Animation Masters Summit (AMS) is an event conceived by Toonz Media Group way back in 1999 to give back to the industry what it deserves. This also happens to be the first ever animation event established in India to celebrate the ‘Art of Animation’.
“With this event, we intend to create a platform where a set of creative souls share their experiences and expertise with another set of passionate professionals and aspiring young talent,” AMS festival director Hari Varma expounds. The event is conducted annually by bringing in the “who’s who” of the Animation fraternity both internationally and nationally.
AMS is a platform for the young to interact with the Masters and help raise their creative energies to a new high. Year after year by making the event more productive and relevant to the times, Toonz Animation has managed to make this event a breeding ground for some of the nation’s best emerging talents. “This is also an opportunity for the masters to present their works to the other masters and also animation professionals/entrepreneurs who are expected to attend this event,” says Hari. “The reason for AMS being a success and sustaining over so many years is because it is the only event which is more bent towards the creative side of the animation industry.”
In the past, the Summit has had stalwarts like Rob Coleman, Derek Lamb, Bill Plympton, Paul Driessen, Wendy Tilby, Jimmy Murakami, participating in the event. As visible, the names are the crčme-de-la-crčme of the international animation and visual effects industry.
This year’s edition of Animation Masters Summit – 2015 has a special addition. Toonz is introducing the ‘Flying Elephant Animation & Short Film Competition’. The best part is that the selected Masters of Animation Masters Summit – 2015 will be the jury for the final evaluation and selection of the winners.
“Since our logo is a flying elephant, which led to the birth of the name. The Flying Elephant trophy is very much in line with the Animation Masters Summit because it is about storytelling and how to improve art and visualisation. The competition is essentially to honour the storytelling and visualisation capabilities of creative souls and also promote new talents. We are sure there are thousands of creative geniuses out there vying for the coveted ‘Flying Elephant Trophy’,” Hari exults.
The Event has got two parts. One of them is the talks, interactive workshops and panel discussions on relevant topics. This will be essentially by the Masters who have agreed to participate this year and also industry leaders with abundant experience in the creative and technological potential of this industry. And the second one is the Animation & Short Film Competition to win the coveted ‘Flying Elephant’ trophy.
The entire event is being conducted on the 8 and 9 of May, 2015 in the beautiful city of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of the divine state of Kerala in the southern part of India. This city is the home of Toonz Animation India.
“The submissions for the Flying Elephant competition commenced only a week prior to now and we already have received an international entry from Los Angeles, which is very encouraging to see. In all we are expecting close to 1000 entries for this inaugural event,” ends Hari.