Jury speak: Infocom EME Awards slated 10th December

The second edition of Infocom EME Awards received 400+ entries from 18 countries. There are 15 different categories in the awards for Indian and International entries. Organized by Anand Bazaar Patrika and ASSOCHAM, INFOCOM EME Awards will be held in conjunction with annual INFOCOM conference at ITC Sonar in Calcutta on 10th Dec 2011 from 5.30pm onwards and will honour excellence in the field of Indian and International Animation and VFX.

For nine years now, Businessworld, published by ABP, has been organizing INFOCOM, it’s annual flagship technology & business event, comprising a conference and exhibition that aims to bring together business and technology on the same platform. INFOCOM joined hands with ASSOCHAM to present the first edition of the Media & Entertainment Forum and the Excellence in Media & Entertainment (EME) Awards at the previous edition of the event. The M & E Forum is a daylong conference, which brings together stalwarts from the M & E Industry and IT and it ends with the EME Awards.

The Jury panel of EME Awards 2011 has a mix of Indian and International stalwarts in the field of Animation and VFX, namely Govind Nihalani, Indian Film Director; Gitanjali Rao, Animation Film Director; Max Howard, Global Consultant – Animation Industry and Founder, Max Howard Consulting Group; Tim Mostert, Creator, Speedy; Nishith Takia, Co-Founder & Director, Krayon Pictures; Sujata Dev, Co-Chairperson, ASSOCHAM – Entertainment & Media Committee and Gurbir Singh, Sr. Associate Editor, Businessworld.
AnimationXpress.com’s Farhatnaz Ansari spoke to the jury about the final nominations, here’s what they have to say…

Govind Nihalani, Indian Film Director

– In the International entries the films in the student short films category are very exciting. They have very fresh original ideas, cutting edge visual design and very good, innovative animation. Not only that some of the entries are very beautifully narrated and it touches your heart like Chicken on the tree, Oldman and the Piglets. And then you have some other entries like Black Water Gospel, In Poster they have very strong elements of human design and very fresh ideas. So overall the package of entries has very contemporary, cutting edge feel to it.

	Gitanjali Rao, Animation Film Director
	– I’m very happy with the student’s category. Not only the imagination and ideas are good but also they have a high end production value. Films especially from Beijing School and South Asian countries are really very good. Their films actually show that they are ready to make quality feature films. Even Indian student films are good and of shows quality.

	Max Howard, Global Consultant – Animation Industry and Founder, Max Howard Consulting Group
	– “I have been tasked with watching just the Indian entries, which has been a fascinating experience.  There’s some excellent story telling at work, great designs and some surprising production values.  This has been a real treat for me and I am looking forward to deliberating with my fellow jurors.  I do have a couple of real favorites but they have to remain a secret – for now!”

Tim Mostert, Creator, Speedy

– I thought the quality of entries this year was excellent. The entrants are showing that they have a good grasp of storytelling and character development, and the gag structure is improving all the time. It‘s especially encouraging to see so many ‘home grown‘ Indian characters, which the world needs to see more of. The biggest trend for me is seeing original Indian characters and storylines introduced, which are your stories and characters. We in the West want to know more about the traditional stories of India, and we also want to see contemporary Indian characters. I find it especially refreshing to see ‘common man‘ characters who live on the fringes of society, but still have a compelling story to tell.

The Indian animation industry is at an important crossroads. There is a lot of technical skill in the studios, but stricter attention needs to be paid to the timing and pacing of the storytelling, with more focus on drawing skills, and less reliance on technology. It‘s not enough to learn animation programmes, one must learn the finessed side of acting through animation, and making a character come to life through an understanding of the dramatic and comedic arts. I‘d like to see Indian animators hone their character development, gag writing, timing and storytelling skills a bit more, because by doing so, you will create an incredible arsenal of tools with which you can tell the stories of India, which are endlessly fascinating.

Nishith Takia, Co-Founder & Director, Krayon Pictures

– I think overall I have seen nice entries and Indian talent is getting better. I particularly like The Hungry Tiger and I like the VFX work done for Anaganaga O Dheerudu. I feel there is lot of need for students to learn the language of cinema and storytelling. They know how to do animation and is very good in it but they should give more importance to the art of storytelling as well. From the education point of view and also from the student level storytelling should come first and animation second.

Sujata Dev, Co-Chairperson, ASSOCHAM – Entertainment & Media Committee

-I think it’s been amazing to see how the students have really created the films. The originality is amazing and it feels great to know that the younger generation is creative, tech savvy and they are making beautiful pictures. We also saw lot of enthusiasm, competitiveness. We have got lot of entries and it shows that quality is building up. Each and every film is touching and very well made. And in particular I liked a film from China that I would want to win. There are many good films from India as well and I wish that every one gets what they deserve and may the best film win.

Gurbir Singh, Sr. Associate Editor, Businessworld

– The entries received this year are much wider and broader based region wise. Particularly international entries were good and we have received more entries from China. In the Indian entries student section showed talent. Entries received for Indian TVC & shortfilm are strong. I particularly like the short films Red Nose, Chicken on the Tree and Backwater Gospel would like these films to win. They are sort of etched on my memory!

For the complete list of nominations click here.

connect@animationxpress.com