Wednesday, October 31, 2007

animation - a film making technique

Chitrakatha 07... the NID international animation film festival

kudos to the team of the Chitrakatha, for the organiZing such an event... at least something happened...

through the presentations today, though, one thing struck me... one thing that s goin on in my head since quite some time NOW.... someHOW, there is this urge to create an identity for animation & the technique itself which is different than "cinema"... dunno why but there seems to be this thing to diffrentiate oneself from "live action"... which is quite weird... after all animation is also just filmmaking... it is just another technique of doin it... but it is FILMMAKING & NOTHiN else... i dunno but the need to create "animation film appreciation" or "animation archivals" seperate from filmmaking is quite striking.. as in should NT the approach be of jus to be making films... & NOT to be making animation films, as in if the film needed the necessary technique be adapted, be it cel animation, model animation, piXellation, stop motion or live action... but should NT this choice be dependent on the content... after all it is jus that we all have something to say... & how we say it depends on what has to be said... for eXample charles eames made both live action & animation films & the choice simply depended on the content...

NOW the point is that should it be made into an issue???? as in is it even worth discussing... coZ every animation school person (here at NID or other wise) will accept that animation film is film making (at least theoretically speaking) but then why take this approach of trying to create this seperate identity????

what the problem with courses like "Animation film Design" then becomes is that it probably becomes too technique oriented... as in the fact that one is animating becomes more important than as to why a particular form of animation or why animation at all.... as in the form should be decided according to the content i feel... here, the form is already decided, then one goes about the content...

dunno, but maybe am completely wrong about it all... & maybe i have a bit too skewed opinion about it... but i think it is definitely a point to ponder...