"It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves."

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Funny Ad

I saw this at another BLOG, its an ad but i found it quite funny and worth a laugh.

Check it out..


Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Michael Caine Acting in Films 2/6

Part 2 of the 6-part video by the legendary actor Michael Caine on Acting in films.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

What has changed in the way Animation is done nowdays...

There is a very interesting article which i came across at AWN written by Joseph Gilland. It describes the way animation is done nowdays, which is in stark contrast to how it was done in the not so long distant past thereby showing the sea change which has come in the entire animation process.

Check it out here...

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Michael Caine on Acting for FILMS - 1/6

The legendary actor Michael Caine shares some his brilliant insights and tips on Acting for Films. Its a 6 video series. Posting the first one now. Must see for all animators and for anyone interested what goes in an Actors mind and how he goes about performing a performance which touches us the audience and involves us in the film.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Been busy...

Its been almost 2 weeks since i last posted. The reason been i have been quite busy with my Class 2 here at AnimationMentor.com and i have been also traveling a bit. So after effects of all this is that my blog is devoid of regular posts. So my plan of keeping my blog updated as much as often is definitely not working ! :-) But i have plans to change this....very soon !!!

Class 2 began with 180 degree turn. The emphasis of this assignment is get our body mechanics like - weight shift, movements in order and also applying all the principles of animation we learnt in Class 1 like Timing and Spacing, Overlaps, Squash and Stretch, Arcs, Path of Action, Anticipation.

Watch out for my next couple of posts for the blocking of it.

Also i will be writing about some thing which i have observing, thinking from life around me. All i can say is that it will be different from the posts i have so far. Well is the curiosity getting the better of you ?? Well then you better keep watching this space to satiate your curiosity.

Till then adieu ....

Saturday, January 12, 2008

First QNA in Class 2 and i am a PEER BUDDY now !!!

Last week i had my first QNA for class 2 with my fantastic mentor and my new cool classmates.

It was simply rocking to say the least. Im indeed glad to have such a mentor. Dana was extremely friendly and so interactive in her approach. That helps a lot in getting along and to ask her just about any question. This class will definitely be a huge learning experience for me.

And another exciting thing which happened yesterday was that i got a mail from my school support staff at AnimationMentor that i have been made a PEER BUDDY !!! Wow, that was one of the best news i heard lately and really made my day. Now what is this PEER BUDDY you must be wondering.

The main purpose of the Peer Buddies program is to build a sense of community and support for all students Animation Mentor.As a peer buddy, we are asked to be available as a pillar of support for underclassmen: be available to chat, offer suggestions for their assignments, invite them to student-run functions, and overall help everyone feel like a part of the Animation Mentor community. This is not necessarily(but can be) Maya support, or technical support but more kind of a moral support and encouragement from a fellow student.

The reason i so wanted to be a part of this programme was that i had benefited a lot from my PEER BUDDY when i was in Class 1. So i wanted to extend the same support and help to new students joining in Class 1. Being at AnimationMentor can be quite intimidating with so many talented people around and so much stuff on hands to learn and to do. And besides you never know when you hit a road block in terms of technical issue or creative block. So in these times, some one to talk to really helps. Not that only PEER BUDDIES will help you when you need, each and everyone at the school is so supportive, but just that it sort of assigns you to a person(Peer Buddy) who will give you a slight priority and a bit more time than he may give to other students.

So loads of stuff happening now...will try to share as much as i can.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Its finally here...Class 2 - Body Mechanics

Yuppie !!! After a much needed break for about 2 weeks my Class 2 - Body Mechanics begins today at AnimationMentor.com. AnimationMentor certainly fills a lot of my hours when i am not sleeping and trust me its not much, i mean the hours i sleep ! :-) Yes the break looked very inviting but then AnimationMentor tends to make you kinda addictive to its super cool community of super uber cool and very helpful people. So after a couple of days i was sort of missing visiting the students site. But now finally its back, the break seemed to be going on for eternity !!!

Class 1 - Basic Foundations was such a fantastic experience which i am surely gonna cherish for a long long time in my life. My mentor Chris Chua was a superb pillar of support in every possible way and i was lucky to have such an awesome class full of nice people who are definitely fun to hang out with. Just imagine many of them i may just end up working with some day !!!

Now coming to Class 2 - Body Mechanics, its undoubtedly one of the very important classes for any animator where finally the various dimensions of animation and its beauty begins to unfold. This class prepares you for that stage when you no longer have to worry about say "getting a particular movement right", because by then it will come naturally to you. And then you can truly focus for the real goal which we are striving to achieve, that is story telling, emotions, performances, interaction between characters and so on. So body mechanics is a lot of fun but also a lot of work, so i may not be able to post as often as i do it now, but im trying to improvise on my time management which will enable me to post on a very regular basis following my journey week after week.

Another reason for my excitement in starting Class 2 -Body Mechanics was to find out who my new mentor is. Here at AnimationMentor every class we have a new mentor and new class mates (though few overlap are inevitable). Its a terrific way of getting to know more and more people and learn about different approaches to animation as each mentor has his/her own style of animating. So a mentor is that person who is your biggest support, your biggest guide, your biggest motivator, your biggest critic and overall like a director for that particular class. So a mentor's influence is paramount and in a way it can redefine your life.

My mentor for this term is the very talented Dana Boadway !!! Dana has been working for nearly a decade in this industry and previously had a dozen or so years of acting training (including university-level, and professional film and television work), and 20 years of dance training (body mechanics all right !!) ! She is also a graduate of the very prestigious Sheridan College for Computer Animation. She was also honored to participate in the Computer Animation Festival for SIGGRAPH 2006, as Assistant Producer, and in creating the opening credits animation for its famed "Electronic Theater".

So looks like i'm gonna have a ball this term with Dana being my mentor. Cant wait to get the party started with Dana and my new class mates !

My first ever Q&A session of this class with my new mentor - Dana begins in sometime, so i will sign off here !!

Monday, January 7, 2008

CES 2008 is here !!!



For those who are wondering whats CES, well its the world's largest consumer electronics show, which is held every year in Las Vegas.

With more than four decades of success, the International CES reaches across global markets, connects the industry and enables CE innovations to grow and thrive.

The International CES is produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the consumer technology industry. CEA represents more than 2,100 corporate members involved in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and integration of consumer electronics products. All profits from CES are reinvested into industry services, including technical training and education, industry promotion, engineering standards development, market research and legislative advocacy.

Its the show to watch, for upcoming technology innovations which will affect us in our everyday lives.

And with Bill Gates delivering the opening keynote address year after year(though some reports say this one might be his last {pun intended} !!! ) this is definitely the most awaited consumer electronics show in the world !!!

Follow the entire coverage on the main website or join the conversation at the BLOG -






Friday, January 4, 2008

Another year passes, another one comes along...

First things first...Wishing you all a very happy new year 2008.

Hope all of you have sobered up after the nonstop parties and euphoria, starting right from Christmas and continuing till the first day of the new year.....or may be for some till second day (hangover has a funny way of extending its unwelcome presence) !

For those who are still in a celebration mood, well what can i say, cheers to you ! After all what better of beginning a new year than partying and spending time with your near and dear ones.

So another batch of 365 days just went by, time certainly flies and another batch of 365 days are already in queue in each one of our lives. Whats most exciting of this yet to be seen visitors(days) standing on our doorstep is that you don't know what it will bring. The hand of fate as always is a mystery and you never know of it till the last moment.

Now looking back at 2007, i am sure different people have different memories. Some good, some unfortunately bad or may be not so good. Some were overjoyed by their annual monetary increments, some were made to think "why do i always get paid less than what i deserve", some welcomed a new partner in their lives by getting married, some welcomed one more addition in their lives in terms of having a kid(for all those who were thinking of another wife, well to each his own !). So as you see, life goes on no matter what. You are happy one day, the next day you feel the world around you is crumbling. As some one said to enjoy good, you need to experience bad and vice versa. Just imagine if each single day of your life will be good, then you will no longer appreciate the "good" days. You will feel like just another day" Its only after night that the day is awaited for it brings a new hope, a new spirit, a new vigor. Just imagine if the sun never sets, gosh that will be so boring, after all evenings have their own excitement of returning back from work spending time with your family and friends, going out for a drink, having a night of revelry in night clubs and so on. The point i am making here is that everything good or bad has its own place in our lives, its just that the duration of each differs. Life is certainly not a bed of roses as we all know. So instead of feeling completely down and dejected we might as well get more determined in turning away the bad times in return for good times. I just cant resist sharing with you all a quote i read somewhere -

"The real success is going from failure to failure with enthusiasm"

Ok i guess you have wasted enough of your precious time reading my post, so before i start drifting again, lets begin this year on a positive note and optimism. Forget the year went by, brooding over it wont make your coming year better, it will just make it worse. And for those who had a fantastic last year and feeling skeptical how this year will turn out, well don't be sad that its over, smile that it at least happened.

Just remember after every night morning will certainly come.

Hope all your dreams, aspirations, endeavors turn out for good in 2008 !