All Entries Tagged With: "Studios"
Is that Brad Bird and John Lasseter??!
This one is just for fun! Flipanimation.net is a monthly online magazine that’s been around since May 2007. With some very interesting articles and free readership, it seems to be quite popular. Their latest issue (September 2008) has a very interesting Black and White photograph on the cover - its the Character Animation Class of 1976 from Cal Arts and guess who’s there in the picture? See for yourself…
Flipanimation.net has many more such fascinating bits of trivia besides some really good articles that make for engrossing reading. Do check it out!
Waiting for Arjun…
I was in a suburban movie theatre 2 nights ago watching “A Wednesday” when they screened the trailer of UTV’s upcoming release - Arjuna, The Warrior Prince. Not that I hadn’t seen it before (thanks to YouTube!!) but experiencing it on a big screen was a whole new experience. I was amazed. This is an Indian big-budget production that we can be proud of. If the trailer is anything to go by ( and they can be misleading some times) the quality is top-notch. (See the YouTube sneak-peek at the end of the article)
Until now the only truly ‘artistic’ animated films from India that I had seen were either independent films or student films from institutes such as NID and IDC (IIT). But large scale productions have always fallen short at some level. Maybe it was the lack of vision, time, patience, knowledge or perhaps all of these. It can’t be budgetary constraints - an individual superstar’s fees for a single Bollywood movie can fund an entire animated film! But Arnab Chaudhuri, the man at the helm of Arjun, surely knows what he is doing. An alumnus of the National Institute of Design and ex-Turner Creative Director, he seems to have what it takes to do justice to the story and the medium.
The animation style appears to be a combination of 2D and 3D - the final look and feel is of 2D animation but the fabric, the water and the movements of the characters are distinctly 3D. The film is reminiscent of Disney’s Prince of Egypt while Arjun could easily be the long-lost brother of Tarzan! The script writers seem to have taken a few liberties with the story but that is what great story-telling is about; retelling an age-old tale and embellishing it with one’s own visual interpretation.
This is the second Indian animated film that holds a lot of promise, after Yash Raj Film’s Roadside Romeo, which is an out and out 3D animated feature. I am looking forward to both of them and so is the entire Indian animation community. The Indian audiences have got a raw deal from some haughty, talent-less so-called animation film makers - a case in point being the makers of the recent ‘Icy n Spicy’, who thankfully got the boot from the audience! Roadside Romeo and Arjun should more than make up for it and once and for all dispel the myth that Indian animation lacks talent and vision when it comes to original IP productions. Until the movie releases, enjoy the trailer 
ABAI Fest 2008 - a 2 day celebration of animation
Bangalore, the IT Hub of India also has a large animation and gaming community, ‘officially’ brought together under the name of ABAI - Association of Bangalore Animation Industry. Studios and Institutes have come together to form this association and they celebrate the creative trinity of Animation+Gaming+VFX every year with the ABAI Fest. This year also studios, institutes, professionals, students and animation enthusiasts are converging at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore on the 5th and 6th of Sep. for the third edition of the ABAI Fest and AllAboutAnimation is a proud Supporter of the event
The first day went of well with the auditorium packed to full capacity and I’m looking forward to the second day today with some very interesting presentations announced.
Recession in the industry?!! Don’t press the panic button just as yet.
Now that the noise has died down and the dust has settled, the casualty is slowly beginning to show. For two years everyone was shouting from the rooftops about the animation boom in India. Institutes proclaimed India needs animators and ill-informed parents poured out their hard-earned money into many an unworthy school. Many people left their well-paying jobs and successful businesses to enter the animation industry. All of a sudden everyone wanted to be in animation.
The hype was not all bad. Many more people began sitting up and taking notice of this thing called ‘Animation’ than before. Students and parents alike opened their eyes to this new career prospect. Existing animators began celebrating their new-found respect in the eyes of their detractors who had so far looked down upon their choice of vocation. All-in-all the Indian animation industry saw a spurt in interest, enthusiasm, educational avenues and job opportunities. Within a year, more than 70 animated feature films were announced. Actual work began on a far lesser number of movies.
But the latest news coming out of studios is not good. Many production houses and studios have folded up. Others have laid off a majority of their employees. People have woken up to the fact that making an animated film is no cake walk. There may be a lot of enthusiasm and ideas but the lack of funds, acute shortage of ‘talented’ artists and short-sightedness of studios have become major obstacles.
After mytho, what next? Serve old wine in a new bottle!
How do some creative Indian film producers combat the slew of animated mythological movies? By making animated versions of old Hindi classics! Why bother with writing an original story when you can just buy the rights to a successful movie from another era and package it as per the flavour of the season - Animation!
Don’t believe me? Read this news report on Pritish Nandy Communications’ latest venture - animated remakes of three Shakti Samanta golden oldies - Howrah Bridge, Amar Prem and Barsaat Ki Ek Raat.
Pritish Nandy announced, “This is my homage to one of the most underrated filmmakers of the country. When I met Mr. Samanta, he was so pleased to know his films would reach out to a new generation. Howrah Bridge is one of my favourite noire films. The magic of Sachin Dev Burman’s music, the chemistry between Ashok Kumar and Madhubala and the seductive charm of Ashok Kumar’s baritone….all that I want to capture in animation form.”
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!
(picture copyright : Shemaroo Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.)
Kahani World showcases its ‘magnificent seven’ at Cannes
“Along with many Indian flavours that have pervaded the international culture scene, Indian animation looks all set to enthrall kids everywhere. The response to our shows at the Cannes Film Festival is overwhelming.”
This is what a visibly pleased Biren Ghose, CEO & President of Kahani World, had to say from Cannes, where the company is showcasing its bouquet of 7 spanking new films with a distinct ‘Eastern flavour’ but targeted at a worldwide audience.
In the next 2 years, Kahani World, which is headquartered in Canada, will produce 7 films specially targeted at the three viewer segments of kids, tweens and teens. The content will be extended to various platforms, including dynamic new media.
Here’s a quick look at the slate of films:
Secrets of Seven Sounds, a Deepak Chopra and Shekhar Kapur production, in a joint venture with Virgin Comics.
Creature Discomforts! Aardman’s Animation with a Message
There must be very few true-blue animation fans who haven’t heard of Aardman’s Creature Comforts. Now, they can also see Creature Discomforts, a beautiful campaign created by them for Leonard Cheshire Disability. The series is based on one experiences of real disabled people with lovable characters and a profound message. The characters have been voiced by the very people on whom the characters are based. The website is worth a visit for two reasons: to change the way you see disability and for the brilliant characters and animation.
