Ram Mohan launches Graphiti School to mark his 50 years in animation

Company News, July 29

MUMBAI

5 Lifetime Achievement Awards, the latest being the V. Shantaram Award at the recently concluded Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF), inductions into the Halls of Fame of IAAFA and Communication ArtsGuild (CAG), every conceivable national and international award, thousands of TV commercials and short films, social awareness projects like ‘Meena’ for UNICEF, Co-director of India’s first animation feature,

‘Ramayana – the Legend of a Prince’… Just when you thought that there was nothing new in animation for him to do, Ram Mohan has announced his latest project: A School of Animation.

According to Ram Mohan, “On the one hand, there is a big boom in the animation industry worldwide and here. On the other, the animation training/education industry is practically non-existent. Whatever education is available today seems to focus on teaching software and not on teaching animation”.

Ram Mohan’s institute is called ‘Graphiti School of Animation’ and is an extension of Graphiti Multimedia, Ram Mohan’s animation house. Admission to the one-year course offered by Graphiti School is on the basis of comprehensive Aptitude Counseling. The Counseling will help the aspiring students find out if they have the potential to excel in the profession of animation. The course itself is made up of three parts –Foundation, Specialisation and Production. In fact, for the first time, students will get an opportunity to specialise in one of the five disciplines of animation, that is, ‘Modeling’, ‘Texturing’, ‘Rigging’, ‘Animation’ and ‘Lighting & Compositing’. The course ends with two months of hands-on production experience in Graphiti Multimedia, the animation house, so that students can walk into a career as Animation Professionals.

In keeping with its philosophy of creating ‘Complete Animation Professsionals’, Graphiti School has already conducted its first workshop, ‘Writing for Animation’. It was conducted by Lisa Goldman, a New Yorkbased animation writer, who has produced, broadcast and published several TV series and books for Columbia Tri-Star, Jumbo Pictures, Walt Disney, MGM and United Artists.

The first two batches of Graphiti School are underway, and admissions for the next two are now open. Those interested in joining the course as students can log onto www.graphiti.net or write to training@graphiti.net for details.

RAM MOHAN - CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

EDUCATION & TRAINING

Graduated in Science from the University of Madras and later gave up post-graduate studies to join the Cartoon Films Unit, Films Division, Government of India in 1956.

Received training in animation techniques from Clair H. Weeks of Walt Disney Studios, under the US Technical Aid Programme, 1956 -1959.

CAREER

Scripted, designed and animated many of Cartoon Film unit’s productions from 1960 to 1967, including ‘Homo Saps’ which won the National Award for Best Experimental Film, 1967, and ‘Chaos’ which won an Award at the Leipzig Festival of Short Films in1968. Participated in the 1967 world retrospective of Animation Cinema in Montreal.

1968 - Joined Prasad Productions as Chief of their Animation Division.

1972 - Established own production company, Ram Mohan Biographics.

2002 - Chairman, Graphiti Multimedia.

2006 - Launched Graphiti School of Animation.

FILMOGRAPHY

1969 - Script, Design, Direction: “BAAP RE BAAP” Produced by Prasad Productions, Madras - 11 min, 35 mm, colour - National Award for the best short film on Family Planning.

1972 - Script, Design, Direction: “You Said It” Produced by Prasad Productions for Film Division -

10 min, 35mm, colour - National award for the Best Animation Film, Script, Design, Direction.

1974 - Commissioned to script, design and direct a series of educational films on population and environment, “DOWN TO EARTH,” for the International Planned Parenthood Federation and the Family Planning Association of India.

{a} DOWN TO EARTH - Part 1: The Friendly Planet” produced by Prasad Productions for the Family Planning Association of India, 12 min, 35mm, colour.

{b} DOWN TO EARTH - part II: “The Ravaged Elements,”- 12 min, 35mm, colour.

{c} DOWN TO EARTH - Part III: “ The Island of Graph” Produced by Prasad Productions, for EPAI, - 12 min, 35mm, colour

{d} DOWN TO EARTH - Part IV: “ The Fourth Revolution” - Produced by Ram Mohan

Biographics For EPAI, 12 min, 35mm, colour.

1984 - Design and Direction: “FIREGAMES”- Produced by Shilpa Bharati Publicity -10 min, 35mm, colour. National Award for the Best Animation Film.

1989 - Design and Direction: “ TARU” Produced for Children’s Film Society of India -18 min, 35mm, colour.

1991 - Series director: “MEENA” for UNICEF, a series of 13 episodes dealing with issues concerning the girl child in south Asia.

1992 - Co-direction (along with Koichi Sasaki of Japan) “RAMAYANA” – THE LEGEND OF PRINCE RAMA’ FILMS, Tokyo - 135mins, 35mm, colour.

1994 - Produced in Co-operation with Asia-Pacific Cultural Center for UNESCO (ACCU), TOKYO “The White Elephant” based on an Indian- Fable.

AWARDS

1969 - National Award for the Best Film on family planning, “Baap Re Baap”.

1972 - National Award for the Best Animation Film; “You Said it”.

1984 - National Award for the Best Animation Film “Fire Games”.

1992 - Hall of Fame, IAAFA (Indian Academy of Advertising Film Art).

1996 - Hall of Fame, Communication Arts Guild, Bombay.

2001 - Advertising Club, Bombay, Life-Time Achievement Award.

2003 - Life-Time Achievement Award, Broadcast India 2003.

2004 - I.D.P.A EZRA MIR Award for Life-Time Achievement.

2004 - FICCI-Frames 2004 award for Life-Time Achievement.

2005 - Dr.V. Shantaram Life-Time Achievement Award, 9TH Mumbai International

For further details: School of Animation

GRAPHITI MULTIMEDIA PVT. LTD.

122, UDYOG MANDIR NO. 1, BHAGOJI KEER MARG, MAHIM (W)- 400 016. INDIA

Tel : 91-22-24441580/82, FAX : 91-22-24442347 www.graphiti.net