Client
UNICEF
Date | Duration
2019
Creative Director
Rita Dhankani
Executive Producer
Mehul Mahicha
Challenge
Our relationship with UNICEF Delhi began with the creation of illustrated books for them. We were always on the lookout for films that carried a strong message. films that cast a light on the “Right to Education” and it was as if our stars had aligned. We were given a 14 page document and were asked to create a 30 sec film which illustrates this topic. It was surely a challenge, but UNICEF had faith in our capabilities and this instilled confidence in us. We put our heart and soul into the creation of this film.
Research
Even though our 14 page document was interesting, it was impossible to create a complete narrative and it left us scratching our heads, as we couldn’t find a way to put all this heavy information into words. But there was a light at the end of this tunnel. We could use poetry! Poetry could tell our story and strike that emotional chord. We had our hearts set on claymation, but this would mean giving up on that refined look.This led us to choosing 3D but with a clay-like feel to our film.With all our pieces set, we began to study Kantha Embroidery and bengali art, culture and way of life to find an inspiration for our poem and visual base.
Ideation
Once we were proficient with the culture, physical features, attire,language, food,society,government schooling system and their physical spaces we began to develop each child’s character. This involved creating a background story, religion,culture and so on. We also brought in the idea of secularity by showing that no child must be neglected, despite their class,religion,skin colour or financial standing. This was in sync with UNICEF’s communication clauses.
Parallelly we created a jingle in hindi and UNICEF assisted us with the bangla translation . We kept the UNICEF rules and clauses in mind while creating the storyboards.
Production
We started creating a 2D treatment feel , with many developments taking place at this stage. There emerged a style that was inspired from the Kantha crafts,Jamini Roy and others. One of the stand out features for the characters was the almond eye shapes, which was similar to Durga maa idols. We then created clay models, this would inform us how our 3D models would look and feel.
Our next challenge was to learn how to create 3D interior space, but we took this up as a learning too. Even though it was new learning for the team, we trained hard and we built it. Our story organically grew at every step. Our music was composed to emulate the feeling of the land and culture, so that the masses could identify with the beats. We also tried to keep the Bengali accent intake, so as to give an authentic feel to the film. While searching for that authentic sound, we found ourselves in the perfect sound studio in Kolkata.
Our goal was to show a world where kids would be educated without discrimination, and we wanted to make this message engaging for the next generation.
Outcome
The films were really appreciated by UNICEF and its patrons. It won us TASI nomination the same here.
Credits
Client
UNICEF
Communication Officer
Sohini Roy Chowdhary
Communication Consultant
Pratyay Mitra
Project Concept
Mehul Mahicha
Concept, Script & Direction
Rita Dhankani
Animation Direction
Rita Dhankani & Mehul Mahicha
Animation
Sachin Gairola & Teekesh Kumawat
Character Modelling
Gaurav Sharma, Anil Singh, Samir Ahmed Habib, Teekesh Kumawat
UV Texturing
Gaurav Sharma, Jitender Sharma, Teekesh Kumawat
Rigging
Punit Kumar, Vikas Sharma, Aditya & Teekesh Kumawat
Set Modelling
Punit Kumar, Shakeelbhai Mohammad & Teekesh Kumawat
Lighting
Punit Kumar
Rendering & Composting
Vaibhav Dheer
Music
Roy Menezes
Translation to Bangla Script
Pratyay Mitra
Kolkata Recording Team
TanushreeB [Rim Commuincations] – Bangla VO Supervisor & Coordinator
Bangla VO Artist Coordinator
Arpan Kumar Sharma
Editor
Prakash Pandey
Voiceover Talents
Abhirup Sanyal (Romrom), Diksha (Toon), Shonkho, Roopkatha, Srijita Das, Shayambhik Mukherjee, Shaon Mondal, Sohini & TanushreeB
Special Mention
Ishan Sharma, Tarun Sharma, Piyush Sharma, Kaushal Verma & Shakeelbhai Mohammad