Kolkata based Aura Cinematics is working on a full length feature on Swami Vivekananda which is being planned for a release next summer in time for his150th Birth Anniversary. The company is putting its all into ensuring that the best possible creative and research as well as production talent works on the movie. Aura will also be participating at the Indian Animation Pavilion at Mifa 2012 which begins next week in Annecy, France.
In a conversation with Aura Cinematics Co-Founder, Director Sukankan Roy, AnimationXpress.com’s Ishpreet Chandok gets some insights about the project.
How did the idea of a feature film on the life of Swami Vivekananda come to your mind? What drew you towards the subject?
Somehow, one fine day, I discovered a little portion of goodness residing in my mortal body. I found more within my immediate associates. The idea of triggering the much larger chunk of goodness prevailing in every human entity came into my mind. But what is the way, I am no reformer. So, the easiest way out is to remind people of some one who has already done that. And who else than Vivekananda who fits the bill.
The logical and modern perspective of Swami Vivekananda towards divinity is something very convincing and draws all towards him. I am no different.
So when did you start working on the project?
We started studying and doing research on the subject long back, but officially kick started from Nov 2009 onwards.
The Secretary of RMIC announced the project at the Institute. How closely are they associated with the project?
The project was formally announced by the secretary of RMIC, Swami Savabhutananda on the 4th of Aug last year. They are funding for the Film till now.
What is the duration and medium used for the movie? Is mocap going to be used in the process?
It will be approximately a 90 min movie. The movie is essentially a 3D film with a 2D shaded render output. We are planning to use performance capture very extensively.
At what stage has the movie reached? When do you plan to release it?
The film is in its ripe stage of Pre production and expected to go into production by July this year. We are planning for the next year summer release which clubs up with the auspicious occasion of 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.
Will the movie be released internationally? Do you plan to showcase it at festivals ?
We have been talking to many International Distributors who have shown utter interest in the content and hope to release globally. We will try to screen the film in all major Film Festivals too.
A short promo was also aired at the announcement of the project? Tell us about it?
A short clip of animation was done to adjudge the possibility of production we intend to do. Things have changed a lot since then. We have amended few design centric changes, post that.
How many artists have worked on the movie? There are reports of well known writer Douglas Booth as the co-writer for the project…
At this moment, a very able team of 30 brilliant artists is working on the project. Douglas Booth had been very kind enough to lend his writing skills as a co writer. Interestingly Douglas is an ardent Kriya Yogi and has extensively studied Indian scriptures. That has enabled him to strike a good balance between Indian philosophies and western sensibilities. To add more, I will also reveal that former Walt Disney (Canada) Art Director, Rebecca Barclay has also joined us as the Color Art Director. Rebecca has worked in films like Peter Pan –Return to Neverland, Hercules 2, Pooh’s Valentine and many more under her belt. Apart from the friends from the west, some of the very well known, experienced and talented artists from our own country is creatively associated with us. Rishi Sahany had taken up the challenge of designing realistic character style and successfully achieved it, while Asit Das is rigorously working on the visual storytelling on boards which is not very easy with a content like this. On one hand, Subhajit Paul has done extensive research directing the art for appropriate architectures which happen to so diverse with geographies covered in the film, on the other hand Satpal Kadole had been doing justice directing the grandeur of concepts of the environments yet sticking to the sensibilities of simplicity of the subject. Their contribution is worth mentioning.
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You would be representing Aura Cinematics at Mifa & Annecy. What are your plans for the trade fair? What would like to achieve from it?
Unlike previous year, where I represented the whole group, this year I will be representing Aura Cinematics solely at the Mifa. We would primarily promote the film there. We have few meetings lined up for co productions and distribution of the film and looking for more. We also intend to hire few professionals from there to work on the film. I am also looking out for co production of other European contents.
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Aura Cinematics is also working on an animated project on the childhood of Swami Vivekanand..?
That’s true. We have been working on a project on the childhood of Vivekananda who was named Biley during his toddler days. The content is more contemporary and Biley is a remote influence on our child protagonist namely Joy. Unlike ‘Kindled’, ‘Sound of Joy’ is not a historical content rather we are desperately trying it to be geography and era free.
Besides your own content, are you also into service work? What’s the studio’s body of work been like in the production space?
To be honest our bread and butter is service work. Fortunately our studio time is booked for another 4 years. We have no plans of expansion at this moment owing to the pressure of the film. But we are always in look out for good artists to be a part of our team.
What are your future plans?
Our prime future plan is to promote the animation industry as such, rather than making a bigger unit. Eventually we want to outsource most of our production work to all upcoming studios across the country till they are strong enough to contribute to the domestic animation industry in return by themselves. The future lies in the strength of our internal domestic content and consumption.