`There are great stories in all of us'
S.R.ASHOK KUMAR
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Meet Riash Shahnawaz, first Indian to be nominated for the Student Academy Awards, instituted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
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GETTING NOTICED: Writer-animator Riash Shahnawaz
This Chennai boy is in the spotlight. His recent film, `Institute for the Digitally Challenged,' has been nominated for the Student Academy Awards. The award was established in 1972 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to encourage excellence in filmmaking at the collegiate level. This is the first time an Indian student has made it.
He is Riash Shahnawaz, writer and animator.
After passing out of St. Michael's Academy, Adyar, Chennai, Riash graduated in Visual Communications from Loyola College. In his final year, he did his internship at Edit Point Media. He followed this up with a stint at a post-production house called Total Infotainment Limited (TIL Studios) and has also worked on many high-profile Indian and International commercials and films.
Riash did his Masters in Computer Graphics & Animation from Pratt Institute, New York, as he wanted to try his hand at character animation. Excerpts from an interview:
On being nominated for the 33rd Annual Student Academy Awards
`Institute for the Digitally Challenged' is a short 3D, animated film. I had done it as part of my thesis while at Pratt. I submitted it to the Region 3 division of the Academy at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York, which handles the regional selection for the entire East Coast of the US.
My film and six others were initially selected from 33 animation entries and screened at the Academy's screening room on April 27.
A panel, recognised by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, judges these films. My film was selected as one of the top three national finalists from the East Coast.
It is now slated to premiere at and compete in the national finals for the 33rd Annual Student Academy Awards on June 10 at the Samuel-Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California.
On the making of the film
Apart from the music composition and voice talent which was done by my friends, Houston Dupre and Marc Brewster, in New York, I was responsible for all other aspects... right from conception, story and design, hiring the right voice talent to modelling, rigging, animation, rendering, compositing, sound editing, mastering and final output onto the various media formats including designing the respective media covers and authoring for a professional final output.
It was a time-consuming process since it's a dialogue-driven, character animation piece but it has been a very rewarding experience.
On what his film is about
It is a dark comedy and a rhetorical look at animation itself. There are many brilliantly animated films that come out each year but tons of research, trial and error goes on behind the scenes in producing one.
Three-dimensionalAnimation is a process that breathes life into digital pixels and somany `half-alive' digital test characters are built and easily discarded as the digital medium allows it.
My film is about the dysfunctional, test characters that are thrown away into a digital recycle bin and the psychological effect this has on the digital misfits.
While the central theme resonates immediately with people involved in animation, it also draws parallels to common themes of existentialism. What is our purpose of being? Does life lose its entire meaning with the loss of objectives? How would you feel if life suddenly lost its sense of meaning? These basic questions are treated but from a digital character's perspective.
On how he became interested in the Student Academy Awards
I became curious about the Student Academy Awards [after reading about it on] theAcademy's website. I [then decided to]... give it a shot.
Some of the past winners and nominees of these awards include John Lasseter (`A Bug's Life,' `Toy Story' and `Toy Story 2,' and the upcoming `Cars'), Robert Zemeckis (`Cast Away,' `Contact,' `Forrest Gump'), Spike Lee (`Bamboozled,' `Summer of Sam,' `Do the Right Thing') and Trey Parker. (`Team America: World Police,' `South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut'). So I am honoured to be nominated.
On plans for the future
I have some ideas that I have been mulling over for my next short film. I'm very excited... as I've learnt a lot [about filmmaking] fromthis one and can now apply it better to address the more vital aspects of the next film.
I will be very interested in working with other filmmakers and animators of reputed companies in India, along with a creative team of professionals who promote innovative thinking.
On essences and personal touches
There are great stories in all of us, and the best ones are usually based on real-life experiences. It is essential to tap that potential and draw from it.
It is important to be inspired but never to imitate, as the true essence in your films eventually come from personal touches that are unique to you.
Always question what sets your work apart from others and while it might be quite clichéd to say it, there is definitely an absolute truth in the fact that you should never give up on your dreams in life.
Take all ups and downs in life and tuck them away as helpful learning experiences and use them as challenges to improve your work and try harder on every consecutive attempt.
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