Time before Time

The nip in the air
The fresh smell of winter
The distant grandeur of the mountains
The condensation of my breath
The stillness of time
And the lump in my throat
Being pulled back in time
Fragrant innocence of youth
Desire to achieve
Will to perform
Strength to move the mountains
And the zeal to sustain
Have been left behind

Time is eternity
It doesn’t come or go
Time is where it was
We move on
If only I could
I certainly would
Go back in time

To relive those moments
Of glory and joy
Of friendship and mischief
Those carefree days
Of sunshine holidays
Those starry nights
And nippy fights
The seven mile run
The shortcuts to fun
The stories of mystery
Ghosts with history
The chapel bells
The red stones besides the grave
The poetry and drama
On stage and off stage
That mountain air
Is no longer there!

The hustle and bustle
The speed, the need
The hazy mornings
With smoke filled evenings
Expectations reversed
Goals achieved
Distances traversed
Innocence replaced
By virtue and maturity
Vanity and sanity
Tired sinews, diminishing strength
Rested but tense
Pressed for care
No will to proceed
Ensconced in my zone
Enlivened as comfort
Having achieved
I have arrived
Or so it seems

Is there a time machine
To take me back
To those days
Of sheer innocence and
Abundant confidence
Carefree existence
Living of life
Each day on its merit
Or am I destined
To live in the past
And worry about the future
Ignoring the present?

The Quest for a Great Animator

Apni Pehchan – Your Identity (Good Vs Great)

The difference between “Good” and “Great” is an enigma which has probably never been deciphered appropriately. For one, the interpretation of these aspects about anything is highly context sensitive and can change from situation to situation and from one context to another.

So whether there exists a common thread which if followed would lead from one to another i.e. from good to great in the context of animation film development is the issue which we would like to attempt to address hereunder.

I would personally define “Great” as a function of “Good”.

Greatness = function (Good)

The challenge however, is to define this function especially in context of becoming a great animator.

The simplification or expansion of this complex function, which had eluded me for a long time, finally hit me like a lightning bolt and I suddenly became “Buddha” the enlightened one or the only one to have finally cracked the code. (Just kidding)!!

On a more serious note, I have been thinking about this for a long time and have been involved in numerous debates with the likes of animators, students and even trainers on this subject in an attempt to unearth the truth.

The responses or outcome of all these debates have yielded complex formulae which transform the path from “Good” to “Great” into a complex maze of roads with names like “Creativity”, “Designs”, “Unique”, “Hard Work”, “Style”, “Skill”, “Dexterity”, “Story”, “Pride” …and the list goes on and the maze becomes more and more complex…….

I am not convinced. I am not undermining the importance of these issues in the hunt for Greatness. All I am saying is that in the journey from Good to Great, these elements are like the signals which our train driver must obey. They enable us to complete the journey safely and surely, but are certainly not the driving force which propels the train that we are aboard in our quest for “Greatness”. They and similar other prepositions are probably the ingredients behind “Good”.

The hunt for “Greatness” is still on.

The driving force, which makes a good animator, The catalyst which triggers the final transformation from “Good” to “Great” in the context of animation film making, I believe is the “Junoon”, “Diwaangi” “Fire” or “Obsession” which comes but from the love for this subject. The process of making a great film starts with igniting the creative fire within ourselves and converting it into a towering inferno which burns out the volatile matter and leaves behind the residue of “Gold” of “Greatness”

This is the objective of our HAT Methodology. We want to make “Great” animators out of you because everyone else is making “Good” animators, and the industry where you are headed does not need “Good” animators – It needs “Great” ones.

I would welcome comments and debates on this. Please post here or write to ramesh@arenaparkstreet.com. Also visit www.arenaparkstreet.com