C H I T C HAT
computer science. “Studying computer science seemed
like the most logical step because I was best at Math
and Sciences,” he said. “But in my last year at FAST,
I realised I wasn’t fit for regular software engineering.”
Ali veered off into AutoCAD and 3d studio max classes,
which “pretty much sealed the deal.” He didn’t bother
looking for a regular software engineering job after graduating and instead took a short course in sculpture at the
Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture and started
looking for jobs in 3d animation. “I was lucky enough
to land at Sharp Image — one of the best visual fx and
post production houses in Pakistan.” In the two years
that Ali worked in Karachi, he took up countless commercials, from Safeguard to pesticides in farm lands. “I
hated spring because most of the commercials we had
were for these damn pesticides!” It was in July 1999
that he took the courage to start again and enrolled in a
BFA programme at Savannah College of Art and Design
(SCAD). This one step went a long, long way — from
Karachi to Hollywood. “My family was very supportive of
my decision and that was a huge thing considering that
most of my relatives thought this was just a hobby and
a waste of time.” In the last quarter at SCAD, one of his
professors, Garman Harigstad, who he says he owes
much of his success to, told him about an entry-level
visual fx artist position at Digital Domain. Ali compiled
a demo reel of his best work on projects at SCAD and
sent it over. Two weeks after, he was on his way to Los
Angeles to work on The Day After Tomorrow. Since he
brought a tsunami to New York in The Day After Tomorrow, Ali has given X-men’s Banshee his sonic scream
and made monsters rise from the sea in Percy Jackson.
Now when he comes to Karachi he is not known as the
crazy kid who wanted to study art but as the crazier man
who created fantasy worlds that people back home love
to lose themselves in.
Movies Mir Zafar Ali has worked on
2013 Frozen
2013 Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters
2012 Life of Pi
2012 The Cabin in the Woods
2011 Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked
2011 X-Men: First Class
2011 Hop
2010 Yogi Bear
2009 Aliens in the Attic
2009 [