Issues which have been bothering you for long and become part of daily life - like the rising number of crimes; burden of studies on children; corruption and kids indulging in internet chats were presented in a humorous fashion in about 60 short animated films.
Made by students of four institutes of Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics (MAAC) the films were screened for the first time at Computer Graphics Short Film Festival 2012 and was held at Sirifort Auditorium.
Made on the theme of ‘Social Issues Faced by the Citizens of Delhi’ were part of around 900 short, 2D stop motion, 3D, live action and VFX films by students and professionals competing in 16 categories.
Of one or two minutes duration, the films were based either on social, local and educational problems of the City or their solutions. While the issues dealt in these films were of a serious nature, their treatment filled the auditorium with applause by the audience - comprising students and professionals.
Protector or Predator, a film on corruption was one of them. It showed a woman’s purse being snatched away by a local thief. A pot-bellied policemen appears miraculously and starts following the thief.
The cop manages to catch the thief and overpowers him very efficiently. He then takes away the stolen wallet from him and returns it to the woman. However, she is surprised to find that the wallet is empty. The film ends with the policemen walking back with the stolen money in his back pocket.
Another entry Chiraag cautioning people not to touch unidentified articles conveyed a message to the general public not to touch unclaimed or suspicious objects. It shows a man dressed up as a cowboy riding on a camel.
He sees a chiraag (lamp) on road and gets down from the camel. As he picks up chiraag and starts rubbing it, assuming it to be Alaadin ka chiraag it explodes suddenly and he dies. Each film was made by groups of six, in 90 days.
Amit Dang, event head of the awards, says animation gives the freedom of showing and expressing things which otherwise won’t be possible. “In animation, everything is virtual and there is a freedom to make anything. It is a very symbolic way of saying things. Even in Titanic, animation has been used to show a sinking ship,” he said.
“In India, the market for animation films is huge. Animation for all the famous Hollywood films like Harry Potter was outsourced from India.
Viewership of Indian animation is less because their quality is not as good as in Hollywood films. The investment for good animation is huge. Avatar was made in 14 years in a whopping budget of Rs 1200 crores approximately,” he added.
Founder of Delhi Computer Graphics Animation Awards (DCGAA) Deepak Choudhary said an event like this will encourage students and artists who are doing extraordinary work.
A film on education Mr Know it All was received very well by the audience. The film conveyed the importance of education as foremost in living daily life with ease.