Gitanjali Rao – Animation Rising Star
Gitanjali Rao graduated from art school in 1994 and went on to intern with Indian Animator Ram Mohan. She wrote, drew, directed and produced a fifteen minute animated film, “Printed Rainbow”, that was selected in the short film category at Cannes in 2006.
Rao’s first film was “Orange” which did not make it through the strict Indian censorship policies. The style of “Orange” is reflective of her day job creating animated commercials.
The story concept for her Cannes selection, “Printed Rainbow”, is fascinating. From Television Point:
This 15-minute short film is about a woman in Mumbai, who lives all alone with just a cat for company. “She is an avid collector of match box covers. This leads to a dream world where she does adventurous things. From one matchbox to another, she goes on weaving her adventures along with her cat. Finally she comes back to reality,” explains Gitanjali. The film has no narration and is a visual rendition of the woman. “Each frame is painted. I had to do it myself because it’s experimental animation. I have shot the first part of the film in black and white to show the dreary existence of this woman. The rest of it is in a myriad of colours. I am so excited that it has been selected and that too for Cannes,” says Gitanjali.
Observe the contrast in the image below from “Printed Rainbow” between the woman in black and white and the brightly colored matchbox.
And, the bright world of the matchbox comes alive in this still from the movie.
The Dimples team hasn’t seen this movie but we love the concept and the stills. We’re sure that there is much more to come from Gitanjali Rao. And, for a final tantalizing sample, here is a still from another short film, “Blue”.
[tags]Gitanjali Rao, 2D animation, animation, Cannes, India, animation news[/tags]
Alex Toth Dead at 77
Alex Toth was one of the most influential artists of his era. He died on May 27 of natural causes. From the Los Angeles Times obituary:
“For 50 years he did what he wanted to do — smoke cigarettes, sit on the couch and draw,” his daughter Dana Palmer said Saturday. “But in his final year there was such a great spirit in him, and he had made peace with everybody on Earth that he needed to make peace with.”
Toth did the character designs for “Superfriends,” “Space Ghost,” and “Herculoids” among others.
[tags]Alex Toth, animation, comic, comic book, superfriends, spaceghost, herculoids, animation news, obituary[/tags]
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