sound design, sabihin natin ang allocation namin just for Voltes V do'n sa kabuoan ng department, siguro mahigit kalahti na 'yung tumatrabaho ng Voltes V.

"Of course, hindi namin ma-full force because we have a lot of programs that we are responsible. Also 'yung contingent na nagtatrabaho sa Voltes V, sa graphics lang siguro parang 3/4 ng contingent namin ng buong video graphics and nagtatrabaho sa Voltes V. So ganoon kalaking trabaho talaga. Sabihin natin sa video graphics lang, sabihin na natin 50, almost 40 na 'yung nasa Voltes V. As in, ang laki ng ina-allocate namin for Voltes V."

Because of time constraints, heavy workload, and other assignments, GMA Post Production acquired the services of Riot Inc. Post Production to partner with them to post-produce Voltes V: Legacy. Riot is responsible for the CGI elements of the show.

To present the magnitude of the work that needs to be done here, most of the episodes of Voltes V: Legacy, if not all, will have graphics.

Ticzon explained, "All of the elements you will see in Voltes V: Legacy were designed and created from scratch. Of course, may pinaggayahan na model 'yan, may idea gano'n. To be able to execute it in 3D, you have to build it from scratch.

"Meron ka na diyan mostly artists, partly engineers, partly architects to be able to come up with these designs. The robots are there, the airplanes, the ships, the flying saucers. etc. those are the easy things to spot that are CGI. The non-initiated, 'pag nakita mo 'yung Voltes V, hindi mo na namamalayan na 'yung mga pader doon, the extension, the entire environment was actually created, extended from what is a small studio shot become and look very, very large.

"Pangalawa, the more realistic, the more complicated the graphics are, the longer the time it needs to not just be created but to render. So patong-patong 'yun kaya mahirap o kaya madugo 'yung CGI kung tawagin.

"We have very talented artists here in GMA, and ano lang din sometimes, siyempre oras ang kalaban natin, kailangan lang natin ng oras to be able to execute the best possible output."

The mega trailer alone of Voltes V: Legacy is proof of their hard work as it received a positive reception from viewers, both fans and non-fans of Voltes V.

With this, Ticzon gives credit to his team for their tireless efforts for all the projects that they are tasked to do, not just Voltes V: Legacy.

"I'm very, very proud of our team in Post. Not just our techno creatives, also our technical, our project management teams that eat and breathe Voltes V: Legacy everyday, seven days a week 'yun na nonstop 'yung pag-aasikaso nila sa Voltes V.

"Kumbaga, hindi magiging ganyan ang Voltes V if these people are not as passionate as they are and as dedicated as they are. And of course, it gets tiring din, tao lang. Hindi sila natitinag 'pag pagod na sila, 'di sila tumitigil and that shows the passion and dedication these people have for Voltes V and all the other projects that we accommodate. Hindi lang naman din Voltes V 'yung ginagawa namin."

Voltes V: Legacy, written by Suzette Doctolero and directed by Mark Reyes, is an exclusive offering of the GMA Entertainment Group.

It bears the potential of being the Philippines' first serious epic sci-fi TV show as it is partnered with Toei Company, Ltd., the same company that brought the robot saga to life, and its local licensor Telesuccess Productions, Inc.

Voltes V: Legacy airs 2023 on GMA Telebabad.

BEFORE WE GET TO KNOW MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE MUCH-AWAITED LOCAL LIVE-ACTION ADAPTATION, LET'S TAKE A LOOK BACK AT THE ICONIC CHARACTERS OF VOLTES V THAT MADE A HUGE IMPACT IN THE HEARTS OF BOTH YOUNG AND OLD: