40,000 animators required globally: 'Chhota Bheem' makers

Speaking at the inaugural function of the Green Gold Academy of Animation in Hyderabad on Thursday, Joan Vogelesang (present and CEO of Toonboom Animation, which is widely known for creating the popular animated television serial 'Chhota Bheem' that helped Pogo channel to emerge as the numero uno kids channel) said that an estimated 40,000 animators are required globally.

Green Gold founder Rajiv Chilaka said the academy would assure 100% placement. They offered a long-term one year diploma courses in 2D traditional and flash character animation and 2D traditional and 3D character animation and short term, 3-month courses in digital background painting and post production (editing/compositing).


The company's promoter Samir Jain said they are planning to get into theatrical animation movies very soon. Academy Dean Rosauro Adorable, who has over 3 decades of experience in the field and has worked on projects including Tom & Jerry from Warner Brothers, recalled how in the 80s, no one knew anything about animation.Award-winning Telugu director Indraganti Mohanakrishna said the medium of animation was increasingly becoming important specially by way of attracting the attention of children.

Asus Launches G51J 3D Gaming Notebook

Asus has launched its gaming notebook the Asus G51J 3D that is equipped with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M/GTX 360M with 1GB DDR3 video memory, EAX and CMSS audio technology and Altec Lansing speakers. Powered by an Intel Core i7 processor and 64-bit Windows 7 Operating System, the notebook comes bundled with specially designed 3D glasses.The 3D Vision active-shutter glasses coupled with a wide-range infra-red emitter delivers stereoscopic images with clarity, brightness and depth-of-field (DOP) at full resolution. The GPU driver and a 120Hz 3D panel render each scene twice, delivering up to 60 images evenly to each eye, amounting to a total of up to 120 images at any given time. Gamers can experience total immersion into their games from what were previously flat 2D worlds, to true-to-life 3D.Complementing the immersive visual effects is EAX Advanced HD 4.0 3D audio technology and CMSS surround sound. EAX Advanced HD 4.0 audio technology enhances in-game environments and scenarios by providing corresponding three dimensional sound effects. It can provide up to 64 additional sound effects from its sound library and produces ultra-realistic spatial effects for more than 300 supported games. Together with high fidelityAltec Lansing speakers, the Asus G51J 3D delivers a gaming and multimedia audio experience that no other notebook can match.

Powered by the latest Intel Core i7 processor  for multitasking muscle on-the-move, the Asus G51J 3D features four dedicated physical cores working in tandem with theoperating system and applications for additional performance. It allows users to utilize and launch multiple applications, and to enjoy high definition multimedia and processor-intensive games effortlessly.

Disney Channel acquires 'Ek Tha Jungle'

Disney Channel is all set to reintroduce the younger generation to the centuries old ancient Tamil literature- Thirukkural with the first ever animated TV series based on this celebrated text.

The series developed as animal fables by Accel Animation Studios, Chennai, is titled ‘Ek Tha Jungle’ and showcases couplets from Thirukkural - one of the most important and celebrated works in Tamil literature written by noted Tamil poet, Sri Thiruvalluvar. Each episode has a universal theme presented in modern day, 3D animated format.

Says Devika Prabhu, Associate Director, Programming, Walt Disney Television International India, "Disney Channel is committed to showcase evergreen stories that transcend generations and are locally relevant. ‘Ek Tha Jungle’ is one of the many steps that we will take to enliven Indian storytelling heritage which continues to remain thoroughly entertaining and equally relevant to modern day India."

Set for a premiere on Disney Channel on April 5, 2010 at 9.30 am (Monday to Thursday), every episode of 'Ek Tha Jungle' showcases a universal theme and strong life lessons. The stories are laced around strong ethics and family values with a moral that is applicable to the present and future generations.

"Our endeavor is to introduce the new generation of young Indians to some wonderful stories from our rich history, culture and heritage, presented in a modern day, relatable format", adds Devika.

Thirukkural is considered to be the first work to focus on family values in Tamil literature and has been translated into several languages across the world. Each story of Ek Tha Jungle establishes a ‘Kural’ (couplet) from Thirukkural told through animal characters in a visually appealing, entertaining way. Some popular stories include ‘The Clever Monkey’," The Helping Bear" and ‘The Rabbit and the Tortoise’.

Says N R Panicker, Chairman of Accel and Executive Producer of ‘Ek Tha Jungle’, "When Accel Animation Studios set out to create its own properties for Television media, we decided to embark on socially relevant subjects. There is no better way than adapting the evergreen Thirukkural to narrate stories to the young audience. We are delighted to partner with Disney Channel, to bring this classic work to the Indian audience."