Arena Animation, one of the leading animation & multimedia training institute of Aptech Ltd conducted ORBIT Live 2013, a four day long fun learning event from Feb 7 to Feb 10, 2013 at Ramada hotel in Powai, Mumbai. Over 260 students from Arena Animation participated in the value learning summit. International industry expert, Mr. Mike Blum, Founder & Director, Pipsqueak Films, USA graced the event with his presence all through the 4 days and guided the students on various aspects of animation and VFX.
The event had intense industry interface with prominent industry professionals from leading studios such as Mike Blum, Arnab Chaudhuri, Nishit Takia, Rajat Ojha, Manisha Mohan, Shailesh Prabhu, Merzin Tavaria, Anish Mulani, Dhimant Vyas, Kushal Ruia, Vaibhav More, Saumin Patel, Subhajit Sarkar, Yogesh Kaushal, E. Suresh, Aijaz Rashid, Vaibhav Kumaresh, Roto Shah, Prashant Shahane, Virat Khutal, Pete Draper, Prosenjit Ganguly, Kirtish Tharthare, Siddharth Maskeri, Stalin S. , Sandeep Vasudevan, Chetan Sharma and Gayatri Raowho imparted skills and hands on training on various topics related to animation, VFX and digital media during workshops on UI UX Design for mobile, Character animation, Concept design for digital media, VFX Matchmoving, Keep-it-short – Comics & Click-a-film. It was encouraging & a huge impetus to students to have undergone hands on machine practically under the tutelage of the industry professionals.
Prominent industry speakers delivered seminars discussing the Making of Eega, VFX in films, lighting, sounds effects in animation, making of animated TVC’s, troubleshooting techniques, case studies, etc with realtime feedback sessions and practice oriented workshops.
To entertain the crowd, Anicom carnival was organized every evening, imbibing fun learning with masquerade parade, sculpting, clay modeling, puppet making, comic tattoos &, talent hunt, contests, display stalls and much more.
The seminars, workshops and the fun learning sessions were culminated into an award function on the evening of February 9, 2013. The awards night saw eminent stalwarts from top studio producers, directors, senior professionals and students bagging the most prestigious awards for their spellbound contribution to the industry in nine categories such as outstanding achievement in animated feature film, superstar of Indian animation, stunning VFX in film, outstanding contribution to animated commercials, lionheart leaders of independent animation, showcasing Indian animation & VFX on the global stage, invaluable contribution to animation & VFX education, brand ambassador of Indian gaming industry, innovative digital media promotion and so on.
The Chief Guest for the evening was Mr. Mike Blum of Pipsqueak Films (USA), a Disney veteran and Emmy Award winner, along with Executive Director of Aptech Limited, Mr. Anuj Kacker.
The event was hosted by the famous RJ, Ms. Archna Pandya. Stunning performance by Taufiq Qureshi’s ‘Mumbai Stamp’ and the ‘UV’ dance group from India’s Got Talent fame captivated the audience.
The winner students at the workshops were awarded with a trophy and certificate during the awards night. At the UI, UX design workshop, around 17 students were shortlisted by Virat Khutal, CEO, Twist Mobile.
Following students were awarded at the event.
| Student | Centre | Workshop |
|---|---|---|
| Akash Prabhu | Satellite centre of ahmedabad | UI UX Design for mobile |
| Shishir Mukherjee | Meerut | Character Animation |
| Aaron Henriques | Bandra | Visual Effects (VFX) Matchmoving |
| Chandrabhan Yadav | Jaipur | Concept Design for New Media |
| Debijit Das Roy | Kankurgachi | Lights! Camera! Sound!! |
| Shaikh Ershad Abdul Shukur | Thane | Animation |
| Srivatsa Pingali | Hanamkonda | Keep it short-Comics |
| Barnik Choudhury | Kankurgachi | Performance in animation |
On the final day, to keep the students abreast of the industry hiring scenario, HR OUTLOOK – an HR panel discussion with Top HR heads was arranged. The Panel included Ms. Delna Damodhiwala from Prime Focus, Ms. Rashmi Ahad from Krayon Pictures, Mr. Darrpan Mehta from Sugar Mediaz and Mr. Aniruddha Dasgupta from Stereo-D, guiding the students on interview preparation, building up a good portfolio showcasing their skills appropriately and so on.
Mr. Shishir Mukherjee, Meeraut, Arena Animation student, said, “I am delighted for having won an award at Orbit Live and extremely happy to be here as I got a golden opportunity to gain insights from professionals like Mr. Mike Blum and other experts. I look forward to more of such events where we could share our ideas, queries, interests with such eminent personalities in future.”
Ms. Manisha Mohan, TATA Interactive Services, Winner of ‘Excellence in Animation & Design for eLearning Award’ at Orbit Live, said, “I am glad to have been a part of this event put up by Arena Animation that brought together these young budding animators, faculty and the industry experts under one roof and showcased animation as the ‘Career of the future’. I was amazed by the students’ energy levels and enthusiasm towards participating in every fun learning activity and the efforts of the institute is truly laudable.”
Amazed at the energy and enthusiasm showed by the students at Orbit Live, Mr. Ninad Karpe, MD & CEO, Aptech Ltd said, “We congratulate the winners and thank the industry leaders for lending their precious time giving valuable insights to our students and making this event successful. We hope to extend our support to these budding animators in future.”
At the successful completion of ORBIT Live, Ms. Sonya Banerjee, Head of Marketing, Aptech Ltd commented, “It is very rare that students get such highly accomplished experts in the field of animation and VFX to interact with the students. An event like this helps a student to make an informed choice of choosing animation as a career. It further develops their team building skills concurrently training them to face the competitive environment”.
