Coconut Cruncher

7th Dec 2017 I have been thinking of making video essays for a while now, but hadn’t thought of it through fully because of work. Today I found out that ‘Every Frame a Painting’, one of my favourite channels on youtube that does video essays on Cinema - is officially dead. It was extremely saddening to hear that they have decided that this was the end for them, and that they had to move on to other endeavours. EFAP taught me a lot about film, about art, and about making video essays as well. Their article covers their journey so far, along with their learnings, challenges and rewards. I thought to myself - if they couldn’t do it, who can? But I’m so glad that something so great has been put out there that will be available to anyone anywhere - forever. I wish them good fortune and all the best the world has to offer, and a big thank-you for all the learning and inspiration. :) You can read their overwhelming article here > https://medium.com/@tonyszhou/postmortem-1b338...

31st August 2013 I hate that technology can do as it pleases to us. I am an artist. I come from a very creative background. My ancestors used only their hands to do the work they do. They used pencils, charcoal, pigment colors, and papers. Today's artist uses the traditional mediums as well; but with the growing demand for digital illustration, and it's advantages of getting work done so much faster and cheaper has forced the artist to learn new techniques of producing their work. The same goes with the animator. Back in the day animators used papers (cells) and ink and paints. They used cameras to capture every frame on a reel, and project it onto the screen. So many hours went into trying to hone their skills without a preview of the animation. Previewing meant developing expensive film, and so the animator made do with flipping the sheets to create persistance of vision. We solely depended on the naked eye, and groomed it, trained it, and honed it to see art in the broade...

5th May 2013 Karina McBeth is a fellow blogger friend of mine. She is an aspiring story artist, out to pursue her dreams in the field. She stays in the U.S and has studied in one of the colleges there. Recently she made a post telling us about how she got into the Disney story intern program! I was so happy to read it. It gave me so much hope. Even though I don't know her personally, I know she is a step closer to her dreams of being a story artist. I wish I had the work and the confidence to apply there too. I was so taken aback to read it. Even though I'm really happy, I'm partly really jealous of her too. Unfortunately I'm here, and I don't have a Visa to work or intern there. I don't have the skills yet, neither the opportunity because technically I'm already a graduate and the deadlines have passed. I wish I was better informed and more focused on story 2 years back. I would have channeled all my energy into it. Anyway. After seeing her portfolio I...

22nd Nov 2012 I am overwhelmed. If I could ask an elder to bless me when I touch their feet, I would ask for them to bless me to get a job offer from Studio Ghibli. I can't believe I hadn't seen it earlier. The first thing that came to my mind when it started: Thumbelina. Later, I find a classic story about being brave, and fighting for the things you believe in; although truly, a love story. Maybe it's a Japanese thing, but their romance seems so beautiful and meaningful. Most of them end with the characters being separated in the end because one has to go away. But the feelings told and expressed in Ghibli movies are so true to life, and genuine, you can hear them in the voices of the characters and feel for them so deeply. The boys are so nerdy and emotionally deep. Poetic, almost. And the girls are adventurous, brave, something quite opposite of what we see in western films like all the princess stories. The worlds they create are so real and fantastic, like heaven...

Once upon a time in the kingdom of Heaven , God was missing for six days.  Eventually, Michael the archangel found him, resting on the seventh day. He inquired of God. "Where have you been?" God took a deep sigh of satisfaction and proudly pointed downwards through  the clouds, "Look, Michael. Look what I've made!" Archangel Michael looked puzzled and said, "What is it?" "It's a planet,"  replied God, "and I've put Life on it. I'm going to call it Earth and it's  going to be a great place of balance." "Balance?" inquired Michael, still confused. God explained, pointing to different parts of earth. "For example, northern Europe will be a place of great opportunity and wealth while southern Europe is going to be poor. Over there I've placed a  continent of white people and over there is a continent of black people," God continued pointing to different countries. "This one will be extremely...

An article by the great Hayao Miyazaki san, the Walt Disney of Japanese Animation. Truly insightful and a refuge to struggling animators over the globe - one of the best reads I've had. http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/interviews/aboutanime.html#fn1