As you might have noticed, there are a lot of changes occuring on AllAboutAnimation.com. First the main website was revamped, then the blog and now the News site is also going to find a new home. Rather than have too many places for the reader to visit, I am re-integrating “News” into the blog - which has been rechristened Editor’s Blog.

There are plenty of places to find news and press releases about the Indian Animation Industry - but they are, at the end of the day, just that - news and press releases. There is rarely an analysis or an explanation of what the news means or signifies, what are the implications, how does it impact the industry and most importantly, how does that piece of news or press release affect the reader. That, as one of AAA’s regular readers pointed out, is the strength of AAA. Thanks for the validation, dear reader! And to honour your praise, AAA promises to bring more such in-depth articles with increasing frequency.

Over the next few days, the entire NEWS section will be migrated to the Editor’s Blog. Make sure you update your RSS feed and Email Subscription, as may be the case.

ZEE Institute of Creative Arts (ZICA), India’s first Classical & Digital Animation Institute established in 1995 has teamed up with the prestigious TEESSIDE University, UK to offer a Bachelor’s degree program to the Diploma holders of ZICA. Both the parties have finalized the formalities.
TEESSIDE University, UK stands among the top ten modern Universities in UK with an investment of £100m on its town campus at the heart of Middlesbrough, UK. It has some of the most affordable University-managed accommodation in the UK. (Survey by Accommodation for Students in 2007).
“ZICA’s initiative would bring an opportunity to its DAFM students, completing the two years program at ZICA, to get a bachelor’s degree by attending only the final one-year at Teesside University. Also with this now we have planned to launch a batch of Diploma in Animation Film-Making (DAFM) Course in January 2009, wherein students can give four hours a day in the evening at ease”, said Mr. J R Poonjani, Centre Head, ZICA & ZIMA.
“We decided to take the Teesside decision so as to satiate the students who give priority to the degree program and through this they can also go ahead with their specialization in Computer Animation, Digital Character Animation or Creative Digital Media from the well known prestigious & dynamic University of TEESSIDE, UK. So, now other than taking up a job in top production house, ZICAites can also opt for a one-year degree program after completing their two-years of DAFM course.”, he concluded.

An adventure fable sourced from the vast collection of stories from popular children’s magazine Chandamama would be seen on the big screen soon. The monthly has tied up with Thiruvanthapuram-based Toonz Animation Ltd to produce a full length animated feature film based on a story from the vast library of Chandamama on an estimated budget of a whopping Rs 200 million.

“We have entered into a deal with Chandamama where we will go through their entire library of over 15000 stories and select a suitable one to be made into an a 90-minute animated flick,” says Divas Sadasivan of Toonz Animation.

Legendary film-makers B Nagi Reddi and his friend Chakrapani had conceptualised Chandamama in early 1947 and the company had been publishing stories in print as well as electronic media in 14 languages. The library of Chandamama has over 15,000 exclusive stories.

L Subramanyan, CEO of Chandamama, said millions of Indians had grown up with Chandamama over the last 60 years. “The proposed animated film will help us reach out to the current and future generations of young people,” he said.

The move is part of the expansion plans of the children’s monthly which has already ventured online with its website and runs a 4 hour radio programme broadcasting legendary stories from the magazine every Sunday on a private FM station in Chennai. Soon the stories would be also made available on mobile phones too.

“Creative teams from both companies would work jointly and select one story most probably bearing towards adventure which would be then scripted for the movie”, J Subramanyam, CEO of Chandamama said while speaking to the press.

“The emphasis worldwide is on content that has local appeal. In animation most of the work has been on characters that are mythological. We wanted to do something different and since Chandamama is loved by children and adults alike we think this film would appeal to a wider audience and more people would be tempted to watch,” says Sadasivan.

Toonz, which has previously worked on fully animated films such as ‘Hanuman Returns’ and a 2D animated television series ‘The adventure of Tenali Raman’ says it now wants to move away from mythology

Zapak Digital Entertainment Ltd has announced the launch of their first gaming portal for the international markets - Zapakworld.com at Casual Connect held at Kyiv, Ukraine. This initiative marks the company’s entry in the international market.

Over 50 international developers have already signed on with Zapakworld.com to provide games. Zapakworld.com is the world’s first multilingual user generated gaming website currently available in Spanish, French, Russia , Portuguese, English and Hindi. More languages will be added at regular intervals. At present, more than 12,000 single player games are available on the website. Zapakworld will introduce multiplayer games on the portal soon. There are games available from all the genres of casual gaming including racing, cricket, shooting, arcade, action, strategy, puzzles, and cooking etc.

Zapak also announced their plans to launch their casual gaming business in Russia . Zapak’s strategy is to focus on BRIC nations to create its global footprint. The reasons for the choice of BRIC nations are similarities in consumer behavior and digital trends i.e. PC and internet penetration. Zapak is looking at launching this business in Russia through a joint venture route and is scouting for a potential partner.

Speaking on the occasion Zapak COO Rohit Sharma said, “After creating an internet gaming success story in the Indian Market, Zapak is now creating an offering for the global consumer with Zapakworld.com.”

The films, including titles such as Nausicaa – The Valley of the Wind, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Whisper of the Heart, Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, would be distributed exclusively by Alliance in India under the label Junior.

With planned releases in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu languages, Doshi intends to dub the films in local languages to make it more accessible to audiences from non-metros also. Besides Japanese animation content, the media company is also releasing content from Scandinavian and North American countries for children.

Doshi will begin production for his forthcoming kid’s film in the next eight months and is ready to release Azur and Asmar, a French animation film in January 2009. “We intend to release at least one animation movie a month, and also produce one children’s feature film annually,” he says.

Alliance Media is also in talks with multiplexes for special weekend morning screenings for children and teenagers in metros, followed by smaller cities at special ticket prices starting at Rs 70. The company also has plans for television syndication, home video distribution under the Junior label as well as merchandising.

HotMuggs, a stylised drinkware concept, has entered into an alliance with Yash Raj Films for producing licensed merchandise on Roadside Romeo. With about a dozen characters in Roadside Romeo, this is the first animated film - an India-U.S. co-production of Yash Raj Films and the Walt Disney Company, and is scheduled for release on October 24, 2008.

With the concept of film merchandising catching on in the Indian film industry, HotMuggs has incorporated a first time concept of incorporating cool one-liners from the movie like “Tension Not”, “Stay Cool” and “I’m Good Na” on the muggs. These mugs not only appeal to the movie lovers but also to a wider audience who emote with the appeal and positioning of the characters from the movie.

The merchandise has been designed, manufactured and marketed by Hot Muggs, and will be available at malls, bookstores, and concept shops in over 40 cities across the country. Cartoon characters-based merchandising market is expected to be in the region of Rs.300 crore. Hot Muggs plans to promote the merchandise through a multi-channel promotion campaign with emphasis on below-the-line activities and other promotional programs.

Mr.Rishi Jain, Managing Director – HotMuggs, said, “The product class of Hot Muggs, the concept of entertainment, funkiness, adventure, adaptability has an ideal connect with Roadside Romeo. Characters such a Romeo - a small cute looking pet of a super rich human family, Laila - the hottest girl ever, Charlie Anna - the dreaded Don of the Slum, these characters lend itself to being merchandised. We are upbeat about the fact that we not just offering a product or merchandise, but an object of desire that one would want to own. “

Graphiti School of Animation has opened admissions for it’s 6-month specialisation course in animation called G CAT Expert for which it is conducting counselling sessions and opens admissions. The 6-month specialisation is targeted primarily at people who have some knowledge of animation and are looking to hone their skills or to further their careers.

The specialisations being offered are Modelling, Texturing, Rigging, Animation, Lighting and VFX & Compositing. On the basis of the requirements of the animation industry, various studios are clearly identifying the need for specialisation in animation training. Most studios have expressed a requirement for specialised artists and are ready to pay a premium for them.

According to the heads of studios employing Graphiti School students, “There is a marked difference in quality – the students are well-rounded animation professionals with their basics in place.”

Mr. Pandyan, CEO, Graphiti School of Animation says, “Given the requirement of the industry, we were the first training institute to offer specialisation courses. We got a very good response for the first batch of students”.

For more information visit the Graphiti website

To register, call 022-32448544 / 9833841580 or write to training@graphiti.net

ANTS (ANimation Training School) headquartered in Bangalore, has expanded its operations from just animation training to animation and gaming production by launching its production arm Antroid Productions. The studio aims to take up outsourced as well as original IP projects and already has a few projects in the pipeline.

“We always aimed at setting up a production house sometime in the future but decided to focus on one thing at a time. In the beginning we kept our focus on academia to produce the required expertise for the industry and now we are ready for production,” ANTS MD Chetan S.

ANTS will now be operational through two divisions, namely ANTS Academy and Antroid Productions.

With an investment of Rs 50 lakh, the 7500 sq ft plus production house is equipped with state-of-the art technology and an experienced team of 15 people. Antroid Productions has already received projects related to game art and game development. The studio will also produce animation and VFX. In due course of time, the studio plans to induct students passing out from their own academy.

Regarding their future plans, Chetan commented, “Currently we are just beginning with production work for clients in gaming and are concentrating on producing content of the highest quality for them; but our long term plans include animated features, TV series as well as visual effects.”

“In the next five years, we hope to see the studio triple in capacity and involved in IP production across all verticals,” he concluded.

The National Film Board of Canada is celebrating World Animation Day, October 28th, with a 13-city tour of Get Animated!, a series of free public screenings from the NFB’s Oscar-winning animation studios. The NFB is also offering free streaming of two acclaimed NFB shorts on its website through to November 9, 2008.

Get Animated! will showcase new creations from Canada’s public producer, for young and old, from October 22 to November 9, 2008. The NFB website provides complete details, along with free streaming video of NFB animated shorts, at www.nfb.ca/getanimated

After celebrating the 65th anniversary of NFB animation, National Film Board studios have found a fresh burst of energy, producing works that have garnered international acclaim, including a record-setting 70th Academy Award nomination last year - more than any production company or organization outside Hollywood - as well as awards across Canada and around the world. Get Animated! is part of a broader commitment at Canada’s public producer and distributor to ensure that Canadians from coast to coast have access to outstanding NFB productions.

Get Animated! free screenings will take place in Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax, as well as five communities served by the NFB’s pioneering e-cinema network for francophone Acadian communities, in Moncton, Bouctouche, Caraquet, Edmundston and Kedgwick, New Brunswick.

Get Animated! will feature two programs: New Visions, a collection of the latest cutting-edge NFB releases – as well as a special Children’s Program, presented in selected Canadian cities.

A new generation of artists are transforming the NFB’s world-renowned animation studios, experimenting with innovative techniques and styles. The best new works are being featured in a 75-minute program of 10 films.

This program includes a pair of exquisite puppet-animated shorts: THE NECKTIE, by Jean-François Lévesque, offers a refreshing look at life in a dead-end job, garnering the Best Short Film Prize and the Audience Award for Best Canadian Short Film at the Montreal World Film Festival, while SAINTE BARBE, by Claude Barras and Cedric Louis, is the tale of a young boy’s undying bond to his grandfather, capturing the Audience Award at the Melbourne International Animation Festival.

Other outstanding shorts in the program include RETOUCHES, a paint-on-celluloid masterpiece from multi-award-winning animator Georges Schwizgebel, and Theodore Ushev’s DRUX FLUX, deconstructing industrial imagery to offer audiences a powerful look at the inhumanity of human progress. HA’AKI is a lyrical and wonderfully unorthodox interpretation of hockey as played in the mind of a lyrical and wonderfully unorthodox artist, Swedish-born filmmaker, actor, playwright, composer and painter Iriz Pääbo. In Nicolas Brault’s timeless animated tale HUNGU, winner of the Best Animated Short Award at the prestigious Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films, a mother’s soul is resurrected by music, returning strength and life to her child.

Seven titles are featured in the children’s program, including Claude Cloutier’s SLEEPING BETTY, a playful recreation of the classic fairy tale SLEEPING BEAUTY, as well as two shorts from the NFB’s Hothouse program for emerging young animators, the delightful puppet-animated short THE SQUIRREL NEXT DOOR by Carla Coma, and Jody Kramer’s LOST MONSTER HOP, about a banjo-picking monster. The total running time for the children’s program is 54 minutes.

Winner of the Best Short Film Award at Montreal’s Fantasia Festival, Howie Shia’s FLUTTER marries traditional and digital media with a mish-mash score of jazz, electronics and sampling to create an urban fairy tale. A film by Tali, AT HOME WITH MRS. HEN offers up a touching and comical tale about motherhood.

Seneca is internationally renowned for training and offers over 144 courses in different disciplines. Over 100,000 students pass through its 8 campuses in Toronto every year. It is recognized as a leader in the animation, visual effects and gaming education sectors and many of its alumni are renowned artists recognized by world audiences for excellence in their craft.

Animation training giant, Frameboxx brings its well established credentials with over 40 training centers in India and overseas. The Frameboxx incubation center in Mumbai will provide additional leverage. A pioneering initiative, this center provides an in-studio experience to successful Frameboxx students. A state of the art facility, fully equipped with the latest technology and a panel of experienced industry professionals who mentor each batch, ensures that students are fully prepared to meet the challenges of the professional work environment.

Batch sizes are limited to a maximum of 25 students in the Post Graduate Certificate program for a rigorous two semester course. Stringent enrollment criteria will ensure quality students and only those with genuine talent and capability will be able to enroll. The first semester will be completed in India and will cover a wide range of courses ranging from pre-production essentials including life drawing and storyboarding to animation principles and workflows. Students will then have to pass rigorous tests to qualify for the second semester in Canada which will cover advanced topics such as project development, character rigging & animation among other things. The Seneca Post Graduate certificate is a globally recognized certification.

“At Seneca, we are delighted with the beginning of our new partnership in India. We believe our alliance with Frameboxx will be of strategic importance for us in the dynamic world of animation and visual effects. We are very positive about this initiative, since India is one of our key global markets”, said Mr. Mohammed Khan, Vice President International & Business Development, Seneca College.

“At Frameboxx, we’ve always aimed at delivering world class animation and visual effects training in India. Our association with Seneca is one more giant step in that direction and we believe that it will be a unique opportunity for students who wish to carve a niche in this industry”, said Rajesh Turakhia, MD, Frameboxx.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Gulab Mewani, SAARC Representative, Seneca, said “I am very happy to see that our initiative has fructified into a meaningful relation with Frameboxx. This arrangement will provide an ideal opportunity for Indian students to get international quality training and an early chance to approach acclaimed animation, visual effects and gaming companies across the world.”

“In the current training scenario, Frameboxx provides the required foresight, vision and atmosphere for collaborative growth in India. I am happy to see the outcome of this initiative and together we are now looking forward to raise the bar and set new benchmarks for formal training in India”, Ranjit Singh, Degree Certificate Program Director.

The first batch of these programs is scheduled to start in January 2009.