All Entries Tagged With: "Interview"
India Goes to BANFF for “nextMEDIA - The Future of Digital Content”
nextMEDIA - The Future of Digital Content is where the world’s content creators, broadcasters, financiers, carriers, digital publishers, technology solution-providers, and advertisers meet to extend their knowledge and nurture key business relationships. The conference is set in spectacular Banff, Alberta, nextMEDIA is the sister event to the world renowned Banff World Television Festival. The event takes advantage of the synergies connecting the television and new media industries by facilitating a high-value networking environment.
Attendees at nextMEDIA gain an expert understanding of the most important areas of development in the interactive media industry and learn how to create and execute profitable digital media strategies.
AAA caught up with Biren Ghose, CEO of Kahani World Inc. who is one of the prominent speakers at the digital content show in Banff, Alberta, Canada from the 6th to 8th June 2008, where India is featured as the “emerging market” for discussion. Biren Ghose will be presenting his thesis on “Storytelling 2.0″ which will explore how storytelling will change in a world where the viewer will influence its course.
There is a panel on emerging markets where key decision makers from major media companies network in a retreat based environment. Key participants featured here include:
Must Read! Innovation Lessons from Pixar’s Brad Bird
A very interesting and insightful article - if you are in anyway connected with the world of animation, this is a must read. In fact, this interview with Brad Bird from the McKinsey Quarterly has become so popular that it is being written about in other blogs and the pdf version (created by some faithful reader) is being circulated around as well.
Since one needs to be a registered user of The McKinsey Quarterly to be able to read the complete article, here is the link to a very nice review and concise version of it from Gigaom.com by Carleen Hawn. It begins like this:
This week The McKinsey Quaterly asks: what does stimulating the creativity of animators have in common with developing new product ideas or technology breakthroughs? Apparently, a lot.
In Innovation lessons from Pixar, McKinsey writes:
Brad Bird makes his living fostering creativity. Academy Award-winning director (The Incredibles and Ratatouille) talks about the importance, in his work, of pushing teams beyond their comfort zones, encouraging dissent, and building morale. He also explained the value of “black sheep”—restless contributors with unconventional ideas.
Read the complete aticle from Gigaom.com here.
If you would like to read the original article that came out in The McKinsey Quarterly, go here.
A quick look at what the original article says:
- Pixar’s Brad Bird makes his living fostering creativity. In an interview, this director of two Academy Award–winning animated films (The Incredibles and Ratatouille) describes how he pushes teams of animators beyond their comfort zones, encourages dissent, and builds morale.
- Bird’s experiences and anecdotes hold powerful lessons for executives in any organization seeking to nurture innovation.
The article also contains an interactive feature including audio clips from the interview, stills from several of Bird’s projects, and a brief biography.
Watch: AnimationMentor.com’s Shawn Kelly’s Webinar
Available only till 29th April, this is a must watch video- learn the tips and tricks of animation from Shawn Kelly of AnimationMentor.com If you liked the free downloadable e-book I had written about in one of my earlier posts, this is something you shouldn’t miss!
Dhimant Vyas and the ‘making of TZP clay animation’ on CNN IBN!
Taare Zameen Par has not only caught the fancy of the nation as a warm and touching film, but its clay animation sequence has enthralled audiences as well. After we featured the making of the TZP clay animation on the AAA blog (see here), others have followed suit, including Indiafm.com and now CNN IBN.
Last night, CNN IBN had a special interview with Dhimant Vyas and it will be screened today as well at 2:30 pm IST on the CNN IBN channel. Dhimant certainly deserves the accolades he is receiving for this mini-masterpiece that kids and adults alike have found fascinating. Here is the link to the CNN IBN video interview:
Interview with Dhimant Vyas on CNN IBN
Also read…
The AAA interview with Dhimant Vyas on the making of TZP’s clay animation and photos.
Photos and the making of TZP Clay Animation

Hear it from the maker himself…
Dhimant Vyas talks exclusively to All About Animation
and shares photos from Taare Zameen Par’s clay animation sequences.
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.
Indian Women in Animation
Ever wondered why there are so few Indian women in animation known for their work? I did. Reasons are plenty and varied but none too convincing. So instead of just complaining about it, we made it our mission to promote and honour our women animators from India on the All About Animation website.
The first on our list is Shilpa Ranade, animator and assistant professor at IDC, Mumbai. We caught up with her at the IIT campus and you will be able to read the interview and also catch a glimpse of some of her work on the AAA website.
The wait isn’t too long. The launch is just 8 days away now!
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.





