WDCC: "Trust In Me"

Sorry for the lack of more updates! Been awfully busy with school, that should change soon!...however have some new pics here that i took.
Its my new-est WDCC sculpture from The Jungle Book featuring Mowgli and Kaa!
Inspiring...aint it?

In Theatres :"Cars" (Review)

I liked it!!!
Visually stunning!
Cool soundtrack....bucket loads of heart (yes inspite of it being about talking CARS!).
The best animated movie of the year so far, and possibly one of the best movies of the year too.
A bit too long maybe...could have been 15 mins shorter or so but since u genuinely end up feeling for the characters and their predicaments...i can seem to forgive that.
Though i do think the "PIXAR FORMULA" is begining to show now...maybe TOO clearly!...and i think this is the perfect time for them to wake up to that and shake things up a bit before it does them in and thats is in terms of their story telling devices as well as their visual style.
But i am glad to get a break from yet ANOTHER animated movie with cute CG animals!
Monsters Inc Still remains my fav.Pixar movie and Bugs's Life my least. "Cars" probably fits somewhere right in the centre of that scale.
So irrespective of the box office returns...those who keeping score...PIXAR is still 7 for 7 in my books...though i wont add "and going strong"!

"Moments" Scene 15

Currently busy working away on finshing my model and rigging my main character from "Blvd.Efil".That also happens to be the most challenging stage for me in this CG animation pipeline.Hopefully will have somehting to share from it real soon.

Till then here is a rough composite of a scene from "Moments" without shadows,CC etc etc....have to finish this soon too!! geez..so much to do!

BUT...none the less am gonna make it to the theatres to see CARS today!....rest assured,will post my 2 cents after!
:-)

WDCC:"Seaside Serenade"

I was rescently gifted a membership to the Walt Disney Collector's Society by my cousin!
And this sculpture came with it....so i was just having fun takinng pics of it!!!?!lol

I know it look sliek i have a lot of time on my hands...doesn't it?

"Moments" Scene 74

Rough animation line test for this farewell seen where the little girl gets a gift from the old man.This scene was one hell of a long scene and hats off to Yogesh and Nilesh who worked on it and coloured (and re-coloured) every frame by hand with pastels!!!

In Theatres : X3(Review)

Hmmmm...i loved the first 2 X-Men movies directed by Bryan Singer. A fine balance of popcorn Summer Entertainment and beleivable Character Development leading to a very satisfying movie watching experience.
So its was very unforunate for me to find that the 3rd and supposedly the final chapter in this franchise did not do the same!
This one was strictly "OK"...there were just too many things missing...
A) Where was Nightcrawler from X2? is he not there just cause the actor could not make it back?
B) Whats with the pigeon guy..?? why was he even put in if he was not gonna be explored or developed. He seemed far more interesting than the chick running through walls!
C)The "Fur Ball"...u gotta be kidding...his presence on screen drew the most(& there where many)unrequired laughs and snickers from me! not good!
D) Phoenix...i waited the whole movie for a cool..jaw hitting the floor "Phoenix Moment"...but all i got was her floating in the air crying "save me"& everyone around her running and turning into what looked like garnulated pepper balls! Phoenix was just not FIERY enough for me!
E)And at the end,I wonder how those mutant kids will learn to hone their talents in that school with the bald kid there now sucking in all their powers! Could be quite annoying!

I know this review sounds like its coming from someone who does not know the X MEN comics too well and thats true! SO,i dunno if thats how prof Xavier ,Magnetto, Cyclops etc actually meet their end or not...but it sure did not seem convincing in the film.I mean,it seemed too forced..lets just kill peeople off or turn them into "Homosapiens" (which BTW is so simple, like pushing a button...and EUREKA! instant de-mutation!) cause we need to raise the stakes and wind up the franchise!

Cause somehow it seems the story did not demand all these deaths!and that too in such a not-so-glorious fashion!! i mean...they were such super powerful beings ...and u just put a needle in him and thats it?!
Hell,its MAGNETTO we r talking about!!!!

It was not JUST not built up enough...their death was not the pay off that was required to satisfy the script...and i am the last person to have problems with killing off primary characters!
I wish the director/writers chose to explore the very intersting concept about the cure, and the arguements for and against it rather then "lets just kill the next Xmen we can think off"!

I just hope now that Superman Returns is worth this sacrifice, cuase then i will hold Bryan Singer resposible for ruining 2 movies this summer, one by directing it and one by NOT directing!! Now, that would be a first!;-)

"Moments" Scene 10

This is my rough line test for a new scene and it hooks up to another new scene, Scene 9 (posted earlier).
It's after the girl's doll has been knocked over by a man who is in a hurry to catch a bus.
The Girl gives him a displeased look for a short bit and then picks up her doll.

Horse In Watercolours

Though its not very new, i still remember it being lots of fun doing this quick life drawing with watercolours! Should do it more often!

First Flight & Moments

Hey Cameron,

I just wanna say, that i do understand that how this might be just a coincendence as most story themes are so universal.

Though that was on my mind while i was watching FF, its only after i read ur name in the credits that i thought "Moments" COULD have played a part in inspiring FF.

And then i read some articles on FF on AWN etc it said that it was pitched to execs in END of 2004 and Moments was screened for you in April 2004.
I was understandably surprised and a bit taken aback.

I wrote on my blog to put my thoughts out there...and you will see nowhere do I "ACCUSE" you or slander you...i am simply talking about what i saw and the similarities and coincendences associated with all this AND asking people for their opinions on both the films to know if people can even connect the two or not!!

Like you have too...i too have invested a lot of time and hard work in my film..and i have continued to work on it, make it bigger & better since April 2004 and its finally in post production now. So i just cannot "NOT care" about what i saw.It was and IS a valid concern from my point of view.

It was not my intent to come off as accusatory.I know how similar ideas and storytelling tools can be and i would respect a fellow film-maker enough to first approach you and ask you frankly before i maliciously accused you,if at all!

Again, i appreciate u leaving a message here and clearing this up and wish you all the best with "First Flight"!

Thanks
Kushal Ruia

Lip Sync Assignment

Just finished a Lip Sync assignment with Fred (Supplied Model).
Experimenting with different textures and shaders and stuff...

....and YES,thats Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lector!

(unfortunately u dont see much of the acting in the eyes & stuff in this low res version and also the audio is a bit off after compression on YouTube it seems):-(

SHOCK & AWE!!!

Today Dreamworks premiered a brand new short film called "First Flight"before the theatrical print of Over The Hedge in the cinemas.
I was excited as it started,cuase I love short films.
As the film progressed, I was a little surprised to see that the story was quite familiar and within a few seconds my brother pointed it out too and then I knew it was not JUST my imagination!

As the film progressed its story seemed amazingly similar to my graduating film called "MOMENTS"which i made at Sheridan College in April 2004.
Not only are the story and plot the same, the similarity in portrayal of character interaction is striking...just one of the characters was different...a bird instead of a little girl and a different ending.

While watching First Flight today the thought going through my head was, "Wow! what an amazing co-incidence!!" But soon the surprise turned to shock when the film finshed and the credits rolled!

It was directed by Cameron Hood ...who COINCIDENTLY was representing Dreamworks at the Industry Screening of Graduating Films at Sheridan College,Canada in April 2004 where MY film,"Moments" made its debut as a student film!!!

For those who have seen my film and know what i am talking about...make sure u get there well in time to catch "First Flight" before Over The Hedge and let me know what u think!!

I mean...there is even a paper plane symbolising the bird being run over by a car!!!!
Will locate and post my April 2004 film shortly!
Like i said...i am pretty shocked...dunno what to make of it!

Stuff from my Short Film "Moments"

Sssssssuper Weekend!

WOW! Had an amazing weekend...and this one of the many cool things that i did...YES! thats indeed a REAL "Ball Pyhton" on my hand!!
And dont be fooled by the smile, i was PETRIFIED! I admit i did not have the balls to have him around my neck, but i settled for the hand after MUCH hesitation (putting it mildly)!

I think the pic says it all...i dont need to post the video clip to prove he was real and how i made a fool of myslef...i will let u use ur imagination!lol

More on the Sssssssssuper Weekend to follow soon!;-)

Nostalgic Fun: The Flour Sac & The Puddle

I was going through my Gigs & Gigs of data when i found some of my my pre-historic animation.
It was quite funny to see it all. Thought i 'd post a few even though they are very crude and old.

This particular one was my very first go at personality animation in my first year of college.
It had to be a flour sac interacting with a prop whos name i pulled out randomly from a hat.
I remember getting a "Mirror" first...but then i gave that up for a shot at pulling out some other more "Interetsing" prop, to only pull out a "Puddle", which had more or less similar possibilities as a "Mirror" but just add to it the fun of figuring out how to animate water if u wanna show some interaction! Joy!
Should have stuck with the damn "Mirror"!

In Theatres : Mission Impossible III (Review)

And Summer starts!!
Yes its a BIG studio, BIG star ,BIG budget BIG franchise but...small movie!
There were no real BIG explosive blow u away "did u see that ?" kinda special effects moments which one expects from movies of this stature.
Director JJ Abrams of Alias/Lost fame sticks to his Alias formula.
The movie is ineresting no doubt,holds ur attention the whole time and to the director's credit its cause of the "pure" action and the circumstances and the story telling thread and no sp.fx jazz!

Am not saying thats bad, its great!! but we know that Abrams is good with that, he has already established that in his Tv shows...how about shaking it up a bit for the big screen?

Essentially...its like watching Alias on the big screen with Tom Cruise instead of Sydney Bristow( Jeniffer Garner).
Its amazing to see how blatantly Abrams uses the very same devices and techniques and creates the similar moods with the score, colours, lighting and sets as Alias!!
Among many other things,is it a co-incidence that Alias opened with the main character strapped to a chair being interrogated?
or people having "charges in their head" a la Will Tippin from 2 weeks ago in Alias?

Why not just make a big screen version Alias instead?!

Ric Sluiter On Art Direction And More

Ric Sluiter Art Director of Mulan,Lilo and American Dog and Sheridan Alumni, was over at the college to give a little talk on Art Direction.
As expected ,cameras were required to be switched off once he started sharing artwork, so unfortunately i have nothing to show...but maybe i could just share some of the things he said and talked about.
His presentation was based on the work he was doing for an animated feature at the Florida studio, which was scrapped/cancelled/put on hold when the studio was shut down.
Many of u may know of it...though its title was ever changing...some of them were "My Peoples", "Angel & Her No Good Sister" and finally "A Few Good Ghosts".
He showed concpet art, final designs, test shots created for publicity etc etc. and they were very cool.
The humans etc were all 2d and the hero (Elgin), he made puppets of his ancestors and they were made up of things like brooms, buttons ,gloves etc etc and those were CGI.
The backgrounds were all 2d but painted in Photoshop.
The look was very different, specially the opening prologue which talked of a family curse and was very inspired.
Also i thought the heroine (Rose) was probably one of the most beautiful Disney Heroines yet...reminded me a bit of Tarzan's Mom (human one, not Kala) , who i think surely wins the "Hottest Disney Mom Who Dies In The First 7 Mins of the film" award!!
The story was a bit like Romeo and Juliet with Love Vs Fear being the theme.
Had the voices of Dolly Parton among others as one of the puppets.
It looked cool enough for me to want it to be finshed some day..hopefully it will!

Other things he briefly touched upon (some old, some new) which other animation/ disneyphiles might wanna know are:
1.He was working on Toy Story 3 before it was shut down. He just moved to American Dog .
2.Disney seems poised for a come back and everyone is very upbeat.
3.No more sequels.."...we wont be ruining Peter Pan anymore"
4.Stuff he has seen from Glen Keane's Rapunzel just blows his mind away..."...Its like watching beautiful Glen Keane drawings moving in 3D"
5.Rapunzel story has been reverted back closer to the classic story rather than spoof-ish take on it.
6.Ron n John are back at disney to make a film (2d maybe?)!
7.Eric Goldberg is on his way back too!!!
8.He loves Photoshop and paints only on that now!

I think thats all i can recall for now...and yes...i got him to sign my Lilo & Stitch 2Disc DVD from region 2 which has a lot of him and his work and the Mulan Sp. Edition too..i unfortunately did not have my Art Of books here with me...tragic!
But i got to speak with him for a short bit so it was cool and fun!:-)

Pics From NYC

I just realised, in my great enthusiasm for posting the Tarzan on Broadway Stuff...i forgot to post some other pics i took while i was in NYC last month...so here they r!

And yes..on friday we had an amazing presentation by Disney Art Director Ric Sluiter (Mulan, Lilo&Stitch and forthcoming American Dog)...he showed some real cool stuff & shared some amazing info and advice...so will put something together on that in a day or two!

The Empire State

Walk On Broadway

A Room With A View

"Blvd.Efil" Story Reel

..the timing needs to better...for things to register and all....i just had to get it done..didt it all 3 days man! it was hell....will work it all out at the kinks and more in the animation stage!
here it is anyways!

Same Central "Prop", Different Central "Plot"

So those who have been following my blog...proabably know how i had story crisis and had to trash my original film idea (of which i had posted some boards here too) cause it was too technically ambitious in the given time frame.
So I was REALLY pressed for time...so in a rush i came up with this another simple story ( Not the most amazing idea i have ever though of for sure) and put together the boards and a story reel with temp. audo in RECORD time, even for me! lol

So this guy here..is our new star..the story is totally differnet form the earlier story..though the main prop ( A Red Box) still survives in this one too...i dont have a name for this film yet ..its proabbly gonna be somehting like "Temptation On Boulevard Efil" or just "Blvd. Efil" i dunno...am open to suggetsions..after i have posted the rough story reel,i would be more than glad to have suggestions from u guys about the title too.
BTW..Efil is "Life" spelt backwards...ist not menat to be very obvious...u will see...
For now here are a few panels from it...and yes,still trying to use a stylus to draw on the comp!

In Theatres : The Wild (Review)

OK...if u told me that one day that i would i be writing a postive review of this film ... i would laugh a hearty laugh.
It was mixture of Finding Nemo, Madagascar and genrerous helpings of many Lion King moments...
But thats very usual for animated movies now days. I am not sayin "The Wild" is a great movie...but it surely does not deserve the negative goodwill most of us have for it.
It looks like real hard work and its paid off well. Yes, the style is not to my preference , being more towards photo realiasm than a stylised look.This is the only reason why i might prefer Madagascar over The Wild. In all other aspects Wild surely surpasses Madagascar or even the rescent animated movies like Ice Age 2.
And even though it's style is NEAR photo realism. it looks consistent and good and is still better than gag inducing designs from some Dreamworks films...Sharktale anyone?!
Am not sure which come first...Madgascar or The Wild...but i dunno why..i think i belive the fact that The Wild was in production b4 Madagascar but got delayed and Madagascar beat it to the theatres.
In either case, i think CORE in Toronto had surely proved themselves as an able feature producing studio...and i would surely look forward to their next endevaour...and Disney and Mr.Lasseter need not be TOO embaressed of The Wild, we have seen a lot worse off late.

Funny Stuff!

No, i have not made this video...just found it on you tube! thought it was funny..i mean i have THOUGHT of capturing somehting like this but never got around to it..but its cool to see someone actually did!
It shows how people drive in India...though its not Bombay where i usually drive( which is even worse) but still..its India!

Tony Sees The Light!

Whats Tony upto now??
Tony visits an Art Gallery and sees the light.
or
Tony Turn & Walk Assignment:-)
If nothing else, am really begining to enjoy the endless possibilities in term sof rendering and texturing and lighting....it was cool to have this comic book kinda look ...and it was all a simple lighting arrangement...its funny where everyone is trying to make it look more real and 3d, i am the nut trying ways to flatten everything! oh well...old habbits die hard! i LOOOVE 2d!

Crazy! Crazy! Crazy!

Yes...am going insane here! its the end of tehe semester , crazy workload and everything that could go wrong,IS!
i dont even wnat to begin talking about it all here...but one of the biggest set backs has been that the day b4 i just changed my story idea for my film project...and this is AFTER i did full colour storyboards and a rough story reel for it and one day b4 they were due!!
so i guess u can begin imagine my state of mind...
anywho...this past weekend was the first time i tried using a WACOM tablet to draw digitally on the comp. it was fun..so i decided to do my entire storyboards that way...though the drawings were quite bad..it was quick and let me keep it simple and move on to the next panel...
here are a couple of panles from the now "Abandoned Movie Concept"...:-(

"Left Out" Yet Another WIP Version (with Audio)

Okkkk...getting there....the 2d texture animation is yet to come for the facial expressions...some tweakings with the texture and i forgot to render the text saying "Don't Go Away"revealed on the wall as the Big Doll exits!
So all that in the next & final (hopefully) version! :-)

My "Tony" Jump!

Meet Tony...get used to him...u will be seeing a lot of him...he is the Rig we use for our human animation exercises...so...this is my first excercise with him...A jump...and this also the first time i really understood the technical process of texturing and lighting ...or atelast begining to!
His arms were such a pain to animate...i really missed my pencil/paper!

Cool New Music Video & ThisTime It's "In The Rain"! ;-)

Just saw this music video online..its a new video by Enya called "It's In The Rain"...though i dont think ist too complicated technically...looks like simple After Effects(I could surely be wrong, remember the idea of the doll being simple?)....but it looks fresh and nice...
and though this song would not be my first choice for a 2nd single from her new album(Amarantine), but i like it after seeing the video! The rain drops look cool..and the clouds remind me of Mulan titles!

Can u belive she is 55 years old!!?? I mean look at her! Special Effects?

You can see the entire video here.

~<< In Memoriam: Dwarka Bai >>~

I woke up this sad morning to a message from Bombay saying that Dwarki is no more. Dwarki was someone who brought me & my brother up but no one ever treated her or looked at her like a "Nanny". She was family & a second Grand Mother to me & she lived with us in our old house.She was not living with us from the last 10 yrs or so but she would drop by now & then, she loved my brother & I to bits.

She had been sick the last few years, more age related problems. I met her only 4-5 times in the last so many years mainly cause I was also not in India too much in the rescent years.Last I met her was just a few months before I came to Canada in January'06, & for some reason, I had this bad feeling I wont see her again so got this picture of us taken.

She was the last person still alive who I knew who's very sight could take me back in time to places and to the company of some very important people that are no longer there in my life. She was the last living link to many of my childood memories & loved ones.The last few times I met her, I would just be so overcome with emotion and pulled back into those memories that I could hardly even talk to her, would just sit there & look at her as she talked.

It pains me to think that though I so wanted to & was going to go visit her to say goodbye before I left for Canada, I was so absorbed in my own world ,with finishing my film ,getting my VISA ,preparing to leave the country & other such selfish things that I got caught up & could not make the "TIME" to go say a simple goodbye!...and now its a bit too late.Its a regret that I will carry for the rest of my life.
I hope she would forgive me for not letting her know what she meant to me & know that I will always carry her in my heart as a part of who I am,no matter where I go.

Rest In Peace Dwarki...You Will Be Missed Dearly.

"Left Out"- Work In Progress Animation

NEARLY DONNNNNNNNNNE! As u can see the textures are swimming all over the place...so have to figure that out and then i have to figure out how to ANIMATE the textures( facial expressions)so things read better...and then just tweak the animation a bit more and texture the Backgroundand light it and render it and put Sound etc etc ..phew!
Like i said "NEARLY" Done!:-)
It turned out a bit longer than the story reel , but i will proabably able to get it down to 10 sec once its all done!
I always put up rough 2d animation..so why not 3d too? yeah...i know its not the same..but still!:-)


(Those who dont know what this is all about, u can see the Story Reel here!)

"MOMENTS" Temp Composite of Sc. 14

Its missing effects layers,colour correction and some size relationship issues...but here it is anyws, an updated verision of Sc 14 who's line test i posted last week!

Oh This Is Gonna Be EASY....Yeah RRRight!

How simple does that look to texture, rig etc in MAYA? Yeah, well i fell for that too when i picked that balsted doll for my FIRST CG Project.
Its killing me...forget me ,even my teacher was surprised by the challenges this DECEPTIVELY SIMPLE doll is presenting & made a tutorial out of it for everyone else!lol

Oh well..i just kinda finished working on its Texture...(for those who r not MAYA freindly, this pic below is the art i made which has to wrap around the "Model" of the doll in virtual space giving it the "Look" that i'd want).So here is the texture for this...and am working on the animation now...hope to have it done by the weekend!

Some More "Tarzan On Broadway "Stuff

Am awfully busy with school these few days...shoudl have a couple of new projects to post up next week (if they dont end up looking TOO embarrassing that is!)

So until then...take a look at these...

The Introduction Art On A Screen B4 The Show Starts


Jane Caught In A Giant Spider's Giant Web (This replaces the baboon chase)


Take A Bow
(NO, Tarzan & Jane arn't phosphorescent in the show, its just a bad pic!)

In Theatres (Review)-Ice Age:The Meltdown

STORY! STORY! STORY! Why ,Why OH Why cant these people get that straight? Especially in Animation when the film is in production for 3-4 yrs if not more so there shoudl be nothing that isnt thougt through...also when even teh smallest element is under the control of the director/artists!!Then why this crap?Are people sleeping through the production?

Ice Age 2 is GORGEOUS to look at .I might even go to say its one of the most visually simple/beautifully designed CG movie yet...but then whats the point if there is no such thing as a "STORY" or a good reason to make this movie other than to cash in on excisting hit! The jokes are so juvenille and done and cliche!! Though Scrat does provide welcome releif and sometimes Sid too...but,geez!

Whats the excuse this time? Will the filmmakers blame Michael Eisner and "Executive Interferance" for this mess too? Cuase it wont work...wrong studio!..or wait, maybe its Rupert Murdock to blame here. For too long have animation filmmakers /directors tried to get away by blaming things on exectives..i am sure they did mess up many things...but i dont think its JUST that anymore.
I just feel bad for the aniamtors and other artists who work on such productions. They put so many years of their lives into such products...only to see the storytellers drop the ball at their end! Its a sad sad sad situation.What a waste of beautiful art and time and money!

"MOMENTS" Rough Line Test Sc. 14

Here the girl picks up her "pull string box with doll" and takes to the busy street as she tries to cross it to get to the Grapes on the other side!

This is rough first line test. I also have a slightly updated version with more layers, which i will post soon!

(If u see just a white square then please click hereto open video.)

Tarzan On Broadway Preview

Tom Schumacher ,Head of DIsney Theatrical and former head of Disney Feature Animation introduces and talks about Tarzan The Broadway Musical at the Ricahard Rogers Theatre.

Sorry about my shaky camera, but its a real challenge when u trying to be inconspicuous AND trying to capture everything AND are over excited!:-)

Just Saw TARZAN On Broadway Preview On Opening Weekend!

WOW! Yes...i was in NYC this weekend and on a mission.And i wont get into how i managed it but yes, i saw TARZAN on Boradway on the opening weekend!

Tarzan just started previewing and the final production does not open till May 10 2006.
This was the first time i saw a Work-In-Progress of a broadway musical. Seen so much of dirty laundry for films and animation, but theatre? This was my first such expereince and it wasn't any less fascinating.
I wont go into reviewing the show, cause what i saw was work in progress..and i am sure many,MANY changes are yet to come cuase they r surely NEEDED if Tarzan needs to be as jaw dropping as Beauty And The Beast or The Lion King were when they opened on Broadway.
But it was an unforgetable experience to see a show being tweaked and worked out with the producers and directors sitting 4 seats away from you (Thomas Schumacher & PHIL COLLINS among many!)

BTW...Phil Collins has written 10 new songs for this Stage version in addition to the original songs that were there in the 1999 Film version.

New Songs Include:
"Who Better Than Me?"
"No Other Way"
"Sure As Sun Turns To Moon"
"Jungle Funk" etc etc

Check back later in the day for an XCLUSIVE surprise! ;-)

Congratulations To The Crew Of "In The Air" Music Video

http://www.animationxpress.com/anex/y2k6/headlines/anex623.htm

Yesterday we won the Best Music Video Award at the FICCI BAF Awards 2006 In Mumbai,INDIA.
So congrats to Simi and everyone else who worked on the video! It was loads of fun working with all of ya!
:-)

"MOMENTS" Original Score-Recording Session

This was the first time i was in a recording studio EVER. It was an unforgetable expereince seeing all these fellow artists and musicians getting all excited and giving their best for MY little short film.
It was the first time i felt it was not JUST mine...
Here we see the Flutist IMPROVISING to the footage from the film wher the old man's floating in a state of bliss,as he lets the rain(not seen in the video) wash over his face and he learns once again to embrace life.

In Theatres (Review)-V For Vendetta

I must admit, when I first saw the trailer for this movie it looked awfully unappealing and ridiculous with a guy with a strange "Joker-esque"mask and a bad wig in a trailer for movie which seems quite "Serious" and not some slasher comedy!

Ofcourse,it did not help that I was totally ignorant of the fact that this is based on a graphic novel and was totally unawares of the world, the character and the themes it dealt with.

I guess never judge a book by its cover. I was pleasantly surprised...It was quite a cool film. With its many political ideas which I have thought about myself on many occasions. Yes there was a lot of talking, but I did not mind it cause I think they had strong cast which delivered their lines with just the right energy and force.

And I got used to the strange grin on the mask after the first 10 mins...The action was cool...And NOT totally pointless for a change. Though the ideas were too many & not indepth, I did not mind it. Cause I thought I could see where the filmmakers were coming from and generally where they were trying to take this film. I saw shades of phantom of The Opera, Beauty & the Beast, Shyamalan's The Village in it and more...And I don't mean that in a bad way.

There are a handful of cheesy moments(like everyone taking off their masks in unison to see the fireworks as the 1812 overture reaches its crescendo)and plot loop holes...But not overwhelming enough for me to not recommend this movie.

It tries to be a fun "super hero movie", with something to say...Rather something RELEVANT to say and does a not-so-bad job of it.

"MOMENTS" VERY Rough Composite of Sc09

This is an extremely rough composite with a thumbanil for a background and only HALF the characters in, just to see the timing and to figure out the camera move and stuff.
In this scene the girl walks across the busy pavement with her "Pull along doll-in-box" thingie and comes to the edge of the pavement to cross the busy street.

(If U see just a white square up there,please click here to open video.)

In Theatres (Review)-Hills Have Eyes

Squish!Chomp-Chomp!Spluuuurt!AAArrgghhh!Rrrrrrripppp!
Grrrrrrrrrrooowwwll!Sllluuurrrrppp!Gulp!Heeeelp!Noooooo!!
(Note:Most sounds are used in conjuntion
with human flesh/blood)

Well all these and MORE of the similarly wonderful aural & visual splendours await u where The Hills Have Eyes!!
Enough Said!

Thumbnail Concept For A Project I Did

Pics From Niagra

Hey... it was beautiful warm day yesterday...after ages! like 18 in the positive! So ,randomly...we just decided to head off to Niagra...it was beuatiful, and misty etc etc..here are a few pics i took that i liked!

"Left Out"- Rough Interstitial Story Reel (10sec)

This is the rough story reel for my 10 sec Interstitial project with the Matroshka Dolls.
Its called "Left Out".



On to the actual Production now...

Interstitial Project-"Matroshka Dolls" (10 seconds)

For my first major assignment this semester...ihave to conceive,develop and animate a 10 sec Interstitial saying "Be Right Back" or something to that effect...
And i have to include a Toy as the main star of it...and i have to model ,shade,texture,rig, animate it with enviorments and all that.
And yes..it could tell a story...if one could manage that in 10 seconds!

So...i have picked a set of "Matroshka"dolls, which my cousin very briliantly brought to my notice! (Thnx Annie)
Have just finished coming up with a short silly story/premise and finished a rough story reel for it (will post it later on in the day) and have to NOW start working on Setting up the characters in Maya....JOY!

Wish i could just jump to the Animation part directly!!:-(

On DVD-"Elizabethtown"

Somehow up until i picked up this DVD to rent, I did not know it was a Cameron Crowe film...had passed it off as an Orlnado Bloom romantic chick flik or something(not that anything wrong with that, no offense meant to anyone:-)).

But i was pleasantly surprised...though the performances are not great or anything, and the storytelling does meander a LOT and is a bit too slow at times...but it had some REAL nice moments and he manages to capture some very nice intimate human characteristics through some well written lines and hints of good performances, specially by Susan Sarandon (yes, she is in it too!).
And though a bit dark..i genuinely found myself laughin out loud at certain points...which is VERY rare for me!

Kristen Dunst's character, though very sweet, seems a bit exaggerated...but it works, surprisingly!
The film does a great job of capturing the randomness of life and death and teh way people deal with both.
I find that quite interesting...worth a watch!

Life Drawing ,5min

It Seems I Can Now Say "I Have Met/Conversed With An Oscar Winning Filmmaker"!:-)

Congratulations to Mr.John Canemaker for winning for Best Animated Short today!

And i guess i did not do TOO bad with my prediction score....18/24 and that is INCLUDING being spot on with Best Picture AND Best Director!!! Coooooooooooool:-)

OSCAR Time!! My Predictions :-)

78th Academy Awards

My Predictions In All 24 Categories

I am still debating as i begin to type this, wether i should put my money on things I REALLY liked or just get on the Brokeback Bandwagon and just say what most other Oscar pundits are saying...i dunno...i will decide as and when i get to the categories as i type them!

Best Animated Feature : Tim Burton's The Corpse Bride (NOT W&G for God's sake!):-)

Best Animated Short : The Moon And The Sun (John Canemaker)

Best Picture : Crash :-)

Best Director : Ang Lee(Brokeback Mountain) (I am tempted to put down Crash here too, but its ok, i am willing to compramise here)

Best Actor : Philip Seymour Hoffman(Capote)

Best Actress : Felicity Huffman (Transamerica):-)

Best Supporting Actor : George Clooney (Syriana)

Best Supporting Actress : Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener)

Best Original Screenplay : Paul Haggis (Crash)

Best Adapted Screenplay : Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana (Brokeback Mountain)

Best Original Score : John Williams (Memoirs Of A Geisha)

Best Original Song :Travellin Thru(Transamerica)

Best Art Direction :Memoirs of a Geisha

Best Costume Design : Memoirs of a Geisha

Best Cinematography : Brokeback Mountain

Best Editing : Crash

Best Make-Up :The Chronicles of Narnia: TLTW&TW

Best Sound Mixing : King Kong

Best Sound Editing : King Kong

Best Visual Effects : King Kong

Best Foreign Lang Film : Tsotsi

Best Docu. Feature : March of the Penguins

Best Docu. Short : God Sleeps In Rwanda

Best Live Action Short : Six Shooter

So...what do YOU think???

NotJust WORDS...

"...Heaven holds a sense of wonder
and I wanted to believe
that I'd get caught up
when the rage in me subsides"

A PIG!! Drawing from the Winter Fair

This paper was black...it showed up as this weird pink after scanning!! Anywho...i did this and some other animal drawings with pastels...just was trying to learn to handle them!

NotJust Something Fishy...

2003

2004

Talk about Originality!?

"MOMENTS"New Rough Anim Sc37

The Old Man is taken by surprise when...

NotJust NEWS: Too Dark For Animation, But OK For The Stage!?

For Disney Creative Entertainment, Menken is creating a stage musical of "The Snow Queen," set to debut at Tokyo DisneySea with Amon Miyamoto directing and John Weidman as the bookwriter and Glen Slater the lyricist. He also is writing music for a Sinbad attraction in Japan for Walt Disney Imagineering.
More on that other realted good news.Click here

Wonder how the Brizzi Bros. feel about this?!

Adventures in Maya...My First CG Animation!!

God!! Who said computer animation is easy...or easier???
Its driivng me nuts...i admit that i love traditional animation more than i could even begin to care fo CG...but inspite of that , i do respect it as another tool to tell a story and hence i am getting acquainted with it.
Its so different form traditional animation in terms of the interface and how u approach things.
Atleast thats what i find right now in the initial stages.
I think am BEGINING to get a hang of animating in Maya...and those beuatiful web of colours called the "Graph Editor"...but Modelling, Texturing and all that technical stuff..just seems too alien to me right now...well,time will tell.

For now...i am trying to be brave by putting up my first piece of CG animation...ROBOT JUMP!