This series explores the varied and colorful roles at the Technicolor Group. Spotlighting our talent and bringing their story to center stage. Here are 20 questions for the 20 years with our incredible Executive Producer, Sivaraman S T.
What was the first major project you worked on?
Back at the Barnyard for Omation & Nickelodeon.
Share your career journey at Technicolor Group !
I started as a trainee, working in texturing/lighting/compositing/rendering. I moved up to Team Lead and then Supervisor for the lighting, compositing & rendering departments. In those days, specializations like creative & production teams weren’t there, so while I was technically a creative lead and later supervisor, my responsibilities would also include client management, projecting head count/resource needs, project & production management right from the start, for the lighting, compositing & rendering teams.
At one stage, when I felt life was getting monotonous, I felt l wanted a change and moved into the production department. This gave me an opportunity to see things progress end-to-end and allowed me to manage projects fully. So, I became a Line Producer and later a Producer managing many seasons of episodic work, a few 4D raids & DVD features.
Over time, I felt I wanted another change, so I decided to venture into the VFX side of things. I started off as Head of Production at MR. X, Bangalore (an erstwhile division of Technicolor), managing close to 35 shows simultaneously, working with our sister units in Toronto, Montreal and Adelaide. I was promoted to Executive Producer at MR. X, and soon there was an opportunity to lead Mikros Animation, Bangalore’s Feature team. I took up that challenge, and I’ve been working with this division for a year now. We have completed one feature last year and have three shows in production now.
Describe your time here in 3 words!
Action-packed journey!
In one sentence, what does an Executive Producer do?
An EP is the first line of defense, ensuring shows are delivered on agreed timelines and budgets while also maintaining a healthy working atmosphere for all.
Your favourite CG/animated character would have to be…
Our own ‘Ozi’ from ‘Ozi: Voice of the Forest’
Your most “eureka” moment during your career?
Circumstances are the opportunities.
Your career highlight to date?
Working in one company for 20 years. I began my career with Paprikaas in 2002, and continued when it was acquired by Technicolor in 2007.
What inspires you?
People around me.
If you had taken an alternate path, what would you be doing now?
Be a successful software engineer writing code.
Your DREAM project would involve…
Lots of animal and bird characters.
Share something you learned this week.
How to set auto reminders in Microsoft Teams.
Tell us a humble brag!
If I set my eyes on a goal, I won’t give up. I am good at managing my time.
Something you can’t live without.
My family.
When you’re not working on a project you can be found…
Walking on weekdays and painting on weekends.
What would your one superpower be if you could choose?
Slow time (like The Flash)
Share a personal goal or something you want to do in 2023.
Walk at least 10,000 steps, 5 days a week.
What piece of advice would you give to your younger self?
Focus on learning and doing your job better than yesterday, the rest will take care of itself.
The best thing about your job?
The ability to make a difference to my team & working environment.
Your biggest achievement so far?
I’ve earned the goodwill of lot of people around me.
What can’t you put down? (Book, game, program, app, podcast)
Painting on weekends, otherwise I’m pretty good with spending my time on social media!
Could you share your experiences with diversity, equality, and inclusiveness at Technicolor?
Other than the great working environment and big titles that we work on, I love Technicolor for its inclusive culture. I have always been able to speak my mind and there has been full freedom for me to do that right from my days as a junior artist. Good initiatives are encouraged and appreciated, which gives people a lot of confidence to work towards bringing in positive differences. An individual’s career aspirations are respected and opportunities are provided where possible. That was personally very helpful for me to have a fruitful career!
Discover more about our People & Culture and what it’s like to work Inside Technicolor.
