Archive for December, 2007
Interview with Dhimant Vyas - The making of TZP’s clay animation
As promised, we present the transcript of the chat we had with Dhimant Vyas about the making of the clay animation sequences in Taare Zameen Par. Hope you enjoyed the photographs we posted earlier. You can send your feedback and comments to Dhimant directly by sending him an email at dhimantvyas@rediffmail.com
AAA - First of all, congratulations on being the first animator to use Clay animation in a Bollywood live-action feature film. How has the response been?
Dhimant - Yes, the response is overwhelming and very positive!! Thanks to Aamir for choosing the clay animation style. It is a craft with a human touch to it so it also tugs at the audience’s heartstrings. It works well with the main film because the story needed this kind of feel to it. The scenes depict Ishaan, the main protagonist’s imagination so the transitions had to be smooth scene and convey the dream-like quality. we used transitions like morphs, camera moves, elements appearing and disappearing, or you have one element dragging you to anther scene, so there is not cut till the end. And you do not realize when the three minutes pass by.
AAA - How did this project come about?
Dhimant - I had created the caricatures for the Lagaan DVD (Special Anniversary Edition Three Disc DVD box) I had shown Aamir some of my work which he had really appreciated. So when he decided to use animation for TZP, he approached me. Aamir initially wanted to use the classical animation style with a painterly quality. I suggested we try the clay animation technique. I showed him some samples. He liked it a lot and we decided to go ahead with clay animation.
*EXCLUSIVE* The making of TZP Clay Animation
Remember, you saw it here first!! 
Stop motion animation veteran, Dhimant Vyas and Aamir Khan Productions have generously shared photos of the making of the Clay Animation sequences from Taare Zameen Par.
Also read the exclusive interview with Dhimant Vyas where he explains the technique he used to animate these sequences and chats with us about his experience of animating for a Bollywood film for the first time ever. Taare Zameen Par or ‘TZP’ has made Bollywood history by being the first Hindi film to extensively use clay animation in the movie.
“At Arm’s Length” : Modelling workshop by Graphiti:
Graphiti School of Animation is organizing yet another free workshop, this time on Modelling. Titled “At Arm’s Length”, details are as follows-
Date: Friday, 4th Jan. 2008
Duration: 3 hrs – 1pm to 4 pm
Venue: Graphiti School of Animation - Class room.
Eligibility: Should be an animation student from institutes or should be working as an animation professional
Prerequisite: Should have knowledge of Basic Modeling in MAYA
Presenters: Savio Fernandes (Modeler – Graphiti studio, Graphiti Alumni - Batch 2006-2007, winner of Sculpting challenge at CG Tantra) & Lidwin Mascarenhas (Senior Faculty - Modeling)
The workshop is free of cost.
The seats are limited to 20 in each batch. If they get more registrations, they will run more batches on a later date.
Registrations: Contact Graphiti at 32448544 / 24440107
This workshop is organized by Graphiti School of Animation in association with CG Tantra.
VES Vice Chair Tim McGovern speaks about the VES India Tour
In this month’s edition of “The Digital Eye” on VFXworld.com, Tim McGovern recounts his participation in the VES’ recent five-city tour of India as the first step in creating a VES section there.
He describes in detail the entire tour spanning five cities - Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, and Mumbai. He was accompanied by Eric Roth, Executive Director of VES, Peter Chiang, Chairman & Founder, Double Negative Ltd (UK) and Indian VFX stalwart and first Indian member of the VES, N Madhu Sudhanan.
Read the complete article on VFXworld.com
Newsflash! Indian studio in Dreamworks Alliance
(News courtesy Reuters)
Thomson today announced that its Technicolor Services division has formed a strategic alliance with DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. to develop world-class animation capabilities in India. The alliance leverages Thomson’s recent investment in Paprikaas Animation Studios, a leading animation and game content provider in Bangalore, India. Read the details on our website .
Incidentally, Paprikaas was the first studio we featured on the All About Animation website.
Bollywood’s tryst with Clay animation in Taare Zameen Par
For the first time ever we will see clay animation as a part of a mainstream Hindi movie. Taare Zameen Par which releases in theaters all over India tomorrow has animated opening credits (3 minutes duration) and more animation in some crucial scenes of the movie.
The clay animation has been done by Dhimant Vyas, our very own animation veteran, who has even worked with Aardman Studios (of Chicken Run and Wallace and Grommit fame) on their Creature Comforts series. The good news is that he has very generously agreed to share his experience and knowledge with our readers, right here on the All About Animation website and blog. We will post his interview next week, so stay tuned…
Graphiti’s Workshop: “Back To Bones - Creating a Production Rig”
Graphiti School of Animation, the education unit of Graphiti Multimedia Pvt. Ltd., is organizing a free workshop for animation professionals and students on how to create a Production Rig.
Date: Friday, 21st Dec 2007
Duration: 3 hrs. - 1pm to 4 pm
Venue: Graphiti School of Animation, 404, Udyog Mandir No 2, Mogul Lane, Mahim (West), Mumbai - 400016 Maharashtra, India
Eligibility: Should be an animation student from an institute or should be working as an animation professional.
Prerequisite: Should have knowledge of basic rigging in MAYA
Workshop Details: The Instructor shall use a production rig and demonstrate the making of that rig. Topics like IK/FK switch, deformers, pelvis stretch, utilities etc will be discussed. The aim is to share a lot of conceptual knowledge and display tool-oriented approaches to making a rig.
The workshop is free of cost.
Registration Process: The seats are limited to 20 in each batch. In case of more registrations, two batches shall be run, one after the other.
Registration can be done at the Graphiti School of Animation
Telephone : 91 22 24440107, 32448544
This workshop is being conducted in association with CG Tantra.
Mac gets animated for Christmas!
All Apple Mac lovers would be familiar with their “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” series of ads. Their latest one is interesting not because it features Santa Claus, but because for the first time, the ad is animated!
The characters bear perfect resemblance to their live action counterparts and are hilarious. Do check out this delightful film on the Apple site. Here is the link.
