Vaibhav Kumaresh :: Vaibhav Studios

Abhishek · 21-03-2008, 01:03 PM

TALK WITH THE PRO is back after a while with someone who must be having a separate big room in his home for Awards & Trophies. Someone whose works can be watched thousands of time and still enjoy and love them. His characters like Simpu, Chulbuli, Mangal Pandu are favourites of many of us.

So we are proud to have here Mr. Vaibhav Kumaresh, to interact with us and answer our questions.

About him -

Director, Vaibhav Studios, Mumbai

Set up Vaibhav Studios to produce quality animation films in the field of commercials, shorts, television and feature length content

Educational Qualifications

1990 -1995
Bachelor of Fine Arts (Applied Art)
Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts, Mysore.

1995 -1998
Diploma in Visual Communication
Animation Film Design
National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.

Work Experience

Head of Animation at the House of Animation, Famous Studios, Mumbai (1998-2003).

Created Simpu - the animated maths teacher and brand ambassador for Channel [V], Asia’s music channel.
Conceived, directed and animated the Simpu series - channel identity and promotional films using Simpu for Channel [V].

Animation supervision, key animation and character design for ‘The Freedom Song’ - a seven-minute film inspired by Indian folk art and directed by Narayan Shi.

Animation and Animation direction for the Poga series - a clay animation series preaching the concept of ‘Poga’- a fusion of ‘yoga’ and ‘pogo-stick’. The series is a promotion for MTV India and is scripted and directed by Cyrus Oshidar.

Animation direction for the ‘MTV Cut to Cut’ programme packaging.

Animation direction, animation and character design for the clay animated Amaron Battery advertising campaign

Animation direction for the Daikin air conditioner commercial, featuring ‘Gandhiji’s three monkeys’.

Co-Directed the clay animation commercials for Smirnoff Zone, Baazee.com and Vicks Vaporub along with E. Suresh.

Concieved, animated and directed several channel identity and promotional films for MTV and Channel [V].

Films::

Watch MORE at CGTantra Theater - LINK

Video Playlist from Vaibhav Studios at cgTantra Theater

About "Talk with the Pro"
Post your questions or request for critique:

The "Talk with the Pro's" forum provides a conducive environment where cgTantra members can have the opportunity to speak to some of the finest digital art talents in the world! cgTantra members can post questions and link to artworks, and have them answered or critiqued by these master artists. This is a fantastic opportunity to gain valuable insight from seasoned industry veterans!

Rules for Q&A/Critique:
1. Use your real name at the end of your post. Note: Anonymous postings may be removed at cgTantra's discretion.
2. Please be polite when asking questions or for critique.
3. Check the whole thread to see if your question has already been asked. Do not post duplicate questions.
4. Note that the Artist is under no obligation to answer all questions or critique all work posted. It is at his/her sole discretion to answer questions or critique work.
6. If the Artist does not answer your question or critique your work, do not harass him/her.

priteshrane · 21-03-2008, 01:24 PM

hello vaibhav, it my pleasure talking to you.
my question is
from, whom do you get inspire from?

gauravanim · 21-03-2008, 03:15 PM

Man

you have come a long way

But personally i feel that the animation arena requires at least 4-5 years of sincere hardwork..if you are starting from scratch and may be more than that & initial stage there is lot of frustration too when you enter into market (my views dont take it to your heart guys

)
and it's feel to be great when indian cg artists do the work of international standards

Great

Vaibhav Kumaresh · 21-03-2008, 03:39 PM

Hi Pritesh,
For me inspiration is all around!
My colleagues, clients, relatives, friends and of course teachers!!
Our buses, trains, markets, offices, traffic jams, banks, malls, TV, films and of course everyone's favourite: Gods!!
I just keep my eyes n ears open!

Different things impress different people. Usually what impresses you is what inspires you.

- Vaibhav

Vaibhav Kumaresh · 21-03-2008, 03:43 PM

Dear Abhishek,
I am very happy to be on this platform. can i also ask questions to the audiences?

i would sincerely like to know what people think about our films. Even the harshest criticism/language is most welcome. Id like this to be interactive. i am sure thats what the purpose is.

bishtmahesh · 21-03-2008, 06:44 PM

Hi Sir,

Gud to see u here I hope U remb me..I met u once during at 24fps place maac south ex. Remb that Ping pong shampoo one AD( cat and Dog r the charcater one )...

.

U work is awosme..Sir. How much Time did u spent wid each AD u made and how many ppl wokred wid u to complete that projects.?

HappY Animation.

Mahesh

rdsarna · 21-03-2008, 07:08 PM

Hi Vaibhav!
I didn't know that all my fav characters were made by you (esp. Simpu series)....I'm a fan of yours now....And those characters are not only my favourites but of all my friends who don't even know how animation is done!

Question:
There's a lot of info about demoreels on the net but all of that stuff is for international projects and studios.
What qualities do you seek in an Indian Animator(specifically freshers)? Do you want to see more acting pieces in the reel or physical exercises?
Do you want to see 3-4 shots per reel but well polished or do you want 6-7 shots but o.k. polished?

Thanx in advance!
Ratul

mayurcool · 21-03-2008, 09:06 PM

WOw this is just awesome i am a great fan of your work they all are just mind blowing with ultimate characterization specially the stop motion one
here is my question

*Can we take up stop motion animation as a specialized profession ? please elaborate on your answer

Regards
Mayur

alcina · 21-03-2008, 10:36 PM

hi vaibhav,

i was inspired with ur simplicity and genius at the first workhsop of sanjeev by tasi. i am in to a different profession and have a passion for animation. ur guidance would be appreciated. have u taken any students under ur wings or planning to do so.

warm regards

allwyn fernandes

Vaibhav Kumaresh · 22-03-2008, 08:48 AM

Hi mahesh,
Every project has different timelines. Sometimes certain projects come with their own deadlines and we need to plan the film production within that. At other times, we calculate the time needed and let the clients know. To begin with, the script of the film gives us a basic idea of how complex/ simple the production is going to be and we plan the timelines accordingly. Ad films on an average may take anywhere between 1 to 3 months for production.
We have a small, permanent core team of around seven people. We work on a variety of mediums including hand drawn 2d, stopmotion, computer generated 3d animation as well as new experimental animation forms. Apart from this, whenever needed, we collaborate with a large pool of independent animation professionals on a project basis.

Vaibhav Kumaresh · 22-03-2008, 08:48 AM

Hi Ratul,
I feel you are the best judge of your own potential. Whatever you are proud of is what your reel should have. Obviously keep your best works on top!
Personally i would like to see scribbles, sketches, roughs, doodles, animation tests, final clips, sculptures, colour art, whatever you would love to show as an animator. Whether its acting or physical exercises, whatever is within you, will show in your work.
All the very best!

Vaibhav Kumaresh · 22-03-2008, 08:49 AM

Hi Mayur,
Of course you can take up stiopmotion as a specialised profession. Worldclass studios like Aardman(Bristol UK), Will Vinton studios (USA), and film makers like Tim Burton have created stopmotion films for decades. They still continue to do so.
If you really love to do stopmotion all your life, go ahead and jump into it! Chances are you will make good films, and when you do that, your audiences will always love watching them!

Vaibhav Kumaresh · 22-03-2008, 08:50 AM

Hi Allwyn,
No wings yet! Just hairy armpits!!
Anyways, thanks very much for your comments. Let me know how i can help and i will be glad to do so.
regards,
vaibhav.

mynams_nanda · 23-03-2008, 09:42 AM

Hi vaibhav...

Appreciate your presence here. Thanks in advance..

1. How did you make your transition from an animator to a director ? what are those subjects which you had to sharpen to be a director ? where would you rate yourself as a director ..

2. As a medium , stop motion looks to me slightly handicapped as with its animation and technical abilities when placed near to 2d and cg ., what are its own advantages and uniqueness which makes you decide "let me do this in stop motion and not in 2d or cg......."

kaulvirus · 23-03-2008, 04:57 PM

Hi Vaibhav,
its a pleasure to have you here. I was wondering if you locked all your emotions and acting at the storyboard stage itself or would it just have the rough thumbnails for continuity's sake and you would fix everything in production?

Thnx

Vaibhav Kumaresh · 24-03-2008, 02:55 PM

dear mynams_nanda,
there was never a transition. I still animate. I still direct.
I never had any specialised inputs just for being a director. I just kept on making films and learnt from that.
I was introduced to animation at the NID, Ahmedabad in 1995. As students, we got to create many animated films (as part of our projects). We did everything on our own: the concept, script, character design, storyboards, key animation, in betweens, colouring, editing, sound recording, music, everything. Having gone through this process several times gave us a decent grasp over film making and storytelling.
I personally feel you need to be a good storyteller to be a good director. Animation film making is a very specialised task. Experience of the production process is a must for one to direct filml.
I am pretty happy with the way i direct my films! I do get stuck up with certain ideas at times. However i sincerely push myself and our entire team to produce our very best everytime.
I really like the physical, tactile and 'hand made' feel of stopmotion/ clay animation. Its something you need to struggle hard to achieve in CG 3d. I suggest you watch certain stopmotion films.
1. The Wrong Trousers (20 min) by Nick Park
2. Creature Comforts again by Nick Park
3. Corpse Bride by Tim Burton
Vaibhav.

Vaibhav Kumaresh · 24-03-2008, 02:56 PM

dear Kaulvirus ( wow! this makes me feel like i am talking to under cover spies doing part time animation!! sorry first time on a forum like this you see!)
i have a basic idea of how the character should emote/ pose for a certain scene. I try to put this basic data into the boards/ animatics. Beyond that, its up to the animator to add more jiuce into the shot during production. Invariably during animation, we re-act the scene/ shot and see whats the best way of doing it. Whatever conveys the 'story' (in the shot) best is what we would go with.
vaibhav.

absjosh · 24-03-2008, 04:52 PM

Namaste Vaibhav,

Whenever I have seen Animation of simpu, I laugheed a lot with my elder brother, My main question is whenever u r doing animation on such small Humorous event ("joke") which is really big project for student Like us( for professionals also) do u thinkj of joke on ur own or is it group efforts for whole funny idea?

Abhimanyu.

3DLight · 24-03-2008, 06:20 PM

Hi Vaibhav,

It's a pleasure to have you here. I've always liked your work from Channel V simpu series to Taare Zameen Par.It's a treat watching your work

My question to you is - Do you think Animation companies in India are not encouraging creative talent of the animators? In most of the cases companies are doing the outsourced projects instead of garnering the Indian talent. What's your opinion?

Animatar · 24-03-2008, 10:26 PM

Hello sir,

It's nice to have people like you here, and we guys are lucky to talk with you.
I have seen 'Horn ok please' long back and was so much impressed with the work. It looks like you have worked with almost all possible media in animation.

so my question goes in that favor...

...how good is it to experiment with different media and different styles of animation ? just learning animation in one particular media, can i apply it to all other media ?...i mean do i need to go and learn each and every media separately ?

i have many things to ask..can i continue ?

---Prasad