Catch Up Time

Its been quite sometime since i posted on the blog. So i thought i will let you know a bit as to what was keeping me occupied.

Firstly my sister and my beautiful 3 years old niece are here in India on their holidays. So i am trying to spend as much time i can. Family definitely comes first for me. And since they stay outside India, i really look forward to spend some time with them. Nothing can take the place of your near and dear ones and the times we spend with them is truly cherished for a long long time.

Then i was in goa for about 4 days with family. It had been a long time since i had gone on holiday and specially with family. And since my new term at Animation Mentor(AM) was yet to start, it was the perfect way to rejuvenate before starting a new term at AM. Hopefully, I will try to post some photos about my goa trip and bit about the entire trip.

And finally, my new term Class 4 - Advanced Acting has started here on AM. I was on a break last term and since 3 months a lot has improvised over AM, what with many new mentors and a super fast new site. Though the changes are majority on the back end side, so it feels more faster and am sure in times to come i shall feel more difference in the overall working of the site. Kudos to AM team for their new much faster and spruced up student's site.

My mentor for this term is Sean Ermery. He is a freelance artist and his last stint was with ReelFX as an animator on several projects including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Open Season 2 (releasing on DVD in the beginning of next year). I had my first QNA with him last night and seems to be a cool guy and i am really anticipating a fun filled Class 4.

I guess thats all whats been happening at my side. I will try to post more regularly in times to come.

And oh yes...AnimationMentor.com has launched a new completely redesigned site with a new section for free animation resources for animators. Its looking great overall. Check it out here !

Disney's 3D Animation "Bolt" - New Extended Trailer

Here is the new extended trailer for Disney's BOLT, a 3D animation feature hitting the screens on November 21st. After watching this extended trailer i am totally waiting to see the entire movie. I am having an intuition that this one will be entertaining all the way.


Have a look -

Simply Superb - The Day The Earth Stood Still

Check out this awesome EXTENDED preview of an upcoming sci-fiction movie "The Day The Earth Stood Still". It stars Keanu Reeves who suits this particular role so seamlessly, it seems he was born to do this movie !!

I think this movie has the potential to do what the Matrix Trilogy did to cinema. The preview looks absolutely brilliant !! This has become the most awaited movie for me in this year as much as Quantum Of Solace.

Have a look and decide by yourself.

Asifa India CGMEETUP 13th September - Case Study By Aardman Animation Studios

I went to my first every CGMeetUp here in Mumbai. Infact my first ever MeetUp since my existence as an animator.

The event was organised by Asifa India and was a case study by the world renowned Aardman Animation Studios and was supported by CGTANTRA.

It was a totally fun experience watching the awe-inspiring work of Aardman who have been pioneers in Stop-Motion animation for many many years(or is it decades?).





Alan and Andrew were kind enough to come down to Mumbai, India representing Aardman and sharing their wonderful work(past, present, a bit of the future).

Aardman's Upcoming Projects

The session started with Alan and Andrew both taking the mic alternatively and speaking about Aardman, its history and finally getting started with the case study in terms of showing their work. They have a huge experience in Stop-Motion and have also entered the CG medium, using it in their work as a blend of stop-motion,CG and 2D. Needless to say the end result is absolutely beautiful.

They showed a wide range of commercials, pitches, how does the pitches work(or why it doesn't work as in getting a client or a project), their shorts, their critically acclaimed, multiple award winning short film Pearce Sisters and some of their work done by their amazing team of artists in their own time just as a hobby or to pursue their creative endeavors.





In the end(from Aardman) they also had an interactive session where the audience was allowed to ask any questions they had. Some of the very interesting questions were -

1. Is it necessary to specialize in one field or be a generalist ?

2. How does Aardman decides which medium to use(Stop-motion, CG, 2D) or does it depends on the client's sensibilities ?

3. Recruitment process of Aardman.

4. Suggestions/advise for people starting in the industry and for the entire fraternity of artists on the whole.

At the end of the event, they had an open mic forum where anyone could share their shorts or any news or information about anything they wanted to. Vaibhav Kumaresh another person doing some great work in Stop-motion, shared some of his beautiful work. It was brilliant and extremely entertaining. Also as a person Vaibhav is quite friendly and a jolly good fellow.

I was surprised to see Dhimant Vyas, the guy who did the highly famed animation (claymation primarily) work in Taare Zameen Par. He spoke about his future projects a bit and in general. With the kind of talent he has and the work he has done, he seemed to me an extremely humble and down to earth person. We need many more people like him for our industry, its so very inspiring.

Overall it was indeed a pleasure and so much fun attending this CGMeetUp and now i am eagerly looking forward to the next event. Attending these kinds of events for the first time,i didn't know a lot of people and hence couldn't interact much, but i am looking forward to that in the upcoming events.

:-)

Weekly Movie Recommendations : 13th September 2008 - 19th September 2008

Ladri di biciclette aka "The Bicycle Thief" (1948)

Genre - Drama

Language - Italian

Directed By - Vittoria De Sica

Whats It About - A man and his son search for a stolen bicycle vital for his job.

The recipient of international acclaim, Vittorio de Sica's Italian Neorealist masterwork, THE BICYCLE THIEF, is a treasure of world cinema. After nearly two years of unemployment, Antonio (Lamberto Maggiorani) finally finds work posting bills. But he needs a bicycle to do the job....Why To Watch It - The recipient of international acclaim, Vittorio de Sica's Italian Neorealist masterwork, THE BICYCLE THIEF, is a treasure of world cinema.

Thematically, Vittoria de Sica's THE BICYCLE THIEF details an everyman story of loss of innocence in the face of a destitute society, while the film's poignant acting and directing creates an individual and heart-wrenching tale of one man's struggle to feed his family. The film is often considered one of the masterpieces of 20th century cinema.

The Bicycle Thief' has been a critical favorite for decades, and for good reason. It is a must-see film for any cinema loving person.

Have a sneak peek and decide for yourself -