Zazo: Tanseer Ahmed is a 3d Animator TD (Technical director) in Rhythm and Hues, he made his presence as a 3d animator for Golden Compass which won oscar for best visual effects, his ongoing project is Mummy-3. Tanseer is going to talk with us more about animation as a carrier, his professional life, animation market and some tips and tricks for animation students.

Welcome Tanseer! and thanks for giving us a chance to have words with you.

Tanseer: Glad to answer ur questions, thanks fr inviting me to the hall of fame !

Zazo: Tanseer please tell us about your family background and education.

Tanseer: I’m from a very respected middle class family, my father is a Fine-Art lecturer, mom a house wife.
I was given nothing from my parents except for discipline , manners and hunger for good.
Which i find very useful today for what i’m or where i’m.
My education nothing special, BFA applied Art(advertising).
Soon after i did my Animation from Maac Andheri.Consisting of major Animation Tools (software).

Zazo: How you choose animation as career? Which animation softwares you are using professionally?

Tanseer: It started in my childhood., a 2d Animated movie “The Lion King” really impressed me.That was the 1st time i questioned myself, “how? & who?”.
Slowly the studies pressure faded this thought from my mind I was just not the studios type, My dad asked me to try out BFA in applied arts (advertising) as i was good with colors and drawings and more over i was contemporary in my art work,
i just clicked right :). I was best @ it. After my BFA, MFA was a bad idea according to me for my career.I dint wanted to spend two more years in MFA. I instead chose specialization in Animation Which i had always dreamed of, I took a study loan to turn my dream into actuality.

Rhythm and Hues has a proprietary Software for animation., phenomenal to animate.
Had to learn it before I started of.

Zazo: How was your experience while working on Golden Compass? then what was the reaction of yours after getting the news of Winning Oscar for Visual Effects?

Tanseer: too much to answer on this… well, i will try to make it short

too much to answer on this… well, i will try to make it short

Golden Compass was my 1st project, I was bought into production very early as my
superiors trusted my ability, this built the pressure on me to perform better.
My senior colleagues made my life easy, I quickly grabbed the R&H (rhythm and hues)
way of doing world class animation. This project was a pleasant experience for me,
I learnt a dozen of things that i never thought exist. It was such a nice project as an animator.
plenty of fun & complex shots.

And what after winning an Oscar for Ur first project of Ur life !??..
It was a joyous moment for us all in R&H and proud as an Indian delivering a worldClass
Animation. I was very delighted, we just kept celebrating for 3 days non-stop.
Dancing, cheering, singing slogans, winning an oscar was a super dream for me ..
(well the oscar is for all of the team in R&H Los Angeles-India, not just me.. lol…)
just proud to contribute to it

Zazo: Tanseer please tell us how was the experience while learning animation? which animation softwares you are specialized in and how was the animation institute MAAC? What are the basic skills one should have to be an animator?

Tanseer: Animation learning for me was all-Over the place, in the first half of my course,
I dint have a clear picture of where this was taking me. I had taken several softwares
I dint really need. Because these institutes normally have packages of softwares so
I had to chose one among them. 3dsMax was the software i started with, i was good at
modeling but i really wanted to do animation. After my 3dsMax i went on to participate
in a competition called 24fps. I dint succeed at this but this showed me what i can do
to make my career more interesting, soon after this: Maya training started but i dint
wait for my faculties to teach me animation, as animation comes at the end of the course.
I went on learning stuff myself, my BFA background helped me a lot in this. And my
faculties@ MAAC made my thousands of droughts clear everyday.

I’m specialized in couple of 3d animation softwares now : 3dsMax, Maya(3d-software,
this is very much in use all over the world), SoftImage XSI and m currently animating on Voodoo.

The basic skills to animate !! ?? … it is like asking someone “what skills
does a baby need to walk” !
Everyone is born with it. human are different from any other life on planet coz human
has a sense of REASONING. “reasoning is animation”
why do i say “Everyone is born with it”. b’coz U have Reasoning, humans ask themselves
question like : why, how, when, where., animation is all that u do in every day life.
Balance urself, pickup things .. light/heavy, judge the time u need to run to make a
jump etc.

For me animation is common sense ., why r we called professionals ? , coz we give time
to common things which r hardly noticed by anyone. We nurture our Reasoning on
motions and reactions of any given volume.
Normally students have a misconception that software will make u an animator.
I agree that these r really important, but students only care about softwares
and forget polishing there animation ideas and senses., softwares r just tools.
Anyone can animate, U just need to reason what u already have in Ur brains
Understand weight relative to time… understand this then time will make u
a better animator as u keep doing it.

Zazo: Tanseer how your day starts every morning? please tell us your working schedules.

Tanseer: I wake up @ around 6.30/7.00 am, My work hours are 8.30am to 5.30pm.
My morning is pretty pleasant., 8.30 we have VC’s (video conferences) with r&h-Los Angeles.Los Angeles is like our head office, they give us review on yesterdays work based on clients feedback, as our projects are from Hollywood this becomes a must. This gives us an idea what’s needed to be done for the day, soon after the VC I have my breakfast and quickly back to work. We do more then just sit and animate. Talk a lot among ourselves (team) this keeps team close.We don’t have a fixed time for lunch breaks. Nobody forces U to have break for a specific time.So I have it whenever my stomach feels empty. Or when someone else does, we have lunch in a group. We here try not to get under work pressure. So we constantly keep making each other in the team comfortable. Talking, sharing Thoughts, jokes, Industrial gossips etc. We also have regular tea/coffee breaks to come back to work with a fresh mind. On normal days we make sure we wrap up by 5.30pm , sometimes it takes another 2hr extra to finish, but this is very rare.Come back home, make sure I watch a movie or any series, these movies etc, keep your
imaginations at work. Go to sleep by 11.30/11.45pm.

Zazo: How do you look at an Indian Animation Industry in coming years? Any interpretations?

Tanseer: Indian Animation Industry is growing in a large way, and this will keep happening in coming years too. The interest in Indian animation is growing among the foreign producers.
India definitely has potential , but the interest of these foreign producers is not in our Animation. They are targeting India b’coz of low labor rates and this is really bad.

India should build a reputation of world class animation. There are some of the studios who r trying really hard to get the interests of these producers not just in the cheap labor but also the quality of animation we Indians can generate. There are studios doing animation for ground level prices just to get projects, concentrating less on quality.

India needs more awareness in animation market and entertainment this will lead to a better productive environment for animation. And due to the good efforts by some of the Indian studios Indian Animation industry is already getting world recognition.There was a major part played by the other half of Rhythm and Hues that is in India in the Best VFX-Oscar winning film The Golden Compass. There are several other studios who have undertaken some very nice projects to prove themselves in coming years.

India is already challenging other Animation producing countries, and these countries are under pressure due to the potential that India has shown, in both prospects Market and Quality. I see India producing bigger animation movies in future. The major Indian Film banners like : Yash raj, Karan johar are just beginning to interest themselves in animated Films And I’m hopping for the best

Zazo: Tanseer can you please tell me that how much a good professional animator can earn yearly? either by freelancing or by a monthly salary basis?

Tanseer: This question is of most interest to the freshers. Better pay is a kind of inspiration.But i cant talk abt it. Freelancing is normally project based, I really cant tell much about it. Depends on how much ur client wants to invest in it & what he wants u to do.

Zazo: What are your hobbies? What you like to do in your spare time?

Tanseer: I watch a lot of movies in my spare time, anything new or old. I also watch series
from television, couple of them are really creative, I can recommend them if u want;).
I also repeat seeing them, I love playing games (outdoor) cricket football etc, but
sometimes it gets difficult to do all outdoor games due to lack of time and space.
I also spend most of my time playing games on my PC.
My hobbies are music, movies, bicycle-rides, and i love cricket: watching /playing.

And in my day offs i try to go see my parents. Its a great relief

Zazo: Please tell me about your online activities, specially on orkut..do you own any community or are you active in any communities? Also please recommend those television series which u like to see.

Tanseer: Sadly I’m not very active on any of the communities, coz these communities run for a short term and suddenly stop. Even I dint take any initiatives to form one. But there is a network from MAAC, students know me very well by my name, they find me on orkut or the messenger and ask for suggestions, and I give them the best I can. I also recommend ways or tell them what they can do to better their skills, If they ask me for anyother streams that m not familiar with, I point them to the suitable person.

There are related communities like Maac andheri etc, but all discussion on these communities are petty, like we don’t get sofa’s to sit in maac, we don’t get to stand in the corridor etc, this is not what such communities should be busy at., Discuses more about career and skills.I’m personally very unhappy with this. Apart, I would really love to form a group/community dedicated to Animation where people would interact regularly, share their droughts. but i really donno when this is gonna happen.I hope U can help Zazo:)

The series i recommend: One is Heroes, this has a very unique plot and superb execution,
very creative. And the other is Prison Break with a very interesting screenplay and direction.
A “must see” stuff.

Zazo: Tanseer what you will advise the students or professionals who are intended to take animation as a career? do they need any good knowledge of software like photoshop or coreldraw before starting into animation? pls tell us about job opportunities too.

Tanseer: Advice for students in Animation:
*Simply start doing stuff, U will figure what works and what not.
*Show ur work to others and take reviews from them.
*And be open to any suggestions coming ur way, u r lucky to get them,
even a child can sometimes make a big sense.
*And shoot references, refer videos for study and animate, there is nothing
wrong in referring videos, this is how the major studios do their animation.
*And do a lots of sketching, this will improve ur poses, and try acting out
ur animation urself, this gives u a better idea. video urself.
*Above all don’t lose ur heart, u will slowly get there.

Yes u may need photoshop for animation, just when u want to make ur animation
little colorful when u render it out. u may need to create simple textures, tho this
is not a must, I do a lot of photoshop, some times just for a change, i don’t see
any use of corel draw in animation though.

There r tons of jobs available in this industry currently, a decent knowledge
will get u in. lots of openings coming up. Major productions have planned for
lots of animated films in future, so they need the man power.
I recommend please concentrate on talent more then the income, in ur study phase.

Zazo: What you could be if not an animator?

Tanseer: I’m glad u asked me this question, there was a great desire in me to be a cricketer
Even today i dream of it.
I’m a fast bowler, my oppositions feared my pace and yorkers, I was a decent batsmen.
I’m a real asset as a opening bowler. I dint get into this due to some odd reasons.
Well happy for what I’m today.

Zazo: Your favourite Animator(s)?

Tanseer: James Brown, Jeff Lew, Jason Ryan, Ryan Donaghue, Elliot Roberts,
Kevan, Robert Russ there are lots of them i never stop taking inspiration
from them. Everyone has their own USP(unique selling preposition).

hey i missed one., Micheal H. he is one of the Rhythm and Hues animators,
he simply rocks !

Zazo: Tanseer, thank you for this wonderful interview. I simply enjoyed talking to you and i hope that this interview will help those who really want to take animation as a career.
All the best for future and i hope to see your name added with more beautiful and HIT movies in future.

Thanks a lot!

Tanseer: I’m pleased to be part of this, hope this will help most of u
thank Uu for ur wishes
below are some of the links to the: hints, tricks, principles & techniques from the best Animators in the industry
http://jamesrhull.com/index.php/notes/james_baxter_animation_lecture_day_one_acting/
http://www.shaunfreeman.com/animating_tips/
http://www.rainplace.net/
http://www.synchrolux.com/?cat
http://www.carlosbaena.com/anim_material.html
http://www.navone.org/HTML/Tutorials.htm

hapPy animating !
best wishes & thank Uu

ZAZO: {Thankyou note: For this superb interview of Tanseer Ahmed I am also thankful to Yohan Wadia for his great contribution and support! Thanks Yohan!}

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