Archive for May, 2008
“Dekh Bhai Dekh” …worth a dekko!
Learning animation is not just about learning how to use the software. Art, literature, history, story-telling, film-making, music, acting… many different things go into it. You also need to watch a lot of good films to be able to create great films. That is what the students of NID, India’s premier animation school, do. But they don’t just stop at watching the inspiring films, they go one step ahead. They share them!
So here is a very nice effort by a bunch of NIDians - a blog where various contributors upload links to some amazing short films from across the world. Smit Shah and Rohit Iyer kick-started the film-recommendation network and were later joined by a lot of their peers. See the blog - DEKH BHAI DEKH - subscribe to it if you like and then come back and read this wacky interview with the duo that started it all!
AAA: How did you come upon the idea to create a blog like this? What was the ‘inspiration’ or thought behind it?
SMIT: All through my stay at NID, I came across a lot of good short films, animation and otherwise which we used to share amongst each others. But by November last year I realised there were a lot of people who had left NID, and we couldnt keep up with exchanging these films. So to share these inspirations I started a mailing list which had a lot of NIDians as well as non NIDians. Anyone who was interested could ask for an invitation to the mailing list, and a lot of people wanted the archives of those good films. The idea was simple, growing into a ‘one good animation a day in your inbox’. It was also to provide as much information about the film maker and the production houses. We try to look for more information about the film on the net and include it as well. It wasnt until mid jan that this mailing list was converted to a blog, and what an appropriate name Rohit came up with.
ROHIT: I’m sure Smit must have started it out of boredom… or to show off (he likes doing that!). He started sending everyone these mails and he added me to the list. Me… I’m like efficiency - as cool as it was to have the links in my inbox every day, I got kind of fed up of being linked to a trazillion different video sites. So I figured the best way to do this is to have a blog where we could embed the videos and group members could sign up and post new videos and an update would be sent to subscribers’ inbox through a feed. This really helps because you can look at the videos at a glance and not sift through lots of emails to find something.
So we also invited all the people in the mailing list to be part of the blog, so anyone can sign in and post stuff. There was a concern about what’s the point in having a blog like this when there are so many other such blogs/sites online already. So after some thought, we kind of figured that these are videos recommended by people we KNOW and not just random shorts. The idea behind posting on the blog is that we want to share what WE like and express our tastes and discoveries through this, as opposed to creating some sort of archive.
The name “Dekh Bhai Dekh” came about because when creating the blog, I had to give it a name and I preferred something in Hindi. Trivia: Dekh Bhai Dekh is the name of an old TV show from nineties starring Shekhar Suman, which used to air on Sony Entertainment Television!
TASI Upcoming Session on 31st May: Pre-production for Animation
On Saturday, 31st May, 2008 at the P C Saxena Auditorium in IIT Powai, Mumbai, TASI is holding session on Pre-production for Animation.
Three speakers will share their recent work and elucidate on the entire process of conceptualizing and planning up untill the actual production begins.
Santosh Sawant - Creative Director, Phoebus Creations, Mumbai
Uttam Pal - Independent Animator & Film-maker, Mumbai
Rudra Matsa - Founder & CEO, Panel Animation Studios, Hyderabad
With examples from their own films, the speakers will take you through the process from concept to the final blue-print. Phases discussed will include intellectual property (IP) creation, story, script, storyboarding, animatics, character and environment design, colour keys, sound design and much more!
Visit the TASI website for more information.
CGTExpo 2008 - A successful start!
After spending two full days at the CGTExpo 2008, I must say the experience was unique. Hundreds of volunteers from all over the country, the CGTantra team, the Nine team, the participants and the supporters, all put in their best to make the event a truly successful one.
The planning was perfect, arrangements flawless and the least possible glitches ensured that everyone had a lot of fun and went back having gained something. Newbies, students, job-seekers, curious spectators, anxious parents of would-be animation students, were all milling around together in the two main halls and two smaller ones.
See you at CGTExpo 2008!
AllAboutAnimation.com is the official web partner for CGTExpo 2008 and we have a stall at the exhibition. Feel free to drop in and find out more about AAA. The exhibition opens at 9:30 am and goes on till 6 pm on Saturday, 24th May and Sunday, 25th May.
I will be there on both days. Looking forward to seeing you at the CGTExpo 2008!!
CGTExpo 2008 (Update) : Masterclass Details online
CGTExpo Masterclasses will enable participants to make the most of an indepth learning environment under the guidance of experts from the diverse backgrounds - artistic, technical or conceptual. If you are interested, do register soon:
http://www.cgtexpo.com/masterclasses.html
See the details of the sessions and speakers.
Event Overload!
Lots of stuff happening in Mumbai this week and its keeping me from blogging!
Last evening I attended a Book Signing by Lord Jeffrey Archer at the Landmark Book Store in Andheri, Mumbai. It was one of the most beautiful and inspiring evenings of my life and I will soon blog about the experience and why I have chosen to include him, a story-teller par excellence, in this Animation related blog.
Today and tomorrow (21st and 22nd May) is the IAI - Industry Academia Interface organized by Animation Xpress. I went for the session today and was stunned by the abysmally low turnout. Either people weren’t informed or they weren’t interested Either way, it doesn’t bode well for the future of Animation, Gaming and VFX of India. There were more speakers than audience, though the line up of topics was very good. Sad!
This weekend - 24th and 25th May - is the CGTExpo 2008, CGTantra’s brand new attempt at reaching out to more people. All About Animation will be there with a stall so anyone who wants to meet me can drop by and find out more about AAA.
See you at CGTExpo!!!
Pune Ahoy!
After Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, Pune is now being touted as the next ‘hot’ (quite literally, as of now!) destination for the animation industry. With a strong government backing, proximity to Bollywood AKA Mumbai, lesser traffic congestion and relatively affordable real estate, Pune has a lot to offer to the Animation and Gaming Industry.
Suresh Kalmadi, MP and Chairman of Pune Vyaspeeth announced at a press conference on Saturday, 17th May that the 5th Hi Tech Pune-Maharashtra 2008 conference, a 3-day event which has so far focussed on IT (Information Technology) and BT (Biotechnology) would this year include Animation and Gaming as well.
“Innovation Led Inclusive Growth” is what they are calling the conference but what exactly will be discussed with regards to the animation industry and who will speak is not certain. They have mentioned an Animation & Gaming Committee though, comprised of:
Commodore Anand Khandekar (Director Pune Development Center and Chief Mentor NVIDIA)
Ravi Gupta (Executive Director, Whistling Woods International)
Aashish Kulkarni (CEO, Anirights)
Sunanda Rathi (Director Arena Animation, Pune)
Dr. Ajay Batra (Author: “Breeding Innovation and Intellectual Capital” and “Integrated Innovation, Knowledge Management and Intellectual Capital Framework”)
The website does not offer much information either and the only topic mentioned in the list is one that has already been done to death, - “Opportunities & Challenges of Gaming & Animation Industry.” One wishes that they would find fresh topics to discuss at such prestigious events rather than have the same people rehash the same “issues” over and over again.
Indian Animation Going Vegetarian!
Not really. But I thought it makes for an interesting headline for the announcement that PETA has chosen as its brand mascot - none other than the latest animated hero to hit Indian screens - Ghatothkach.
Created by Shemaroo Entertainment and Sun Animatics for the animated ‘Ghatothkach - Master of Magic’, the character - Ghatothkach has been adopted by PETA as the Official Brand Ambassador for their ‘Save The Elephant’ campaign.
The announcement was made at music launch function of the movie which is all set to release on this Friday, the 23rd of May. The story, direction and music for the film are by veteran director, Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, who is known for films like ‘Pushpak’, ‘Appu Raja’, ‘Mayuri’ and ‘Son Of Aladdin’. The 90 minute long, 2D animated feature is a collaboration between Shemaroo and Sun Animatics.
Credit must be given to the producers of the film who are going all out to promote Ghatothkach. The film will be released internationally in UK, USA and UAE, dubbed in Hindi, English, Tamil and Malayalam, screened at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival, adapted to mobile and online games and advertised all over the country through every possible medium. The mascot will visit malls and multiplexes, there are tie-ups with McDonalds and Chandamama and a plethora of merchandising options being exploited. The music, as always, is being heavily promoted.
Whether the Indian Animation Industry meets international standards in terms of animation quality or not, it sure has come of age as far as marketing , promoting and merchandising the characters and films is concerned (In other words, it is finally learning to make money from animated films!)
I sincerely hope that the animation is as good as the character design seen in the promos, or else for true animation fans aching to see drool-worthy Indian animation, the wait is long and arduous. All I can say to them (and myself ) until then is…
Shree Ganesh! Hare Krishna! Jai Hanuman!
