28 December 2007

Director Speak

It is one of those moments, you have done all the work, and at one particular stage for an un-none reason you don’t know what to do next. We are in that position at the present.

We have finished maybe 50% of the post production work on ‘shade’, and we have reached a stage that we have enough material to come to a decision. But abundance of material also brings its own problems. We have enough designs for the look & feel of the film but we are finding it difficult to come down to one to move ahead.

Thou this isn’t a new experience to me, but for all the people working on the short, it is something they have to face & find a solution. It is part of the learning experience.

When last we were working on the clay animated film, most of the present team was present, but then it was different. They were given a set of guideline or call it parameters to work with. Not so this time, now they have to first build the guidelines themselves & follow it as they proceed.

To those who are new to film making, particularly to animation film making I will try to explain in a simple manner.

At the present, we all are working on the planning stage of this short film. This stage is also call Pre-Production; it is a stage before a film goes into production. It is now when most of the planning which includes, the Ideation, Script Writing, Story boarding of the various shots, Animatics to determine the timing & flow of the film is done.

We have worked out the story & the script, which we will be up loading on a later date.

We are experimenting with the look & feel of the short to find a design fitting the theme of our story. For this we studied many short films before we zeroed down to 8 films. These 8 films would act as our guide & inspiration.

I have to clarify here that these 8 films will help us understand what & how we can go about making our film. None of these films will be copied in any format, be it the visual designs or the shots or the narrative.

There are many reasons the primary reason is that our story & theme is different than all these 8 film, & and the other major reason is we want to create an original piece of work, even if it is flawed.

With this I will conclude this post. If there are any queries about the film or any other issue please feel free to contact us. It is our aim to be make this film a learning experience to us as well as every one else who wants to do so.

Id Animation & Arts

19 December 2007

Acquiring knowledge from talks - An Interview

Here is an interview of a renowned filmmaker Michael Dudok de Wit m@dudokdewit.co.uk
He is one of the artists we referred and studied for our own films style & look development. Some of his best films are ‘Father & Daughter’, ‘Monk and the fish’ and ‘Tom Sweep’. You can watch his films on youtube before reading this inspiring interview.

Interview of Michael Dudok de Wit for the Toronto Animated Image Society
by Patrick Jenkins, ©June 2002


- What was the inspiration for the story of the Monk and the Fish? How did you come up with the idea of the Monk in pursuit of the fish?
The idea just came. A lot of wishes all came together and from that I distilled the film. For instance, I wanted to use the sense of space and of light, the simple beauty of Romanesque architecture, the chemistry between music and movements, I wanted to use the brush and to draw a lively character, and most of all I wanted to explore a particular quality in the ending, a quality which I find both beautiful and impossible to describe.

- Water is a major symbol in both of your films. The fish hides in the water of the viaduct in the Monk and the Fish and the father disappears at sea in Father and Daughter. Do you see water as an mysterious element? What does it represent to you?
Water represents so many different things to me, in particular emotion and serenity. In The Monk and the Fish the water has, as you say, a mysterious element, because we never see through the surface, and yet water has a particularly open and transparent quality, as expressed in the large and fluid watercolour washes. A water surface is such an intense presence, wherever I am, that it seemed an obvious choice to explore the use of water in a film. I was also very interested in the use of reflections.
In Father and Daughter I used the large water surface for a number of reasons as well, for instance to accentuate the separation, to use the theme of water making way for reclaimed land, and to contribute to a quality of timelessness.


- Your drawings have a very distinctive brushed line quality that is almost like calligraphy. How did your style develop? Who were your influences?
I just enjoy brush lines. They have personality. Something which had a big impact on me was a book with brush drawings made by Japanese Buddhist monks from previous centuries. I don't have the book anymore but I remember the extraordinary simplicity of the drawings, drawings which were both spontaneous and mature.

- The Monk and the Fish has a very spiritual quality to it which is almost Zen like and very minimal. I'm thinking of the symbol of the bow and arrow in Zen Buddhist practice or the image of the fish in early Christianity. Are you interested in religious experience or are these more subconscious images?
In answer to subconscious images: when I am most creative I move backwards and forwards between the subconscious (ideas appear seemingly out of nowhere), the chest (when something feels right I register it as a great feeling in the chest, in the heart if you like) and the reasoning mind. The film has a spiritual dimension for me because it is set in a monastic atmosphere and because it uses symbols, but more importantly because of the way it handles the theme: separation followed by union. I can't think of a more beautiful or more spiritual theme. And at the same time I am very happy if someone relates to the film without making references to spirituality or religion. I don’t belong to an organised religion myself.

- You made The Monk and the Fish at Folimage. What is it like working there? Did you enjoy the experience?
I had a great time at Folimage. The atmosphere was relaxed, friendly and supportive, and I was intensely happy to be working on my film. My wife, who is French, and our two young children were with me, and they too made friends very quickly. The only downside was that I had to work flat-out to fit the whole production in a period of seven months.

- Do you do all of your own animation, colouring and inking or do you have an assistant? Do you use any computer assistance or is the work done on cels and paper?
With the exception of some of commercials I have directed I tend to do the bulk of the animation, and all the backgrounds. The backgrounds are usually the most enjoyable part. Depending on the job I use assistants and co-animators. On the Monk and the Fish for instance I had help from a Canadian animator Guy Delisle. I did the brush and ink lines in that film with an ordinary watercolour brush and Rotring film ink. Most of the animation was done on paper first, some directly on cell. On Father and Daughter I had great help from Dutch animator Arjan Wilschut. The animation was drawn entirely in pencil, and then scanned into Animo for colouring. The backgrounds were made with pencil and charcoal, and manipulated with Photoshop to create the sepia colours. Sometimes I tried to emulate the transparent quality of watercolour with charcoal.

- Are all of your films planned from the beginning and storyboarded or do you allow room for the story to change a bit when you start animating?
My storyboards are planned rather carefully, I want to start animating with a solid confidence in the storyboard. At the same time, like most film makers, I allow changes throughout the production.

- How did you come up for the idea for Father and Daughter?
I was working on another idea which was not satisfying me, when I asked myself the question: what do I want to express most in a film? The answer was surprisingly clear: longing, the deep quiet longing we all know (I think). The story developed quickly from there. It is not an autobiographical story, I have a young daughter with me, and I see my father regularly. The landscapes in the film are inspired by the large open landscapes I used to love so much when growing up in Holland.

In Father and Daughter the bicycles seem to be a seem to punctuate the cyclical passage of the seasons and time with the rolling of the wheel of life. Was that a conscious decision on your part from the beginning?
Yes, in this film time is both circular and linear.


- In Father and Daughter you did a remarkable job of animating the subtle movements of the bicycles. Were they animated on ones instead of twos?
The animation of the pedalling cyclists was on twos but the cyclists and their bicycles were then moved digitally across the screen on ones. If they had moved across on twos the result would have been uncomfortable for the eye.

- The ending of Father and Daughter is quite enigmatic. We don't know if what we are seeing is dream or reality? Do you like to make endings enigmatic with an indefinite sense of closure? Why is that?
The endings of Father and Daughter and of The Monk and the Fish are not rational, they are open to interpretation, in the same way as poetry, music, and indeed animal language often has the highest impact when interpreted individually. My biggest wish is that the endings feel right, that the films feel whole.

Posted with the permission of Michael Dudok de Wit and Patrick Jenkins for the Toronto Animated Image Society.

12 December 2007

Trying for more...





few more style....a new brush & cartoon, still trying for best.

03 December 2007

and gang in progress of DIGITAL work!







we are trying to create some different styles, any suggestion or comment appreciated

Id Animation & Arts

27 November 2007

Artist View…

Let’s talk about it in an artist’s perspective. Before starting anything, we mull over on how it is done, how it will finish, when, and in which medium. Analytical thinking which scientists use. It stays true for any type of creation. In animation filmmaking, it comes under pre-production.

We had made a short film before (Clay animated short ) learning, trial and error method. And now we will try not to make the same mistakes again in the production of this film. Someone might say we name our mistakes as ‘Experience’. Go on.

This is an experimental film. We are working on its style and look currently. We want some very stylistic and different visuals. It can be done using various methods and mediums like pencil, watercolor backgrounds, Photoshop Backgrounds, glass paintings, sand animation and on and on. We are watching masters like Michael Dodok De Wit, Caroline Leaf, Gitanjali Rao and many more with our mouths hung wide open throughout the films. They are awesome. Check out this link - www.acmefilmworks.com, which we came across Gitanjali Rao site. Well for R&D, Internet is the best option.

Pre Production is the stage where you should spend half or more than that of entire films time. We should make the entire film on paper and in our mind first. When we heard the story, everyone visualized it differently. Somebody said black and white for this part of sequence would be better and some think that it should be in a warm color tone to feel out the heat, complementing the story. We are also working on the camera angles and storyboard panels. They are random for now. We are coming up with 2d artwork as well as many digital paintings, in search for the perfect style. It is very important to put everybody’s perspective on the same table to clarify and to know what’s on other’s mind.

Watching films, drawing panels and characters and backgrounds and doing R&D and storyboarding and so much more is extensively increasing our exposure. We are doing many things at a time and that’s where true learning is.


Id Animation & Arts

26 November 2007

work in progress...
















Regards,
Id Animation & Arts

15 November 2007

Complement of the Season




For us Animation film making has been a long process and we have enjoyed it thru and thru. Starting on a whim, more bravado and beginners luck than anything, when I and my colleague, Akhlaque got together at our then workplace to make our first short film with some of our students. The result and the following acceptance at the VATAVARAN film festival was an experience to live for, and we were hooked line, sinker and all. Three years down the line after three films, one company, a stream of ideas and no destination in sight we are still madly in love with this journey.

So friends along with compliments of this beautiful season (The approaching winter) we add another piece of art for your viewing.

For the more technical minded, SHADE will be designed completely in Photoshop.

Call us mad or difficult but this software is magic and we know how to wield this wand.

Also we set our eyes on the one & only of its kind ‘Printed Rainbow’ and its lovely maker “Gitanjali Rao” who blazed away to glory and set a amazing path for others to take. For the un initiated, know all about this path breaking animated shot film and its maker at ‘http://www.printedrainbow.com’.

Have fun

23 October 2007

Shade - The Concept

To humans the shade of a tree is the provider of relief, also in a way it represents our need for protection and refuge.

Shade depicts the desperation, fear and helplessness of man against the fury of the natural elements, thus exposing his emotional and physical reactions. The shade of a tree, acts as a metaphor to delve further into the real makeup of man.

Shade deals with issues like interdependence and co-existence of nature and man.


What is ‘Shade-the short film’ blog

Technology has been vital in the development of our knowledge, and now it provides the platform to showcase what we know.

Shade is a short film in the making and by sharing this process we intend to contribute in the same manner we have taken.

We want all our viewers to participate, learn and grow and we hope to inspire all those who wish to join in the art of Short Film Making.

In short we will be showcasing every major and minor step that will be taken during the film making.

The Concept, Art work, Script, Storyboards, Animatics, Scenes, Production process, and Working problems and their solutions will be discussed at all the stages of the film.

By doing this we intend to keep alive the tradition that has made it possible to share information and experience the magic of its touch.

Shade is a drop of our contribution to this Ocean .
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Initial concept Sketch's: