The Man, Eating Tiger

Alive and kickin'!

2009-06-05T23:05:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of treatment frames. Need to get back on the horse... or er... tiger!

Tigger's Song

2008-08-04T05:13:00.000-07:00

Tigger's Song

From Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too

Written by: Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman

Performed by: Paul Winchell [Tigger]

The wonderful thing about Tiggers
Is Tiggers are wonderful things
Their tops are made out of rubber
Their bottoms are made out of springs
They're bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy
Fun, fun, fun, fun, FUN!
But the most wonderful thing about Tiggers
Is I'm the only one

The wonderful thing about Tiggers
Is Tiggers are wonderful chaps
They're loaded with vim and with vigor
They love to leap in your laps
They're bouncy, trouncy, flouncy pouncy
Fun, fun, fun, fun, FUN
But the most wonderful thing about Tiggers
Is I'm the only one.

Tiggers are wonderful fellahs.
Tiggers are awfully sweet.
Everyone elses is jealous,
And thats why I repeat...

The wonderful thing about Tiggers
Are Tiggers are wonderful things
Their tops are made out of rubber
Their bottoms are made out of springs
They're bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy
Fun, fun, fun, fun, FUN!
But the most wonderful thing about Tiggers
Is I'm the only one.
Yes, I'm the only one
(GRRrrrrrr...) ooOOoooOOooooOOOO!!!

Busy...

2008-06-04T04:50:00.000-07:00

I found this excerpt from Norton Juster and Jules Feiffer's The Phantom Tollbooth (which, by the way, I've never read). But I very faintly remembered seeing the animated adaptation as a child and although I couldn't even remember the name, thanks to the internet I didn't have to. Ironically enough, this excerpt describes my day almost perfectly.

"Well, if you can't laugh or think, what can you do?" asked Milo.

"Anything as long as it's nothing, and everything as long as it isn't anything," explained another.

"There's lots to do; we have a very busy schedule-

"At 8 o'clock we get up, and then we spend

"From 8 to 9 daydreaming.

"From 9 to 9:30 we take our early midmorning nap.

"From 9:30 to 10:30 we dawdle and delay.

"From 10:30 to 11:30 we take our late early morning nap.

"From ll:00 to 12:00 we bide our time and then eat lunch.

"From l:00 to 2:00 we linger and loiter.

"From 2:00 to 2:30 we take our early afternoon nap.

"From 2:30 to 3:30 we put off for tomorrow what we could have done today.

"From 3:30 to 4:00 we take our early late afternoon nap.

"From 4:00 to 5:00 we loaf and lounge until dinner.

"From 6:00 to 7:00 we dillydally.

"From 7:00 to 8:00 we take our early evening nap, and then for an hour before we go to bed at 9:00 we waste time.

"As you can see, that leaves almost no time for brooding, lagging, plodding, or procrastinating, and if we stopped to think or laugh, we'd never get nothing done."

"You mean you'd never get anything done," corrected Milo.

"We don't want to get anything done," snapped another angrily; "we want to get nothing done, and we can do that without your help."

"You see," continued another in a more conciliatory tone, "it's really quite strenuous doing nothing all day, so once a week we take a holiday and go nowhere, which was just where we were going when you came along. Would you care to join us?"

"I might as well," thought Milo; "that's where I seem to be going anyway."

Mood-board

2008-05-27T23:18:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to embiggen!

Above is a mood-board that I put together from the folder titled "Inspiration" in my project folder. I love this folder - it's a place where I can dump all the images, clips and ideas that I come across; the ideas which strike a chord with regards to The Man, Eating Tiger.

The thought behind this is not to blindly copy something that I've seen, but to have any easy reference of images and to convey in general, what the short might be like.

A TON OF Early Sketches...

2008-05-19T06:21:00.000-07:00

I know, I know... I already posted some of these. But this time I re-scanned them and I'm uploading them all at once. Don't be overwhelmed...

...by the primitiveness; or by the NUMBER of primitive drawings. They are, as the title suggests, EARLY sketches. And yes, some DO resemble The Bowler Hat Guy or even Shere Khan; and it IS intentional.

Enough with the words! Bring on the pictures!

Click on the thumbnails to embiggen the images!

Jokes To Tell Your Worst Enemy...

2008-02-28T01:24:00.000-08:00

Okay, story time...

Today we're gonna talk about how it all began. The story for The Man, Eating Tiger originally started as my idea for my Kinetics assignment. This is a course where we explore more complex animations which involve six advanced animation exercises: inside-out, point-of-view, lip sync, morph, background transition and a dance sequence. The idea is to use one or two characters and string these ideas together as a story - a precursor to our classroom projects.

The day that we had to present our ideas, I had nothing ready. So I got up earlier than usual and went to the Animation Computer Lab. No one was around and I had the whole lab to myself. I soon discovered that what they say about mornings being the best time to create and think is right.

I don't know how it works for other people. But usually my ideas come to me like a flash. There's no constructive approach to thinking of ideas. They just come to me. This is why I often liken creativity to fishing - you don't make the fish; you just catch it.

So while fishing for ideas in the river of inspiration, I suddenly recollected a book that I'd read and re-read many times as a kid. It's called Jokes To Tell Your Worst Enemy and it was a book full of puns, anecdotes and funny names. I particularly remembered a joke about a man-eating tiger and that immediately set me off.

I can't really tell you the joke here without spoiling the film for you. But I can show you the cover of the book - I found it the last time I went home (thanks, Ruskin!) and it brought back some good memories.

The joke started off a rhyme. I've always made rhymes, ever since I was a kid. It's fun and not very hard - you write a line, you write another line and you try to end with a word that rhymes. In the end I had a poem; an Ogden Nash-like (by the way, I'd never read Ogden Nash then), Dr. Seuss-ian, Tim Burton-ish poem. One that you can recite in a sing-song voice and one that you can remember easily.

The only problem was, now I had to use it for the Kinetics exercises. This became a pretty difficult affair as I found myself not really trying to capture the exercises themselves but falling in love with the poem and how to tell it interestingly. The two simple refused to go hand-in-hand.

You have to understand, this poem is not one that you can simply read. It must be accompanied by pictures to get the fully idea of the story and humour.

So I decided to seperate the idea from my Kinetics work and took it forward as my classroom project, and eventually as my graduation film.

It's been a long time and what surprises me the most is that over the years, I've still retained a great amount of interest in telling this story. Hopefully the film will also be worth telling your worst enemy...

Joke.

The Adventures of Prince Achmed

2008-01-02T11:39:00.000-08:00

Just watched this brilliant film today. It's one of the earliest full-length animated films. Many thanks to Kowshik for recommending it. He saw what I was working on for The Man Eating Tiger and suggested that I watch this.

It only goes to show that silhouette animation has been around ever since the beginning of animated film-making. The Adventures of Prince Achmed is awesome because it succeeds on more levels than just the aesthetic look and feel. It's got amazing animation and a great story as well. Lotte Reiniger is truly a pioneer in the field and her inspirational work on this film only proves that.

Here are some stills from the film:

And here are two sequences from the film itself which show what these beautiful images look like in motion. The first is actually the beginning of the film; the second contains material of adult nature, so viewer discretion is advised. Enjoy!

Early Sketches...

2007-12-11T10:57:00.000-08:00

Back to posting!

These are early sketches from when I wasn't even sure if I was making this film or not. Very primitive designs and ideas here (keep in mind, these were done over a year ago), but a lot of this went into getting the final look. I'll have to dig up more old work from this project to post. And don't worry, I'll post some new ones too!

Till then these should do:

Tiger Balm

2007-11-29T09:53:00.000-08:00

Okay, okay... it seems like I'm getting into product placement here on the blog (perhaps I am).

Actually, I've been fighting a bit of a cold. And whenever you have a runny nose, look no further than...

Tiger Balm!

This is such a cool product. I love how it has a well known signature in terms of packaging. I'm dying to find out the meanings of those symbols, especially the one above the tiger (Any ideas on which language it is?)

For more check out the official website:

http://www.tigerbalm.com/

There's a great bit of legend about the history of this multipurpose ointment.

Sniff, sniff!

Tiger Biscuits

2007-11-08T03:12:00.000-08:00

I realise I haven't posted here in quite some time. That's because I've been busy with other projects. But no more! Now I'm back on the tiger (not literally, of course) and you'll see more regular updates soon!

Like I mentioned in my last post I keep getting these divine 'signs'. Here's another one:

So keep eating those tiger biscuits and keep an eye out for more on The Man-Eating Tiger!

The Creepiness Continues!!!

2007-09-02T05:22:00.000-07:00

This is from Story Boredom and what's freaking me out is how close this is to what I'm working on!

http://storyboredom.blogspot.com/2006/07/comic-con-fan-man-tiger.html

God! Stop with these signs!

I was born in the Year of the Tiger!!!

2007-08-30T09:30:00.001-07:00

And I didn't even know it!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_(zodiac)

1986!

My brother just told me!

It's absolutely creepy - the number of signs I'm seeing related to what I'm working on!

Now Reading...

2007-08-27T06:28:00.000-07:00

The Ultimate Stencil Book by Althea Wilson.

Thanks to Sagarika for the info!

Black And White

2007-08-07T01:54:00.000-07:00

I'm quite excited about the look that the film is taking visually. It's pretty unique and it works with the story.

That's why it's sometimes a downer when you see something similar later. I found a couple of films (very good ones!) online which I think better exemplify the look that I'm going for.

The first is Michel Gagne's Insanely Twisted Shadow Puppets

Another is Spilled Oil by MAKE

While it's a bummer to see that your "So-very-cool" idea has been done before, it's still very educational to see such awesome work.

It kind of boils down to basics I think, much like the composition exercises one does in a foundation design course.

The great thing about these two films is how at a glance, they may look similar, but on closer observation reveal their own identities. While one is very character based, the other is amorphous and flow-y and each suits the message it wants to convey.

Here's something else which is a close cousin, a game called Gun Run. Not only does it look cool. It's FUN!

Gun Run

Shoot everything to survive.

Play this free game now!!

Visual TREAT-ment!

2007-08-07T00:07:00.000-07:00

I've become fascinated with the idea of tiger stripes as a way of illustrating/animating. I think it perfectly suits the film. Here are some initial explorations:

Imagine if you can, the story being told on the back of a tiger! The stripes come alive and form the characters and surroundings. Scenes morph into one another and we move around the tigers back to see what happens next!

Well, that's how I'm seeing it right now. In these images, I've tried out different textures and colour schemes. One thing is certain, the main forms will be black/dark; very basic and primal.

This is a rough sketch of how it could work as a representation:

I showed these to Shilpa today and we both agreed that this is something that we could move forward with. There are many ways in which they could be further developed, in terms of animation and storytelling.

One of the themes of the story is metamorphosis. How that can be worked into the design of the film is something I find very interesting. One of the ways is colors - the color of the background eventually changing.

I have another idea which I'll try out and post.

I'll finish off with some manips for a cityscape:

Calvin Knows Best!

2007-07-11T13:54:00.000-07:00

Anita Isola, a good friend, just sent this to me and I had to post this...

Hmmm... just noticed - Hobbes is a tiger!

Wildlife TV Shows

2007-06-26T05:40:00.000-07:00

Trust me - I'm not the kind of person who watches the National Geographic Channel. Or the Discovery Channel. Or even Animal Planet. I don't really watch them at all.

But today, sitting at home, I was channel surfing and I stopped at Discovery when I noticed a documentary about tigers. It's interesting how when you've become attached to something, you begin to notice it more often around you and you start taking interest in things which you wouldn't take interest in before.

Like wildlife TV shows.

So, anyway, the show was quite cool - the way they tracked the tiger, tranquilized it and put a radio tracker on it. But more than that it gave my brain a chance to think of some ideas that I might want to implement at a later time.

So here I'm listing those ideas (Don't stress your brain if they don't make any sense):

-Tiger stripes as an illustrative theme/motif.
-Tire tracks to contrast the tiger stripes.
-Tiger tracks to contrast the tire tracks.
-Monochromatic color schemes.
-Ink blots on paper leading to interesting transitions.
-Metamorphosis: through color, style, etc.
-A sunset shot. Sunsets are always beautiful.
-Growl to Burp or vice-versa.

Good. Now I won't forget. Thank God for television.

Jury's Fury

2007-05-29T01:28:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay... so the jury wasn't furious.

But I just like the title.

So how did the jury react to the animatics for "The Man Eating Tiger" (working title)?

Well, first of all - who was the jury comprised of?

1. Sekhar Mukherjee - the co-ordinator of the animation department in NID.
2. Gayatri Menon - from the Toy Design department in NID.
3. A F Matthew - a professor from MICA, Ahmedabad.

I screened the rought animatic from my Kinetics exercise (I've mentioned it in a previous post). There were quite a few juniors around also watching the jury, and truth be told - I didn't really want them to (It ruins the surprsie, you see).

So, what was the feedback?

Well, this was one of those moments where you discover something new and interesting without expecting to.

Matthew brought up the relationship between Chinese medicine and tigers. How crushed tiger bones are used as aphrodisiacs and such. This was somewhat a revelation. It added a whole new angle to the story.

Why?

Well, because there's already a doctor in the story. And since it kinda relates to malpractice, this Chinese medicine thing was really fitting.

This just means I get to do more cool research and find out stuff with which I can have fun.

Sekhar's feedback can be boiled down to its basics - "Finish the film on time". Well he IS the co-ordinator of the department.

Gayatri Menon, having seen what I'd done with the Rasa theory in my Science & Liberal Arts course, said something like add another Rasa to it. It already has Hasya Rasa (Humor). Add another angle to it.

Well, it sounded kind of forced, but yeah... I already want to add another angle to the story - a kind of creepiness; much in the vein of Tim Burton.

Matthew was also quick to mention that I should not make this some sort of "Save-the-tigers" film. And I have to say that I totally agree with him, as I have no such zealous tendencies.

All in all, with the audience's reaction, I was now more sure that this would work as a humorous film and that just makes me more excited to work on this!

TYGER

2007-04-12T13:21:00.000-07:00

From: http://guilherme.tv/tyger/index.htm

The Bengal Tiger

2007-04-12T13:15:00.000-07:00

Bengal Tiger

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Bengal Tiger or Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) is a subspecies of tiger found in Bangladesh, Bengal region of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and in the south of Tibet.^{[citation needed]} It is the most common tiger subspecies, and lives in a variety of habitats, including grasslands, subtropical and tropical rainforests, scrub forests, wet and dry deciduous forests and mangroves. Its fur is orange-brown with black stripes, although there is a mutation that sometimes produces white tigers. It is the national animal of both Bangladesh and India. It is sometimes confused as the national animal of Nepal, but the national animal of Nepal is the brahman cow.

Physical characteristics

Male Bengal Tigers measure around 6 to 9 feet in length (without their tail), and 9 to 12 feet with their tail. Their weight is around 400 to 660 pounds (180 to 300 kilograms). A Bengal normally stands at around 3 feet (0.97 m) at the shoulder. They have a maximum skull length of around 10 to 15 inches (250 to 380 mm). An average male Bengal Tiger living in the wild weighs in at about 500 pounds (230 kg), stands 3 feet tall, and stretches about 10 feet (2.9 m) in length (head to tail).However,there are many instances of Bengals over 300 kg.The largest Bengal ever was shot in 1967 and weighed close to 390 kg.

Female Bengal Tigers measure around 5 to 6 feet in length (without their tail), and 7 to 9,5 with their tail. They weigh around 250 to 450 pounds (110 to 200 kg). They stand about 2½ feet (75 cm) tall at the shoulder. They have a maximum skull length of about 8 to 12 inches long. An average female Bengal Tiger living in the wild will weigh about 300–350 pounds (140–160 kg), stand 2½ feet (0.8 m) tall, and stretch about 8 feet (2.4 m) in length head to tail.

Distribution

Estimates in 2005 indicate an approximate worldwide population of 4,500 Bengal Tigers: The bulk of the population of about 3000 individuals live in India. There are about 200 tigers living in both Bangladesh and Nepal. There are a few other specimens in Myanmar but they have lost their genetic purity because of interbreeding with other tiger species.

Diet

A Bengal Tiger stretching

In the wild, Bengal Tigers are pure carnivores and hunt medium-sized and large-sized animals, such as wild boar, deer, gaurs and water buffalo. They also prey on smaller animals like hares, monkeys, langurs and peacocks. Bengal Tigers have also been known to prey on young Asian Elephants and rhino calves. Typically, Bengal Tigers do not prey on adult elephants or rhinos but there are few such documented cases. For instance, the World Wildlife Fund is fostering an orphaned rhino whose mother was killed by a tiger. Famous Indian hunter and naturalist Jim Corbett described an incident where two tigers fought and killed a large bull elephant. The elephant was probably disturbing a mating pair, and that lead to a long fight. The tigers were known not to eat the dead elephant. Bengal Tigers have also been known to take other predators such as leopards, wolves, jackals, foxes, crocodiles and dholes as prey, although these predators are not typically a part of the Bengal's diet.

Bengal Tigers prefer to hunt mostly by night. During the day, the cover of the tall "elephant grass" gives the feline excellent camouflage. Bengals kill prey by overpowering their victim and severing the spinal cord (preferred method for smaller prey), or applying a suffocation bite of the neck for large prey. A Bengal Tiger will usually drag its kill to a safe place to eat. Despite their size, Bengal Tigers can climb trees effectively, but they are not as adept as the smaller leopard, which hides its kills from other predators in the trees. Bengal Tigers are also strong and frequent swimmers, often ambushing, drinking or swimming prey or chasing prey that has retreated into water. The Bengal Tiger can consume up to about 40 kg (90 lb) of meat at a time and then go without eating for days.^{[citation needed]} These tigers normally hunt deer or anything above 100 pounds, but when driven to hunger, it will eat anything, such as frogs, fowl, crocodiles, and sometimes human.

Threats

Habitat loss and poaching are important threats to species survival. Poachers kill tigers not only for their pelts, but also for components to make various traditional East Asian medicines. Other factors contributing to their loss are urbanization and revenge killing. Farmers blame Tigers for killing cattle and will shoot them. Poachers also kill Tigers for their bones and teeth to make medicines that are alleged to provide the Tiger's strength. The Bengal Tiger (and all Tigers in general) have virtually no natural predators. Unlike the African Lion, the Bengal Tiger's excellent swimming ability has made catching and killing medium sized crocodiles relatively easy.

Habitat

The Bengal Tiger is now strictly protected, and is the national animal of both Bangladesh and India. After the resounding success of the Tiger Conservation Program in India known as Project Tiger, the population of wild tigers has increased dramatically. The tiger population of India is officially estimated to have reached about 3,500, up from 1,200 in the 1970s. In the Sundarbans, a 2004 census found the presence of about 280 Tigers on the Bangladesh side.

But since the early 1990s, the tiger population has suffered a setback due to habitat destruction and the large scale poaching of these animals for their skins and bones. The Indian government is trying hard to show the world that the tiger is thriving in India, often controversial techniques like taking moulds of paw prints to track tiger populations. It was recently discovered that tigers were wiped out from one of Project Tiger's leading sanctuaries, Sariska, much to the embarrassment of the government. Some believe that the actual tiger population in India could be less than 2,000.

Jim Corbett

2007-04-12T12:59:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia:

Jim Corbett (hunter)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jim Corbett, hunter turned conservationist.

Jim Corbett (25 July 1875–19 April 1955) was an Indian-born hunter, conservationist and naturalist, famous for his writings on the hunting of man-eating tigers and leopards. The Corbett National Park in India is named in his memory.

Early Life

Edward James "Jim" Corbett was born of English ancestry in the town of Naini Tal in the Kumaon foothills of the Himalayas. Jim was the eighth child of Christopher and Mary Jane Corbett. His parents had moved to Naini Tal in 1862, after Christopher Corbett had been appointed postmaster of the town. Jim studied at Oak Openings School (later renamed Philander Smith College) and St Joseph's College in Naini Tal, but left the latter at age seventeen before completing high school. Soon thereafter, he joined the Bengal and North Western Railway, initially working as a fuel inspector at Manakpur in the Punjab, and subsequently as a contractor for the transhipment of goods across the Ganges at Mokama Ghat in Bihar.

Man-eating Tigers

Corbett was a hunter and fishing enthusiast in early life but took to big game photography later. As his admiration for tigers and leopards grew, he resolved never to shoot them unless they turned man-eaters or posed a threat to cattle. Between 1907 and 1938, Corbett tracked and put down at least a dozen man-eaters. It is estimated that the combined total of men, women and children these twelve animals had killed was in excess of 1,500. His very first success, the Champawat Tiger in Champawat, alone was responsible for 436 documented deaths. He also shot the Panar Leopard, which allegedly killed 400 after being injured by a poacher and thus being rendered unable to hunt its normal prey. Other notable man-eaters were the Talla-Des man-eater, the Mohan man-eater, the Thak man-eater and the Chowgarh tigers.But one of the most famous was the man-eater of Rudraprayag,which terrorised the piligrims to the holy Hindu shrines Kedarnath and Badrinath for more than 10 years.Jim Corbett was tall (6'1"), brave and endowed with very keen senses. He would often stalk to within twenty feet of the man-eaters, and at great risk to himself, to, as he put it, save at least one human life. He preferred to hunt alone when pursuing dangerous game, and on foot.

Conservationist

Corbett was a pioneer conservationist and lectured at local schools and societies to stimulate awareness of the natural beauty surrounding local people and the need to conserve forests and their wildlife. He helped create the Association for the Preservation of Game in the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh), and the All-India Conference for the Preservation of Wild Life. He also established India's first national park, at first called the Hailey Park, named after Lord Malcolm Hailey, a former Governor of United Provinces, which was inaugurated in 1934 in the Kumaon Hills. He also had a deep affection for the people of the Kumaon Hills, and was loved by many of the region. He is considered by some in the Kumaon region as a sadhu.

Kenya

After 1947, Corbett and his sister Maggie retired to Nyeri, Kenya, where he continued to write and sound the alarm about declining numbers of jungle-cats and other wildlife. Jim Corbett was at the Treetops Hotel, a hut built on the branches of a giant ficus tree, when Princess Elizabeth stayed there on February 5-6, 1952, at the time of the death of her father, King George VI. Corbett wrote in the hotel's visitors' register:

For the first time in the history of the world, a young girl climbed into a tree one day a Princess, and after having what she described as her most thrilling experience, she climbed down from the tree the next day a Queen— God bless her.

Jim Corbett died of a heart attack a few days after he finished writing his sixth book Tree Tops, and was buried at St. Peter's Anglican Church in Nyeri. The national park he fought to establish in India, was renamed in his honor two years later and is now nearly twice its original size. It is a favored place for visitors hoping to see a tiger.

Legacy

His accounts of the hunting and killing of man-eaters, which had killed almost 1,500 Indians, are related in his books: Man-Eaters of Kumaon (1944) OUP Bombay, The Man-Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag (1948), and the Temple Tiger and More Man-Eaters of Kumaon (1954). Man-eaters of Kumaon was a success in India and was chosen by book clubs in the United Kingdom and the United States; the first printing of the American Book-of-the-Month Club being 250,000. The book was later translated into 27 languages. His Jungle Lore is considered as his autobiography. He also wrote My India, about Indian rural life.

In 1968, one of the five remaining subspecies of tigers was named after him; panthera tigris corbetti, more commonly called Corbett's tiger [1]. In 1994, Corbett's long neglected grave was repaired and restored by the founder and director of Jim Corbett Foundation which now has members worldwide.

Chronology of Books Authored by Jim Corbett:

Man-eaters of Kumaon: First Indian Edition printed Bombay 1944 (Oxford University Press) Second edition printed Madras (OUP) 1945 First UK edition: (OUP) 1946

The Man-eating Leopard of Rudraprayag: (OUP) UK 1948

My India: (OUP) UK 1952

Jungle Lore (OUP) UK 1953

The Temple Tiger and more man-eaters of Kumaon: (OUP) UK 1954

Tree Tops: (OUP) UK 1955

Chronology of Books About Jim Corbett:

Carpet Sahib: A Life of Jim Corbett, by Martin Booth 1986

'The Man Eating Tiger Begins'

2006-12-13T06:42:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I spoke to Shilpa Das and asked her if she could be my guide for my project. She was a bit hesitant, but only because she was doubtful about the kind of feedback she could provide for an Animation Classroom Project.

But fortunately, she agreed. I was actually quite happy because I realized that although she may not be able to provide technical input, she would definitely be able to challenge me conceptually. And that's what happened today when I showed her the relatively primitive story-reel that I had for "The Man Eating Tiger", a left-over from my Kinetics course.

I showed it to her twice but I wasn't sure if she liked it or not. Shilpa has this ability to hider her reactions or rather a way of revealing the right reactions at the right moment. Her first impressions were that she DID like it; she thought it was funny (She said that she was stopping herself from laughing out loud); and she also thought that it was a very "Rohit" kind-of idea. That means - humorous, in verse/rhyme, etc.

When I told her about the context(s) that I had imagined, things got more interesting. I want(ed) to set it in a Parisian restaurant, which would mean that the look-and-feel and even the music would be very French. The tentative title is/was "A La Carte". The other idea (which I'm not so taken with) is of setting it in Colonial India, a time when British officer's would poach tigers.

Shilpa is well aware of my western influences and tendencies and she suggested that I explore other possibilities as well. She wants to see layers and subtext and THAT is, of course, quite valid.

If the subtext dictates the treatment and the setting and the context, the narrative can only become tighter and more meaningful. The way I see it is that even this rough story-reel is enought to tell the story and to illicit the intended reactions. But to justify spending two semesters fleshing it out, there should be a purpose and meaning to the story.

Or should there be? The poem that forms the basis of the short is absurd and weird. Is it possible that over-analysing the subject matter and forcing subtext into it could ruin it?

Who knows! But the general idea is to leave no stone unturned, even if it means coming back to the original idea (And that usually happens with me).

Before this discussion, Shilpa asked me a an important question. She asked me the purpose of doing a classroom project in the first place. The way I see it, since it's pretty much the only film that I'll make here at NID, I think it should be a culmination of all (or at least most of) the things I've learnt here. Whether it's storyboarding, design processes or narrative.

This would do two things -

1) It would test the process, even if it only proves to me the worth of my education.

2) It would create an example of my learning for others to see.

One can always make an experimental, spontaneous and personal film which breaks the norm. I want to trust the process and see for myself what it can do for me.

To put it in a nutshell - The Man Eating Tiger is about to be born!

À la carte

2006-08-29T21:19:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A la carte (also à la carte), is a French expression meaning "from the menu", and it is used in restaurant terminology in one of two ways:

It may refer to a menu of items priced and ordered separately rather than selected from a list of preset multi-course meals at set prices.
Or it may designate the option to order a main course item alone that is otherwise served with a side or starter dish, such as soup or salad.

More generally, this expression can be used to descibe a way to choose items in a list, for instance "Video à la carte" can be translated in "video on demand".

The Tiger

2006-08-28T23:32:00.000-07:00

By William Blake 1757-1827

TIGER, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder and what art
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand and what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And water'd heaven with their tears,
Did He smile His work to see?
Did He who made the lamb make thee?

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?