Faculty of the Month – Amit Majumdar

Sir please tells us about your background?
Well, in the year 2002, I had completed my graduation in science. After that I joined an institute called E-tech as a faculty where I learned some graphic packages like Photoshop, Flash, Dream-weaver, and 3ds Max with the help of books and help files. Then I joined a publishing company in the year 2005 as a graphic designer. During that time, I developed an interest in 3d animation so I joined MAAC in 2006 as a student and after that in 2007 I joined MAAC, Andheri as an instructor.

Where did you complete your animation course from?
I completed my animation course from MAAC, Kolkata.

How did you generate an interest towards animation?
From the beginning I longed to do work that was of my choice, where I could do everything freely and passionately. I didn’t want a routine type of job. I wanted to work in an industry where I could create something that I wished, where every day comes with new challenges. So I decided that the animation industry would be somewhere where I could fulfill these ambitions.

Tell us something about your specialization and work experience?
Well, I am a generalist. I like character modeling, texturing and lighting.

What would you suggest to students to learn more and to gain more from their professors?
Well, it’s a very good question. Students should choose their favorite subject and motivate themselves with lots of practice. After creation, get in touch with their respective faculties for feedback. Taking feedback on their work is very important. It will help a student to progress faster. A student can reach up to the mark if he/she dedicates himself/herself completely to a particular goal in his/her life.

Do animation houses in your opinion prefer specialists or generalists today?
Obviously specialized people get more recruitment but in the current scenario if anyone can work on at least two to three specializations, they stand a better chance for getting a better opportunity.

What inspired you to teach?
When I see my student creating some amazing stuff, it inspires me to teach them more, to guide them further. When a student is dedicated I always try to motivate them.

Who has been your influence as an artist?
Well there has not been a particular artist, but good artworks always influence me.

What Indian work has impressed you?
I guess, work done by Prana studios in Tinkerbell. Nice try we can say in ‘Roadside Romeo’. Also recently I had seen the VFX work done in ‘Aladin’, it was really amazing.

What do you think is the potential of the Indian animation and VFX industry?
As far as animation is concerned lots of studios are doing international quality work, but one thing needs to be implemented that we should work on our own contents rather than working on outsourcing projects and for VFX industry, I can say quality is not yet up to the mark but I believe down the line it will improve.

What message do you have for MAAC student council and every young student that aspires to get into the industry, what important things does one need to remember apart from the software that he/she learns?
MSC is doing good job. You guys are rocking keep going. And for the young aspirants, I can say if you want to be an artist you have to take care about certain things, like dedication level must be 100%, motivate yourself as much as possible and you should have a goal in life to achieve, consistency is another important thing.
To become an artist they should learn everything from the root. I mean to say if you want to be modeler he/she has to understand the basic anatomy. Do not be an operator, try to be an artist, if any student has 50% aesthetic, 50% technical it would be perfect balance. Don’t learn software, but use the software to express your art. Learn the technical part but present it aesthetically. One more thing I can say is that if you are good at your work then your work will be appreciated, it will speak for itself. And it will then stand to be a motivation for others to do better!

Caricature Design: Venus D’mello
Interviewer: Pritam Danve
Edited by: Shaheen Guard

Cover Story - Trilochan Naik

Tell us about your background. As in, where do you come from and how you came to MAAC?
I’m basically from Orissa & graduated in B.Sc. During my Graduation, I got acquainted with Multimedia and gained Interest in it. I used to love sketching & had interest in Art Field, so I started to look for the best institute for animation and multimedia in India. I learned about MAAC as my answer.

So, you always wanted to be a Modeller?
No, initially I wanted to do animation. But as I got deeper into the course and started to observe models in Autodesk Maya and Max, I decided to be a modeller.

Okay. If anyone gets a Models Blueprint, will there be any creative job left for a Modeller?
Normally a student modeller copies everything from the reference but the Final output is not as appealing as it should be. Creating a model requires creativity, but a perfect model requires visualization, where students lag behind as they only copy the reference.

Where do you get contacts from? You search for it or do you get them after they see your work? Is there anything online that you search & get work?
Earlier I used to search online, but now I get offers because everyone knows my portfolio. For that you have to prove yourself and must be strong in your field. If you are strong in it, you’ll get work.

What must a Student do to create a good portfolio?
A Student must showcase all his best works and while working the student must work as if he/she is making it for the top level.

What are the Modelling processes used in Studios? As in, what techniques do you use while you create a model?
It’s totally upto the modeller – whether he wants to create a Model using Box technique or Plane technique.  Studio is just concerned with the final output.

What if a Student doesn’t know much about sketching?
If he/she is not well versed with sketching, he/she would face problems due to lack of anatomy knowledge and would be unaware about proportions. This would result in an improper model.

What is important for modelling?
Basically Modelling requires Sketching, Anatomical study of human beings, animals etc. Creativity is a must as well as observation. One must also have an idea about proportions and a passion to do things. And the final and the most important thing is practice – if you don’t practice you won’t get it and things would get tougher.

Its very common that a student working on 24fps has better outputs than his own show reel. What could be the reason behind this?
Students working on 24fps work almost every day because they get enough time for production. But later when they are towards the end of their course, they hastily make their showreels in a bid to get into production studios as soon as possible. But this results into  showreels that do not remotely reach the expectations of studios. I’d advise students that they should have patience and look for jobs only after making an impressive showreel.

On what basis do the studios select candidates?
Normally they opt for experienced persons as that would save their time to train them in regards to the pipeline.

Then how did you get through the very first time?
When I went for my interview, there were a couple of experienced persons as well. A fresher like me was asked to model Angelina Jolie’s face and the experienced persons to detail model. Even though we were given 8 hours to complete the task, I finished it sooner. I also added details – mouth, eyeballs, expressions etc.  Of the two vacancies available at that production house, I was selected because of my speed and quality of work.

Give me a brief idea about the initial stages of production in a production house.
Firstly we have Story-Boarding. I must tell you that in India, Story-Boarding is not progressing at a good pace. It’s not up to the mark. This happens as the Producer doesn’t allow much time. He would expect to release a 3D movie within a year and that is the reason why they just make movies on epics or mythological topics like Ramayana, Mahabharata etc. because such stories are readymade, thus cutting the cost of production and work. However, even the required research is not done well.

Does that mean the Indian animated movies are not created targeting Worldwide Audience?
Well, if you see foreign movies are released worldwide, while our movies are only released in India. I’d rather say only in major cities of India because they face less audience due to common topic and the audience majorly consists of small kids. If you check out the percentage you’ll come to know that only 40% of the people watch 3D movies.

Are the resources insufficient in India?
Yes, as compared to foreign studios like Pixar, we feel that the softwares are insufficient. The foreign studios have the resources to create new softwares as per their requirements. They also have technical teams that create new softwares. Studios like Rhythm & Hues in India create new softwares only if they need it. Here we are told to create a particular thing in particular software as we don’t have the required funding.

As a trainee in MCS (MAAC Creative Shop), what did you learn?
I learned a lot from MCS. For example, if you want to give a model for rigging, you must visualise how your model must be. I also learned about the production pipeline. So that made my work easier in studio as I was aware about it and didn’t have to learn anew.

How do you get the Model?
We were provided with the model’s blueprint and they explained to us the character’s role in the story. That clears our mind about the model.

How is the Quality Check (QC) done? What happens in studio after the QC is passed?
During QC, they check whether the character is looking perfect or not and whether it matches the story’s character as per the blueprint. They check the Model’s proportion etc. After the QC is passed, the model is passed on to texturing artist and rigger. Rigger does the rig test and starts rigging, while texturing artist makes the model in UV Depth. After the Model has been rigged, it is forwarded to animator who does the animation on gray-scale. Later it goes to Cloth department and they adjust the cloth according to Animation.  Then it goes to Visual Effects Department and they do the final job. Lot of work is done simultaneously, thus saving a lot of time and money.

There’s a lot of Models that you have to make. How do you manage to detail them?
We detail only those Models who are in primary focus. For example, the characters in a crowd or at the back don’t need detailed modelling as they are not seen. There are certain Models which need detailed modelling, when the character is in close-up. Also, the models who are talking as we need to detail their lips, mouth etc.
I see. It was a pleasure chatting with you. Thank you for sharing this information with MSC.
You’re most welcome.

Caricature Design: Venus D’mello
Interviewer: Pritam Danve
Written by: Aakash Dwidevi
Edited by: Shaheen Guard

Me.The Voice December ‘09

Me.The Voice is the first Student’s Magazine of MAAC, Andheri.

Please feel free to download it and suggest new ideas

Me.The Voice December ‘09 Issue

Happy Viewing !

Me.The Voice - The First Inhouse Student Magazine

COMING SOON

Me.The Voice October ‘09 Issue

Me.The Voice is the first Student’s Magazine of MAAC, Andheri.

Please feel free to download it and suggest new ideas

Me.The Voice October ‘09 Issue

Happy Viewing !

On the occasion of  Children’s Day, a splendid art competition was held which was organized by MAAC STUDENT COUNCIL at St. Catherine’s  Home (Andheri) which got a great response among children out there. This competition was to bring out the hidden talents and skills of the children. The little angles explained so many thing through their art  which touches the heart of many council members. They sketched flowers, house, animals, almost everything which  came up in their little creative minds. They used the color pencils provided by us in a colorful way. Although most of the drawings were nice, Sitaram Sir selected seven of them as winners whom we provided creative books as their winning prize which make them excited. It was a good and worthy step towards mankind in today’s  chaotic life.

While 20^th November is universally celebrated as Children’s Day, in India this day is being observed on 14^th November, the date that marks the birth anniversary of independent India’s first Prime Minister – Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. It is celebrated as a tribute to his love for children.

Childhood, along with innocence, is all about joy and freedom. But in India, only a section of the country’s children have had the privilege to smile on this day. While some children are endowed with good fortune and positivity all around them, most can barely feed or clothe themselves. It is but a sad and unfortunate situation. However there are some angels in disguise – the Charitable Homes for orphaned and under privileged kids, who make their world a better place to live in.

This year, the heart of all MSC members reached out for such kids in our city.

On a nice, pleasant afternoon, MSC members set out for St. Catherine’s Home, a stone’s throw from MAAC Institute, Andheri. The entrance to the home itself had welcoming vibes, with children around us already having glee on them, telling us so much – some had hopes of having the day celebrated for them, some of being adopted, and some just sitting in a corner, smiling.

Children of age group 7-12 were pouring into the hall. There were quite a few of them – about a hundred of them – each of whom had a story to tell. Some were run-aways, some abandoned, while some were orphans.

The children’s day party began with mimicry by two of our MSC members. It was a good way to start interacting with them and make them laugh. Later, dance and singing followed. The talented ones came up to sing songs and also dance to their favourite numbers.

The children also displayed their talent in drawing. They sketched houses, flowers and pots, almost everything that came up in their creative little minds. They later coloured their art with all the crayons provided by the MSC team.

After allowing considerable time, the papers were then collected from each of them. It was time now for them to enjoy lip-smacking snacks. The team then cut the cake, and offered it to the children along with wafers, chocolates and soft drinks. The winner of best drawing was later announced and given a prize.

Sitaram Sir concluded the party by teaching the children clay modeling with a few quick tips on how to go about this art.

It was a humbling experience for the MSC Team to be with these angels who, in spite of their lonely lives, could share so much of love and warmth within so short a time.  In visiting this Home, it is the team that has gained so much of life’s experience through the eyes of these children that – “when God leads you to the edge of the cliff,  trust him fully and let go… only one of two things will happen, either he’ll catch you when you fall, or teach you how to fly… ” .  Looking at these children we can say that God has done both the things for them, he has already caught them falling, and he will surely teach them how to fly.

– By Shaheen Guard (Volunteer, MSC)

MAAC Andheri Teams - Always, Bijuka, Immortality

The 6th annual 24fps event organized by MAAC was held at S.R.P.F. Ground, Goregaon Mumnai. This event proved to be even more fabulous and exciting than the previous year. This event being one of its kinds in the country came up with the topic “LOVE”.

MAAC Andheri had 3 Team student movies-

1. Always

2. Bijuka

3. Immortality

And an individual Movie-“Good Knight Big”

The event started off with lighting the Traditional Diya which was lit by one of the directors of MAAC Mr. Niraj Bhukhanwala. Entertainment was in the form of an excellent performance by Kim Sharma and rib-ticking comedy session by Famous Comedian V.I.P.

MAAC Andheri Team - Always

MAAC Andheri Team - Bijuka

The much awaited award distribution ceremony finally took place and MAAC Andheri brought home a plethora of awards!

1. Best Animation Film Award (MAAC Team): Silver – Bijuka

2. Best Animation Film Award (MAAC Team): Bronze – Always

3. Best Pre-Production Award (MAAC Team) – Bijuka

4. Best Animation Award (MAAC Team) – Always

5. Best Lighting and Cinematography Award (MAAC Team) – Always

6. Best 3D Animated Short Film: Student Individual (Open) – Good Knight Big

We even managed to bag a nomination for Best VFX Team Award (MAAC Team) foe the movie-IMMORTALITY, apart from various nominations.

The Best Animated Film Award (MAAC Team): Gold was won by Pehchaan Kaun MAAC Anand Vihar-New Delhi.

As the event finished MSC members were fortunate enough to interview a couple of the Jury Members thanks to Sanjeev Sir. Bigwigs in the industry like Shelley Page (Dreamworks Animation), Subhajit Sarkar (Rhythm & Hues), Vaibhav Kumaresh (Vaibhav Studios) and Vivek Ram (Famous Modeller).

Watch out for the interviews in the next magazine……………

Wishing you a Joyus Diwali