All Entries in the "Education" Category
Aptech going global! What about India?
This isn’t a rant against any particular institute but a general comment on our severely handicapped animation education system. With schools that claim to point their magic wand at ordinary mortals and turn them into animation geniuses proliferating all across the country, I shudder to think of what level of artistry and skill our so called talent pool will have in times to come. The poor, unsuspecting souls who enroll for most of these courses are no more than cannon-fodder for behemoth animation ’schools’ riding on the wave of the global animation boom.
What triggered this tirade? I just read this press release announcing Aptech’s global expansion:
Aptech Global Learning Solutions announced today that it will open its first animation training academy in Brazil in May.
“The centre in Brazil will start functioning within three weeks. We have decided to open 35 new centres in countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, Russia and Vietnam this fiscal. These centres will be a combination of Arena Animation Academy and Aptech Computer Education training institutes,” Aptech executive director R. Krishnan told IANS.
“We will also be expanding nationally. New centres will be opened this year at Cuttack, Rourkela, Bhubaneswar, Durgapur, Guwahati and Dibrugarh,” he added.
Discovery of the week: AnimationMentor.com’s Free e-book - “Animation Tips & Tricks”
From this week onwards, I will be blogging about one new “Discovery of the Week” that I want to share with all AAA readers.
This week’s special-
The Online Animation School - AnimationMentor.com is giving away a free e-book called “Animation Tips & Tricks” by Shawn Kelly. All you need to do is sign up. The book is the first collection of all the tips and tricks that appear in the Animation Mentor monthly newsletter. Judging by their high standard of teaching and the calibre of the ‘mentors’, the book should be informative and extremely useful for all animation students.
Written in a witty, tongue-in-cheek manner, the book covers a wide range of topics including ’spotlighting expressions’, ‘contrast in pose and timing’ and ‘transitioning your style’. Learn what ‘randomblinkitis’ is. ‘Rise above the snobbery’, ‘impress the recruiters’ and ‘recharge your animation batteries’. If all this has piqued your curiosity, head over to their download page and sign up.
Shawn Kelly is one of the co-founders of AnimationMentor.com. He is also the winner of the 2008 VES award for The Best Single Visual Effect of the Year for his work on Tranformers and he continues to work full-time at Industrial Light & Magic as an animator.
CG Tantra presents Free Seminar : Behind The Games
Date - 5th march 2008
Venue - KC College Auditorium, Churchgate, Mumbai
Time - 2.30 pm onwards ( Registration Desk opens at 1.30 pm)
For Registration - Click here
EVENTS TODAY
There are 2 events happening in Mumbai today.
TASI is conducting a very interesting workshop on MUSIC FOR ANIMATION at the IDC Auditorium, IDC, IIT Powai (2 pm onwards). Even if you have not pre-registered, you can come to the venue at 1:30 pm and register yourself. The workshop, conducted by Tapas Relia, is a one-of-its-kind one for animation. Most workshops are focussed on CG and allied topics. Sound and music are extremely crucial to any film, let alone an animated one. It influences the mood of the film. In animation, it even guides the audiences. There is a lot to study and understand about this often ignored aspect of animation. Music composition for animation is an upcoming field and a viable career option for the musically inclined.
DO NOT MISS!!! Just show up at the IDC Auditorium at 1:30 pm today (Saturday, 23rd Feb.) and get yourself registered for a wonderful learning experience!
For info call Ritesh on 9869403527 or Akshata on 9820423908
————————————————————–
The other event is ANI-ART ‘08, the exhibition of animation work by students of MIDDS - Meteor Institute of Digital Design Studies in Andheri, Mumbai.
Date: 23rd Feb.
Time: 11 am onwards
Venue: MIDDS, C-101, Brook Hill Tower,
3rd Cross Lane, Lokhandwala,
Andheri (West), Mumbai - 400053
Telephone: 26315206 /07
Lots of news… tie-ups, launches and recruitments!
The last couple of days have seen a lot of activity in the Indian animation industry. Here is a quick summary of all the news in February so far…
Panel Comix launches Happy Days and Little Pandavas Comic.
Hyderabad, 12th Feb. 2008
Panel Animation Studios Pvt. Ltd. launches its comics division Panel Comix, with “Happy Days”, India’s first film based comic and “Little Pandavas - The Beginning”, based on the 90 minutes fully-animated feature film, as its first offerings to the public.
IG Fun & INDIAGAMES to bring the award winning ‘BioShock’ to mobile.
Barcelona, Spain, Mobile World Congress, 12th Feb. 2008
IG Fun LLC, the international publishing arm of Indiagames Ltd, India’s benchmark online and mobile games company; today announced it will bring BioShock, one of the most awarded PC & Console games in the history of gaming, on the mobile platform. IG Fun secured the global rights to develop and publish BioShock for the mobile platform from 2K Games.
DQ Entertainment Limited & Percept Picture Company enter a three animation film co-production MoU.
Chennai, 11th Feb. 2008
Recognizing the potential and acute need for high end animated Indian films in Indian animation industry, DQ Entertainment (DQE) and Percept Picture Company (PPC) proudly announced their 3 animation co-production memorandum of understanding signed recently. The films are slated for 2009-2010 release and will be in the genres - Mythology, Super Hero, Bollywoodish and Animal Kingdom.
Graphiti Multimedia Pvt. Ltd. Launches Recruitment Drive.
Mumbai, 8th Feb. 2008
Graphiti Multimedia Pvt. Ltd. is an original animation content creator. With a vision of becoming a global leader in content creation. Graphiti is expanding it people base in all technical and creative departments. Graphiti is looking for professionals who have the passion to create original ideas and develop them into final animation properties.
Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging (MPI) and Prime Focus form Strategic Alliance.
Mumbai, 5th Feb. 2008
Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging and Prime Focus have entered into a strategic alliance that will allow both companies to expand their abilities to offer their state of the art digital post production capabilities to filmmakers on a global scale. The agreement will provide filmmakers around the world with access to the expert talents and services both companies have been providing through their state of the art facilities. It also allows both companies to manage their workflows more efficiently between Warner Bros. MPI in Burbank, and Prime Focus’s facilities throughout multiple locations in India and London as well as in New York, Vancouver, Winnipeg and Los Angeles.
FREE Toon Boom Storyboard Seminar on 9th Feb.’08
Toonboom and CGTantra in partnership with Rahul Commerce and Whistling Woods International are organizing a free Toon Boom Storyboard Seminar for animation, live action and VFX professionals and students.
Date: 9th February 2008
Time: 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm
Venue: Whistling Woods International Institute of Film, Televisio, Animation and Media Arts.
Film City Complex, Goregaon (East), Mumbai 400065
Tel: +91-22-2841-6000
Click here to pre-register.For more information, visit the CGTantra website.
Click the poster below to view a larger version.
TASI event : Animation for those who can’t draw!!
The Animation Society of India is kicking of its 2008 series of workshops with an exciting, 5 hour interactive session with Sanjiv Waeerkar, Creative Director, UTV.
“Animation for those who cannot draw”
To be held on Saturday, the 19th of January, it is open to anyone who loves animation but lacks the skills!
Understand the beauty of animation; learn performance and observation skills. Participate in interactive group exercises, where you and the team will create animation.
Don’t miss this fabulous opportunity!
Limited seats.
Entry on first come basis
Members of TASI may contact Ravish on 9833105305 for pre-registration
Non-members, please contact Ritesh on 9869403527 for details
Visit www.tasionline.org for more details
Date: Jan 19, 2008
Time: 2:30 pm onwards
Venue: MET - Mumbai Education Trust, Bandra Reclamation, Bandra West, Mumbai
Interview with Chaitanya Chinchlikar, Whistling Woods International
Every forum discusses the problems faced by the Indian animation industry in terms of quality human resources. It is openly acknowledged as well that the root of the problem lies in our animation education system. Yet, there is no conclusive action taken and studios and institutes keep pointing fingers at one another.
There is light at the end of the tunnel though. Whistling Woods International Institute for Film, Television and Media Arts seems to have got its fundamentals right with wise planning and a large investment. We caught up with Chaitanya Chinchlikar, Marketing Manager, WWI, and asked him to elaborate on the points that he had brought up during the panel discussion on human resources at the NASSCOM Animation & Gaming Summit.
