Jet lagged but excited for his first time in India, London-based YouTuber Brandon Baum, aka Brandon B sips on his desi chai as we catch up with him in Mumbai. A visual effects artist and VFX creator who boasts of over 15 million subscribers on YouTube and 1.5 million followers on Instagram, the 25-year-old is excited to spend his “first full day in Mumbai”. He says, “I’m loving the weather. It’s just a smidge bit hotter than London.”
He will be travelling around Mumbai and Delhi to create long-form content with his own brand of creativity. He adds, “I’m here for 10 days and since I’ve got such an incredible Indian audience, what better excuse to use this as a chance to go out and film across India.”
Brandon, who has created content for Marvel and even shot with Spider-Man: No Way Home actor Tom Holland for a video that has enjoyed over one million views, calls him “the coolest person I’ve worked with”. He adds, “He was everything that you would hope Tom Holland to be. We only had 15 minutes together, but it was one of the most fun shoots I’ve done. He was so easy to work with. He was genuinely the sweetest, most professional and loveliest guy I’ve worked with.”
As a VFX creator, Brandon is “constantly looking at and getting inspired by” different projects. “I think visual effects unlock the story. And visual effects for the sake of visual effects is when it doesn't really work. My favourite examples of visual effects being used in the best way would be by George Lucas (filmmaker) at the very beginning of the Star Wars saga. He wasn’t using it for the sake of using visual effects. It was to unlock his story and to be able to tell the story in a way that no one had ever told before,” he adds.
{{/usCountry}}As a VFX creator, Brandon is “constantly looking at and getting inspired by” different projects. “I think visual effects unlock the story. And visual effects for the sake of visual effects is when it doesn't really work. My favourite examples of visual effects being used in the best way would be by George Lucas (filmmaker) at the very beginning of the Star Wars saga. He wasn’t using it for the sake of using visual effects. It was to unlock his story and to be able to tell the story in a way that no one had ever told before,” he adds.
{{/usCountry}}Another film that the YouTuber believes is made well with great use of Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) is Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023). He says, “I think that’s the best way to do it. You always work in tandem with some practical effects and your visual effects, and piece them together. Tom Cruise (actor) is a great example of someone who lives and dies by doing stunts practically, alongside working with an incredible team of CG (Computer Graphics) artists to then finish that shot and bring it all together so they can have that perfect look.”
Speaking about the use of VFX in Indian films, Brandon admits, “I have watched quite a few Indian films with CG effects and they were out of the world. I also love the artistic license that you see in Indian films. I think there’s a lot more room to be colourful with your canvas here.”