Tuesday, April 23, 2013

'THE CROODS' animates for the biggest non franchise at Indian box office

Boosted by critical and popular acclaim, Production majors Fox Star Studios and DreamWorks' fun animated film 'The Croods' the stunning 3D comedy-fantasy adventure has opened with a staggering Rs. 4.31 Crores gross Box Office, (3.02 crores net)  and is continuing its box office blitzkrieg across theatres.


The sixth release of Fox Star Studios in 2013, the opening figures of The Croods are the biggest weekend for a non- franchise animation film. This extraordinary feat also makes 'The Croods' the 4th biggest animation opener of India joining the ranks of animation blockbusters such as Ice Age 4, Kung Fu Panda 2 and Madagascar 3.
The film has strongly benefited from a great word of mouth publicity and has attracted people of all age groups. A resounding success world over with 400 Million USD GBO, The Croods is also Fox Star Studios' 4th successful animated film out of the top 6 animation films in India which include - Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Ice Age 4: The Continental Drift and Rio.
Vijay Singh, CEO, Fox Star Studios adds, "We are delighted with the fantastic weekend opening of The Croods. With stunning visual content and power packed entertainment, it is the perfect holiday film for the entire family, and we expect the numbers to increase further during the week"
'The Croods' stars the voices of popular Hollywood actors like the Oscar winner Nicholas Cage, Ryan Reynolds and Emma Stone and follows the world's first modern family through the journey of a lifetime.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Arpit Samdani Golden boy of MAACJaipur

Arpit Samdani a student of B.A.& VFX from MAAC Jaipur was awarded with Gold Medal for his excellent performance in Dec 2011 Semester Exam. He manages to top amongst students appearing in that session across all IGNOU centers. Following are the pics in which Arpit Receives the Gold Medal and certificate from IGNOU officials at a convocation ceremony held in Jaipur.




Monday, April 8, 2013

MAAC Monthly poster competition

Following are the selected entires of the students monthly competiton. More to follow after this...
Ankit Singh Pathania

Animaesh Mathur

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Stuudent Art work.Supriya Ranawat (MAAC Jaipur student).

Supriya Ranawat (MAAC Jaipur student) portraying her journey through time. Excellent spirit and great technical implementation of Photoshop. Keep rocking.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

An animated movie based on Krrish being made

Animation production house Toonz has partnered with Cartoon Network and Bollywood director Rakesh Roshan's Film Kraft Productions to produce four animated movies based on the Hindi blockbuster superhero Krrish.
Roshan's Koi... Mil Gaya and Krrish went on to become the first superhero films of Hindi film industry. The series will soon have a third film Krrish 3, starring Hrithik Roshan again.

"The animated Krrish franchise are fun films that are guaranteed to be a visual treat with mass appeal. We are thrilled about partnering with the legendary Rakesh Roshan and Cartoon Network," Toonz Animation India Chief Executive P Jayakumar said after announcing the pact.
The animated movie follows the childhood adventure of Krishna, who discovers that he can help people and save the world with the special powers bestowed upon him.

Under the agreement, a series of four movies will be created in the next 24 months, the first of which, titled Kid Krrish, will be air on Cartoon Network on July 14, Jaykumar said.
"The Krrish franchise has been very well received by kids across the country and we are certain that they will be enthralled and excited to watch this adaptation of their superhero on Cartoon Network," Turner International India Managing Director for South Asia Siddharth Jain said.

Launched in 1995, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc's Cartoon Network is a leading kids' entertainment channel in India, and claims to have over 33 million viewers across the country.
"Since 'Krrish 3' will be ready for release this Diwali, I wanted to revive the memory of Krrish' with children and the newer generation who may have not seen 'Koi Mil Gaya' or Krrish'. I am happy to have collaborated with Turner and Toonz Animation," Roshan said.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Animation in the 1930s.



https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjORVtUpqwok1Ydc3zdNgHc9ndMXgjRN1XA-I00Z7d93iXTVXx2k_SCGECX0QVmA7QPyObk_xSlZ3g7NJFw2Wkwfm3C6-5tOF3V2I8kZFV6W0vdG4hluvbwRvtfQMVqC_u1o5AdBw0D03CA/s400/popeye-a-date-to-skate.jpg

In today's modern Era where we have the digital advantage, here is video of how Animation was done in 1930s. Though we all know the process still take a look at this short video which explicitly explains the hard work and the huge number of animators/ artists who were involved in making some of the earliest and the most memorable animation movies. 

Click on the link to view the entire process of animation done in 1930s.

Friday, March 29, 2013

Update on :Charu Khandal


Dear all,

Following is a status update on behalf of Charu Khandal. We shall update you with more events / activities which we intend to do.

"Life is beautiful" is what I have always believed in. Like any other girl of my age, I also had dreams. From being the best at my workplace to being the best life partner--i wanted it all. But exactly a year ago, on March 25th, 2012, an accident left me and my dreams paralysed. In a second, my life had come to a halt. When I regained consciousness, I found myself lying in Kokilaben Hospital, paralysed from neck to toe. With almost 3 months of stay there, the hospital almost became my second home. It took me quite a lot of time to fathom that it had happened to me. That I couldn't move my body without someone else's support. I refused to believe destiny was being so harsh on me. Somewhere I felt, I will bounce back, very soon. But a year has gone by and there's almost no improvement. 

My treatment is way too expensive--from doctors' fees and tests to my physiotherapy and medicines. And seeing no improvement, doctors are now suggesting that I should go abroad for better treatment. Last year, when my well-wishers and friends (you all) volunteered to support me financially, even though I truly appreciated the gesture, I refused to take any help, thinking I will soon be back on my feet. But considering I still have a long way to go before I come back to normalcy, I would need your support to be able to continue with my medicines and treatment. It could be any amount that you willingly want to contribute. Any amount will be a huge help in my fight against this battle and most importantly, winning it.


Prana wins auction for Rhythm & Hues


After a see-saw auction that lasted most of two days and nights, a holding company connected to Prana Studios has agreed in principle to acquire bankrupt visual effects studio Rhythm & Hues.
Prana is a visual effects and animation studio with offices in Los Angeles and India. It was founded as an American company but does much of its animation production through an Indian subsidiary.
Prana appeared to be out of the auction Wednesday afternoon but re-entered the bidding following a continuance in the proceedings Thursday. Prana has solid relationships with the majors, as it does animation for studio features. Its credits include “Hoodwinked” for the Weinstein Co. and the upcoming “Planes” for Disney.
The auction turned out to be a difficult and drawn-out process. Early on in the process, Psyop and a Taiwanese bidder with ties to electronics manufacturer Foxconn could not or would not show proof of financing, and were eliminated. Three bidders remained: Prana, Prime Focus and Brave Vision, a Chinese company led by Jiang Yanming, a founder of vfx & post facility Technicolor Beijing, and co-founder, president and largest shareholder of China Lion.
Prana was the next to fall out, it seemed, and Prime Focus and China Lion continued the auction into the night. At around 10:00 p.m. Wednesday it appeared Jiang’s bid had won, but then the auction resumed and continued until 2:00 a.m. Thursday, then broke until late morning.
A final deal remained out of reach even as the scheduled 3:00 p.m. Thursday court date approached. Rhythm & Hues asked for a continuance, pushing the court hearing until 10:00 a.m. Friday and asking for the auction to continue.
From the Annals of Chutzpah: JS Communications, the would-be stalking horse bidder that withdrew at the 11th hour, filed an objection with the court today that slowed down the process. JS had negotiated an large “break-up fee,” insisted on a (almost unheard-of) non-binding stalking horse agreement, then missed the deadline to file its official bid when it couldn’t get assurances that Fox and Universal would send future vfx work to Rhythm & Hues.
JS complained that when it withdrew its bid, R&H dropped the requirement that the next bid be at least $525,000 more than the $17 million stalking horse bid  – the bid that JS never delivered. That figure would ensure that JS’s  ”break-up fee” would be covered. JS’s lawyers were arguing that although it did not provide the stalking horse bid that is supposed to justify the break-up fee, it should get the money anyway.
Talks resumed Thursday evening and Prana emerged the winner of the auction around 9:00 p.m. Paperwork should be final tonight and sealed in a court date tomorrow.
Who the real winners and losers are in this deal remains to be seen.
R&H has been known as one of the most artist-friendly visual effects companies, with generous salaries, vacation time and benefits. Critics of its management complain it was overstaffed, especially in North America. Before its financial troubles R&H was sending 40% of its work abroad. Court documents signal that R&H expects to send much more work to Asia, perhaps 80% or more. Prana is considered a simpatico buyer for R&H but even so the plans to shift much of R&H’s visual effects work overseas are likely to move forward.
But the bigger problem for R&H has been its reliance on just a few clients. Some 80% of its feature vfx business came from Fox and Universal, so it became very vulnerable to changes in their slates and schedules. Then they sneezed — and Rhythm & Hues got galloping pneumonia.
In 2011, Universal cut itsvfx contract for “Snow White and the Huntsman” after staffing and R&D were already in progress. At R&H, which up until then had been financially sound, management realized it would end up with a cash shortfall. Then in 2012 revenues from Fox and Universal, which had been around $90 million over the previous few years, dropped to just $18 million.
Rhythm & Hues wasn’t carrying debt but it was running out of money, so it sought equity investment. It seemed to be on the verge of a deal until Digital Domain went bankrupt last fall. That scared off R&H’s potential investor. Because their revenues and profits are so unpredictable, visual effects studios like R&H generally lack access to short-term bank financing that lets other kinds of similar-sized business smooth over bumps in cash flow.
In January Warner, Fox and Universal had to intervene to keep the doors open at R&H long enough to get their work finished. Warner opposed bankruptcy, and for a time Prime Focus seemed poised to step in and acquire R&H, but that effort stalled when Prime Focus couldn’t assemble the necessary financing. However before today’s auction, Prime Focus was added as a co-debtor in the bankruptcy case, which could mean it had signed to guarantee R&H’s debts. Ironically, only when R&H went into bankruptcy in February did it acquire serious debt: $17 million in debtor in possession loans from Universal and Fox that must be repaid over the next three years.
Given the slender margins in feature film visual effects — figures around 5% seem to be common now — R&H would have to generate over $100 million in revenue over each of the next three years just to repay those loans. That will be difficult, especially if the new ownership moves to cut costs and loses any of the company’s key creatives. However R&H also has divisions for commercials and special-venue projects with more comfortable margins, and they also can contribute to the bottom line.
Throughout the process, hiring has continued unabated at R&H’s new Taiwan facility, which is opening as originally scheduled. It expects to ramp up to 200+ staffers. All of R&H’s facilities outside the U.S. are owned by subsidiaries that were not part of the bankruptcy.

Source :: http://variety.com

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

'Gangnam Style' Used To Teach Chemistry – 3D Animation Helps Students Understand Molecular Geometry

Richard Thornley is the chemistry teacher everyone wishes they had in high school. He is using interactive technology to teach the difficult concepts of molecular geometry to his students - and is also a fan of 'Gangnam Style'!

Using Thornley's 3D chemistry program, anyone can dance to Gangnam Style and interact with molecules

Richard Thornley is the chemistry teacher everyone wishes they had in high school. He is using interactive technology to teach the difficult concepts of molecular geometry to his students.
Currently working at the United Nations International School in New York City, Thornley has uploaded 350 videos to YouTube explaining the different parts of his International Baccalaureate chemistry course.
On Tuesday, the British-born chemistry buff posted on the Guardian's blog page about his teaching style using interactive 3D games, and even gave a shout out to "Gangnam Style."

Thornley says he uses a game called 'Garry's Mod' where the student can enter a world populated with oversized molecules and interact with them, moving, manipulating, and destroying them as they see fit.
The students really enjoy this new, creative way to learn chemistry - a long way off from boring diagrams and plastic models.
The addition of a Microsoft Kinect system allows the student to appear within the game for further interaction. The molecule can then be nudged, spun, or shaken in the game in much the same way real scientists do.
The system has received a lot of attention and praise from Thornley's colleagues - and even the management of the school has gotten involved.
In the blog post Thornley says, "Until you have seen a supervisor perform Gangnam Style avatared through a zombie with oxygen molecules glued to his hands, you haven't lived."
And that is true, the "Gangnam Style" dance has popped up in quite a few videos on his YouTube channel and is often used by the students interacting with the giant molecules in the mystic 3D universe.
Check out one such video below, as well as the introduction video to Thornley's chemistry course.


Friday, March 22, 2013

MOVIE REVIEW: The Croods 3D animation

Directors: Kirk Demicco and Chris Sanders
Voice talent: Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener
Rating: 4/5 stars 


The Croods is far from crude. In terms of 3D animation, it's state-of-the-art. I swooned at the beauty of the backgrounds, the photorealistic geological effects, the rich colour palette and the sense of depth that comes from 3D in the hands of people who know how to use it.
The film is set in prehistoric times, in a desert of dangerous critters. The Croods are a modern Stone Age family, although not like The Flintstones. They can speak, but they live in a cave without the benefit of fire. Their technology is primitive.
A more accurate comparison, somewhat controversially, is with Gogs, a cult series produced in the early '90s in Wales, by Aaargh Animation. The Gogs were a rough-hewn plasticine family whose behaviour was even rougher. The series combined slapstick humour and lots of bodily functions.
Crood Awakening, when announced in 2005, was a production by Aardman Animation for DreamWorks Animation. John Cleese and Kirk DeMicco wrote the first draft of the script for what was to be a stop-motion animation.
When Aardman broke with DreamWorks in 2007, the project reverted to DreamWorks. Chris Sanders, the director of Lilo & Stitch, joined to direct. He now shares that credit with DeMicco. Cleese gets a writing credit, although I don't know if he participated after Aardman split. DreamWorks has also changed horses - this is the first of their animations to be distributed by 20th Century Fox.
Whether or not the new film owes a debt to Gogs, I suspect it has been cleaned up in the trip across the Atlantic. The film has a whiff of sentimentality in the story of a young girl who finds romance and rediscovers the love of her family, but the schmaltz is less than it would have been 20 years ago, when Disney princesses ruled the drawing board.
True, animation in general is less sentimental than before. The rise of Pixar has helped modernise the way stories are now crafted. Most of the major Hollywood companies rely heavily on their animation divisions. DreamWorks has a lot riding on this film. They deserve a win: the film is funny and charming, carefully pitched to appeal to younger viewers, but with enough pace to satisfy the older, more jaded 10-year-old. It's drop dead gorgeous, with a fine voice cast and a surreal sense of natural design. It's a bit like a whimsical Dr Seuss story combined with the anarchy of a Tex Avery cartoon.
The directors use 3D superbly, combining it with an immediate point of view, so that we are placed right in the middle of the action. An example is the opening sequence, in which the Croods hunt for food.
Father Grug (Nicolas Cage) is a strong and careful caveman. He knows what's out there. At night, when he's telling stories, they all end with the death of the main character because they failed to heed the golden rule: never leave the cave at night, never stop being afraid. His headstrong daughter Eep (Emma Stone) flouts his rules. She's a typical teenager, a huffy spitfire in tight tiger skin. (The Croods are all oversized).
Eep's brother Thunk (Clark Duke) is another lump, in brain and brawn. Mother Ugga (Catherine Keener) is a peacemaker, who has her hands full with the hilarious toddler Sandy (Randy Thom), who runs on all fours and may be the most dangerous of the lot. The final member is Gran (Cloris Leachman), a thorn in Grug's side.
The film proceeds from sound anthropological principles, sort of. The Croods hunt as a team and what they catch, they eat raw. The hunt is a slapstick tour-de-force, perfectly timed and ambitiously conceived. It becomes like an American football game, as they steal the egg of a large and fanciful chicken.
Everything changes when Eep meets Boy - a stranger from another tribe. He can create fire and he says the world is about to end. They must get to higher ground. He's a dreamboat, an innovator and a harbinger of doom, all in one. The metaphors become more obvious: those who ignore the signs of change (geological or climate) will pay the price.

The film doesn't break new ground in its character animation, but it excels in the backgrounds, the pacing and the way the directors place us in the action. It's a breathtaking achievement on these technical levels, but in service of the whole. It will be understood by tender minds, as well as their custodians.

sourced from: http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/1382956/movie-review-the-croods-3d-animation/?cs=2387

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Shekhar Kapur makes animation film on cockroaches


The media has been abuzz with reports of prolific filmmaker Shekhar Kapur busy casting for his next film Paani. However, far from the eye of the media, the director has already completed his next film which is based on, believe it or not, cockroaches!

Apparently, the director has just finished an animated film on cockroaches that features music by A. R. Rahman, while the songs are choreographed by Ahmed Khan. As for the film, the story deals with the life of cockroaches and how they go about in their everyday routine. Helmed by Shekhar himself, the film has been made in collaboration with a major animation studio and will also be marketed by a big Hollywood company.

Titled A Suitable Cockroach, reports suggest the film is set in the future when the common household insect may be the only living organism on the planet. Interestingly, this comes after South director SS Rajamouli's film Eega which was based on a housefly.

sourced from:http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/more/news/view/id/1763365

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Deependra's latest work; Coke ad

Deependra Gaharwar, MAAC Jaipur alumni is back with his new work. His passion for VFX excels him to keep innovating with new things. Check out his latest VFX and 3D work on the following link.

 
Click for the Coke commercial

Monday, March 18, 2013

Craft your own animated GIFs with these tools

Animated GIFs are winning over the Web with silent, looping visuals that uniquely capture a slice of time. Here’s a roundup of apps and resources that will help you make your own.

Desktop

A desktop app gives you the most flexibility and control for creating an animated GIF. You can determine the contents of each frame of your animation, as well as the frame delay and color matching algorithms. Each frame in a GIF animation is assigned a frame delay, which determines how long that frame is held before advancing to the next frame. The delay need not be the same for each frame, so the first frame in your animation could be held for two full seconds, while next five might be held for just 1/20 of a second each. This is drastically different than traditional animation and video, which adhere to a consistent frame rate.
Adobe Photoshop Elements 11 ($100, OS X/Windows)—Adobe’s consumer-focused image editor offers a basic approach to making GIF animations. Just place each frame on a different layer; then, when you export the file, those layers are compiled into an animation. A single export setting allows you to control the delay for all frames.
Adobe Photoshop Elements 11
Adobe Photoshop CS6 ($699, OS X/Windows)—Adobe’s flagship image editor offers much greater flexibility when creating animations than its consumer-based cousin. It lets you compose each frame from a collection of layers, and remembers the placement of layer contents on a frame-by-frame basis. Additionally, you can specify the frame delay for each frame, which adds nuance to your animation and helps keep the file size in check.
Adobe Photoshop CS6

Patrick Rogers GIF Brewery ($5, OS X)—This is an excellent app for converting video clips to GIFs. Once you select a segment of a video to convert, you can choose the output size and frame delay, as well as the color algorithm and dithering method. It also lets you overlay text onto the video image, allowing you to brand your GIFs.
Patrick Rogers GIF Brewery

Gimp.org GIMP (Free, OS X/Windows/Linux)—GIMP is an open-source image editor whose approach to animated GIFs resembles that of Photoshop Elements 11. Each layer is treated as an individual frame, and when exported, those frames are strung together as an animation. However, GIMP has two advantages over Elements: First, you can specify the frame delay for each frame (like Photoshop CS6); and second, the background layer serves as a consistent background across all frames. (In Elements, the background layer functions as just another frame of animation.)
GIMP

Mobile

Most video these days is captured with a mobile phone, which makes iOS and Android apps ideal tools for creating video GIFs. You can then upload the GIFs to (or link via) a variety of social media sites.
TapMojo GifBoom (Free, iOS/Android)—This is a cross-platform app that functions a lot like Instagram. You construct your GIFs from a series of photos or short video clips, where you choose up to 30 specific frames you want to use. The app also includes editing features, letting you add captions and apply image filters. Once you’re done, you can post your animation to Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook. You get a profile and an image feed where other users can like and comment on your GIFs.
TapMojo GifBoom

Something Savage GIF Shop ($1, iOS)—The iOS-only GIF Shop approaches GIF making a little differently than some other mobile apps. Instead of pulling frames from a video clip, you point your camera at the subject and tap the screen to capture each frame. This kind of app is particularly well-suited to simple stop-motion animations because you can take the time to reposition your subject in between frames. Once you’re done, you can post your GIF to Tumblr and Twitter.
Something Savage GIF Shop

listen5 GIF Camera ($1, Android)—An Android-only app that takes a somewhat similar approach to GIFs as GIF Shop, this GIF maker requires you to capture single frames, though at a set interval, rather than pulling frames from a finished video clip. Or you can choose still images from your Gallery. Like other apps, you can share these GIFs via social media sites like Facebook, Google +, and Picasa.
GIF Camera

 
Peak Systems GifMill (Free, iOS)—This app lets you create animated GIFs with photos or videos from your camera roll to take video or photos on the spot. Import up to 100 frames and adjust the frame speed, rearrange, and delete frames. An in-app purchase lets you add text to frames as well as adjust the size, color, and placement of the text. Then, save your finished GIF to your device, or share it via email, text message, Tumblr or Twitter.
GifMill

Web resources

Each of the apps listed here has a learning curve, and some are much steeper than others. If you’re just looking to string together a few photos or convert a small snippet of video, one of the online resources that lets you work directly in the Mac or Windows browser might serve you better. This is very convenient for quick, on-the-go compositions.
 
Gifninja.com—Gifninja lets you upload either a video clip or a series of still images to construct your animation. If you’ve uploaded still images, you can drag them into the correct order and adjust the playback speed. Note that all GIFs you create on Gifninja are made public, so keep it clean.
Gifninja

Picasion.com—Picasion lets you upload a maximum of 10 images, or alternatively, import up to 50 images directly from Flickr or Picasa. Once you’ve chosen your images, simply select the size (up to 400 pixels) and the speed (from slower to faster) and click Create animation. You’re then shown the GIF and given code that you can use on your website or blog.
Picasion

LooGix.com—LooGix works almost identically to Picasion, though it lacks the ability to import from Flickr or Picasa. Instead, it offers a few fun ways to animate a still image. Click one of the effects previews at the bottom of the page (featuring Mr. Bean), and you’re whisked off to a new page where you can apply that effect to a single image.
Loogix.com

Sourced from: http://www.techhive.com/article/2030785/craft-your-own-animated-gifs-with-these-tools.html

Pixion delivered 500 VFX shots for Barfi




Pixion, the most well renowned name in the entertainment industry has  delivering path breaking work with movies like Bol Bachchan,Don 2, Agneepath and Golmaal Returns. Pixion has recently delivered the  recently delivered VFX for Oscar Nominated BARFI! . It has delivered around 500 brilliant VFX shots for this film. Mr. Prasad Suthar was the VFX supervisor for the movie and was completely involved creatively and technically from the day of commencement. Viral Thakkar Heading the CGI, Sanjiv Naik as the Associate VFX Supervisor and Sudhir Trivedi for being the CGI Supervisor along with their teams.

In Barfi, Autodesk Maya was used for all model all the CGI elements, with Nuke used for Compositing, Bojou was used for Match moving andAdobe Photoshop was brought into action for Matte Painting.
Check out the video :

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Kamlesh Kharakwal: MAAC Jaipur Alumni student work


Kamlesh Kharakwal a MAAC Jaipur Alumni, currently based out of Mumbai has recently finished his portfolio.Kamlesh has a liking for VFX and is now all set to step in the VFX world with his following portfolio. We appreciate his efforts and wish him all the best for his future endevors.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udAg7Sf0sgI

Friday, March 15, 2013

Mickey Mouse remaking his return to 2-D Animation


Iconic Disney character and children’s favourite Mickey Mouse is making his return to 2-D animation, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Disney Channel has ordered a new series of comedy shorts titled “Mickey Mouse” that aims to combine “classic comedy” with “contemporary flair”; the series of 19 animated clips will begin rolling out on Friday, June 28 on the Disney Channel, Disney.com and other platforms.
Emmy winning Paul Rudish is the executive producer of the shorts and directs alongside fellow directors Aaron Springer and Clay Morrow, and art director Joseph Holt.
Also home to the hit CG-animated series “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” which is aimed at kids two-to five, the Disney Channel plans to have the shorts produced entirely in traditional 2-D animation and marketed towards kids aged six-to-14 and their families. Each short will debut on a Friday and air throughout the day, with a special preview currently available at Disney.com.
President and Chief Executive of Disney Channels Worldwide Gary Marsh is set to make the announcement at Tuesday night’s upfront presentation in New York.
“By bringing Mickey’s comedic adventures to life with vitality, humour, inventiveness and charm, the entire Disney Television Animation team of artists, animators and directors have worked to capture the essence of what Walt Disney himself created 85 years ago,” Marsh said in a statement.
Each cartoon short will see Mickey in a different contemporary setting where he faces a silly situation, a quick complication and an escalation of physical and visual gags. Other Disney favourites Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy and Pluto will also appear. In the first short, titled “Croissant de Triomphe”, Mickey finds himself delivering croissants to Minnie’s café while battling the hectic street traffic of Paris along the way.
Disney said that the direction and pacing of the new cartoon shorts are designed to be fresh and contemporary but also pay homage to the art direction and storytelling of Walt Disney and his team of animators in the 1920s and 30s.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Exhibition @ Jawahar Kala Kendra from 15th-17th March


Hanuman wins animation award


Technopark-based Toonz Animation's 'Hanuman - The Immortal-2', an animated feature has won the Infocom-Assocham EME Award. The honour has given a huge boost to its creators who are aiming big now.
The director of the film U.K. Prakashan received the award in the Best Indian Animated Feature Film category at an event organised at the India Habitat Centre in the capital Saturday.

The Excellence in Media and Entertainment (EME) Awards, an International Competition, recognises the highest talent in animation and VFX (Visual Effects).
"These recognitions and awards will also help us to promote our Indian superhero Hanuman in the global animation arena and place him alongside the world's loved superheroes like Spider-Man, Superman, Batman, He-Man," said P. Jayakumar, CEO, Toonz Animation.
The film transcends between the human world and the 'vannar' ( monkey) world and is a modern day portrayal of the legendary hero's confrontation with a mutant demon warrior who is bent on reawakening the 'Asura' race.
Set up here in 1999, Toonz Animation has emerged as one of the biggest and most admired animation production houses in South Asia.

Sourced from: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-03-12/news-interviews/37650186_1_toonz-animation-animation-production-houses-animation-award

Desi girl Priyanka Chopra signs Disney's animation film Planes

After cementing her position in the Indian film industry and taking the music world by storm with her latest album, Priyanka Chopra has now landed a Disney-UTV Hollywood animation film Planes.
The model-turned actress will lend her voice to an aircraft called Ishani. The film Planes is being directed by Klay Hall, who has also directed The Simpsons.
According to sources, the makers of the movie were looking for an Indian voice for the Asian character of Ishani. Apparently, when Klay's office got in touch with UTV's Siddharth Roy Kapoor, he recommended Priyanka to them.
The actress will be dubbing for the original English version of the film, which is slated for release later this year. No decision has yet been taken taken on the Hindi version of the film.

Deependra Gaharwar MAAC Jaipur Alumni work blog.


Deependra Gaharwar MAAC Jaipur Alumni.
Publishing some of his VFX works. The students is currently occupied with a full time VFx job but still takes out time for his personal work. Have a look at his works on.


Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Ankit SIngh Pathania's Artwork

Posting some of the latest works of Ankit singh Pathania, a student of MAAC Jaipur. These have been prepared for a submission of his job portfolio. The concept was a robotic aero-dynamic horse. We appreciate his efforts and wish him all the best for his future endeavors.


Monday, March 11, 2013

Portfolio Management: How to develop your portfolio?

 


Portfolio Management: How to develop your portfolio?
This article is aimed towards beginners but existing professionals can find these tips useful too.
Showreel has been a topic of discussion for a long time. People struggle to put their work together for that presentation, which will help them to get an interview call. I look at an interview process as the result of Preparation, Compilation and Presentation.
Preparation
When it comes to preparation, the prospective employee must be thoroughly prepared. Pitching in studios with a common showreel is not a good idea; the showreel must be studio specific;. A few things that you should find out about a studio before compiling your Final works:
·         What is their portfolio?
·         What they are looking for?
·         How do they expect to see the work (which format)?
·         If possible, a reference in the studio.
Most of this information is already available on a studio’s website.
Compilation
Compilation is all about the selection. What to display and what not to display!. A good research about a studio’s past and present works would give you a fair idea about creating your showreel. No substandard work must be added. In case you are doubtful about any such work then try to improve it or else remove it.
Presentation
This part of the process is all about presenting what you have, right from the CD covers to the content inside. The layout, color scheme and the music in the reel must complement each other.
All the three parts of the process are equally important and none should be ignored.
Guidelines for further approach.
Cover Letter:
·         It is always good to add a short and precise covering letter.
·         Always mention the department you are applying for, ensuring that your reel is assessed by the right person.
·         If you were referred by someone, definitely mention it.
·         Include a few references.
·         There is a great quote: “When your work speaks for itself, there’s no need to interrupt”. Do not over-write. It sets high expectations and makes the interviewer more critical in his judgment.
·         Check your spelling, grammar, punctuation and typos. Mistakes in your writing will suggest that you don’t revise.
Resume:
·         Avoid irrelevant experience; it just lengthens the CV.
·         Mention hobbies related to the nature of your work. It adds to the interest level. For example, animators involved in acting would be highly appreciated.
·         If looking forward to a head position do mention it in your CV but do not over-state.
Demo Reel:
·         A website is a quick and acceptable way of showcasing your work to your prospective employer these days. Most companies clearly mention how they want the show reels to reach them on their website.
·         Many portfolios are accessible on web these days. Watch as many as possible. Study them (layouts, presentation style, music and visuals in sync, speed of the reel etc) and come up with your own style of presentation.
·         Put your best works first. Due to the volume of reels received for review, if the first few seconds of a reel are not interesting then the rest is examined in fast-forward mode and examiners might miss your best piece.
·         Don’t repeat any work. It gives the feeling that you do not have sufficient work to display.
·         Keep it short! Three minutes is the general target length.
·         Have simple and short introductions. Get to the main part of your reel as soon as possible.
·         DO NOT PUT OTHER PEOPLE’S WORK ON YOUR REEL! If at all there is some reference data, give credit to the creator of the work. This adds value and authenticity to your approach.
·         Don’t send inappropriate work. A studio that works on realistic art works might not show much interest in stylized works.
·         Label your CD/DVD clearly. Put your contact information on the body of the CD/DVD. This makes it easier to locate CD/DVDs in case they separate from the resumes.Drawing and sketches could help to showcase your traditional skills. But only the best must be included or else it will backfire.
·         Animators should have acting in their animation clips. Try to animate emotions. Present different styles (classical, semi-realistic, stop motion or realistic) in order to show your command over the skill.
·         Don’t mention the abilities that you don’t want to be discussing.
·         Unreleased work should be on the reel by consent of the employer. The same should be conveyed to the interviewer to avoid mishandling.
·         Choose your background music wisely. Music and visuals should be in sync.
·         Include some personal work on your reel. It helps to understand what you can do on your own as well as what you can do as part of a team or when being directed.
Interview:
·         Research about the company before appearing for the interview. Most likely you will be asked why you want to join the organization. Your answer must be as natural as possible, as further questions would depend on it. Be true of what you say and try to add value to the answer.
·         Be on time. Remember, first impression is the lasting impression.
·         Dress appropriately. It is ok to be better dressed then the interviewer; he is already in job and you are looking for one.
·         Try to reflect a positive attitude and share all your positive qualities complimented with examples. If you want to mention that you are a great Team Player, then do support it with instances.
·         Keep extra copies of your resume. Your previous resume or reel might not be handy with the interviewer.
·         Never speak negative about any colleague or employer; it’s a negative approach. If at all you happen to mention something, put it in a subtle manner.
Follow up:
Keep in mind that it often takes a while before a demo reels gets reviewed. If you haven’t heard anything for 2 weeks or so, it is okay to call and make sure your submission was received. But don’t be a pest. After an interview, it is always a good idea to send a (genuine) follow up letter thanking your prospective employer for taking the time to meet you. But do not contact the company repeatedly. If you don’t get hired and you really want to work at a particular company, resubmit your materials in 6 months or so. Studio’s needs and criteria change all the time. Your skills/style might not have been appropriate for last year’s project, but they might be right for the new one.