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Category Animation

What is the significance of the code AII3 in animation films?

Pronounced A-one thirteen, it is the number of a classroom at the California Institute of the Arts in the U.S. CalArts is a private university founded by Walt Disney in the early 1960s. It is where legendary animation film makers learnt their craft. The mysterious code A113 figures in every Pixar film in some form or the other. The popular shows The Simpsons, American Dad, South Park, etc. feature this number. In Finding Nemo, a scuba divers camera bears this number. The Toy Story trilogy has two vehicles with license plates bearing the number A113. In Monsters Inc. it is the classroom number of Scaring 101.

It is the moviemakers’ way of showing their gratitude to their alma mater which shaped their career. Directors who passed out of this university have churned out incredible box office hits.

 

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What is praxinoscope?

It is an early animation device that predated the movie camera. It was invented in 1877 by Charles-Emile Reynaud of France. It was an improvement upon an earlier device called zoetrope.

The praxinoscope consists of a rotating drum whose inside rim is lined with a strip of pictures containing a succession of consecutive images. The strip may show a clown juggling, horse galloping, trapeze artist in action, etc.

At the centre is a small cylinder covered with mirrors, equal to the number of pictures in the rotating drum. When the drum is spun by hand, the pictures on the strip are reflected in the mirror. The observer sees a rapid succession of images, giving an illusion of a moving image.

Reynaud later called hid praxinoscope Theatre Optique (Optical Theatre) and used it as a part of his shows. He developed it further, projecting the image on a large screen for his audiences. It was very popular until 1900 when it was eclipsed by the cinematograph of the Lumiere Brothers.

 

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What is 4-D?

The term 4-D (sometimes 5-D) is used for movies that make use of physical effects inside the theatre, which occur in synchronization with the 3-D movie. These include seats which vibrate, tilt, sway, drop down and rotate, different kinds of smells to suit what’s happening on screen, for example, burning rubber in a car chase; rain, smoke, wind; strobe lights, water sprays and jets and even mechanical ticklers for the legs and arms!

A 4-D experience can be had only in special theatres which are built to produce the effects. There are movie theatres like these in many countries including India (Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi etc).

Ten films, including Avatar, Kung-Fu Panda and the third sequel to the Pirates of the Caribbean have additional 4-D effects.

 

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For art’s sake

 

My niece is in her final year of fine arts at Stella Maris, Chennai. Her passion is doodling. What are her career options? What can she further do academically? And which are the institutions in India that offer courses in such areas?

My daughter is a student of ICSE board. She is interested in craftwork and has done a craft course. Her extra-curricular activities included decoupage, – , flower making, cards and Chinese ceramics. What should she take up at +2 level? What are the options available, and the institutions for the same? She is an all-rounder and tops in all subjects. But her passion is crafts. She is always with scissors and paper. What is NID and what does it offer?

First, about your niece. Since your niece is already a student of fine arts, she is already in the right place. Doodling might be her passion, but as a fine arts student she would be having a larger career goal. She can do a masters in fine arts, and then proceed to do a PhD in a related field. She can take up the teaching profession and teach at the school or college level. She can even hold exhibitions of her paintings, or else she could be an art curator and join a big museum.

As regards your daughter, she should take up arts to pursue her interest in crafts. She can join a college that offers bachelor of fine arts thereafter. or else, she can pursue graduation in any other subject and pursue in a polytechnic.

 

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Creative corridors

                                                                                                I am a student of class XII and want to pursue a career in animation. I want to know about the entrance procedure of NID, Ahmadabad. Please give me guidance about how to prepare for the examination.

In the entrance test you will be asked to do things that will test your sense of color, your understanding of proportion , and your ability to visualize. Say, you might be asked to make a color paper collage. You might be asked to draw an object, or you might be asked to visualize something fifty years from now. You should also start maintain a portfolio: preserve properly whatever you draw or make; get in the habit of observing: critically viewing ads, movies, photographs or any other art object. This understanding will also be put to test.

 

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