When you make a film, remember you make it for the audience. The audience does not come to see animation; they come to see a ‘Good Film’ told through the medium of animation.
The basic funda for the success of any film is the ‘Story’. It does not matter whether it is animation or live action, the audience comes to see a good story and it does not make a difference between the two. And then the rest is up to the medium, how it is presented and propagated. To make things simple we need to have one clear understanding that we are not making an animated film, but we are telling a story. We forget this basic fact and this is the reason for failure in most cases.
A lot of times we tend to create animation and in this whole process we forget or rather overlook the fact of storytelling. Creating fancy animation, fine tuning the minute details and adding extra effects in animation is good but sometimes it kills the story. It is like a gift box that looks fancy from the outside but is actually empty within.
Marketing plays a significant role to enhance the reach of any film. You need to create a buzz so that people know something unique has been created. In India, there are budgetary restrictions but the industry is opening up now to animation and is investing in such projects.
In order to create better films, you need to take a major leap! You cannot just marginally improve because the gap between our content and international content is too vast. So, keep attempting long jumps, short jumps will only cover short distances; hence, aim far away!
In Chaar Sahibzaade (2014) we did not come between the emotions of the audience and the content. As the film was very close to the heart of the Sikh community, and dealt with a sensitive issue, we ensured that animation did not disturb the sentiments of anyone. In fact, it connected the audience to the emotions that the filmmaker wanted to portray. In any film, animation should not disturb the audience. It should engross the audience and engulf them in the flow to feel what the characters in the story feel.
It was a delicate issue to handle but we made the audience cry. And they cried not because of the animation but because they connected to the character, to his story. The audiences felt what the character felt and were a part of the story. They didn’t watch the film but they ‘became a part’ of the film. Audiences of various backgrounds and religions were driven towards the film because of the depth and research in the story.
‘If you are creative you don’t have to show it by being pretentious…let your work speak for itself!’ Often, we are pretentious, we pretend to be an animation studio and create extensive animation. Just remember, you are a story teller first and are using animation just like any other medium to tell the story. Do not think that you are superior. Ultimately, if the audience is not buying a ticket for your film, you can make out how well you have fared. It is that simple. So don’t let success get to your head!
‘Don’t be what you don’t want to be…’ Do not focus on being someone else. Disney and Pixar are different, they have their own identity, but do you? Work on making your identity by creating quality content and expanding the base. The world does not need another Disney, but probably the world needs you, your style and your creativity!
Bollywood has always been accepting towards animation but somewhere there is a problem in the animation industry. There have been films like Hum Tum, Roadside Romeo, Shaandaar and many more that have accepted and given animation a wide chance to prove itself. But, we as a part of the animation industry have failed to deliver it.
In India, the animation industry sometimes transforms into a messy fish market. Whenever a major project comes to any studio, the studio outsources artists and animators from big studios to deliver that project. And once the project is completed or dropped, the artists are sacked. This hampers the consistency in the animation industry and adversely affects the studio, the artists, other studios and the project too. So, who is it benefitting?
Animation film making is a long process which requires continuous efforts. Consistency is the crux of any studio. Animation is a culture but if we change the system every now and then, how is the culture going to build up and sustain? An idea is the brainchild of a single artist and the artist should be a part of the entire cycle till the idea is converted into a full fledge film. An artist involved in pre-production has the right to know what goes in the production and how it will look in post production. Respect your artists for they are not just animators but the source and summit of creativity!
Lastly, budget is never a problem…it is only termed as one in India. If your focus is on animation then budget serves as a major drawback because you tend to go for good quality animation, higher resolution stuff, advanced backgrounds and detailing. But, if you concentrate on storytelling then you can do it even in a limited budget bearing in mind just one thought – How am I going to tell my story!
‘Budget is not even the reason for success…Passion is!’ For if budget was the reason for success every high budgeted film would be a huge hit. It all boils down to ‘Passion’; it depends on how passionate you are. If you put your heart and soul in anything that you do, you can connect to the audience profusely. There is no star in animation, the only star is content…so enhance that star and let it shine in a paramount way in your film!
‘When you do something from your heart, it directly reaches to the heart of the audience…’ I am no big authority to claim success but this is what I have learnt from my experience and journey so far. Wait for two more years and probably I will be able to highlight many more aspects in a better way…
(These are purely personal views of iRealities, CEO, Prasad Ajgaonkar and AnimationXpress.com does not necessarily subscribe to these views)
