Animation
Mathur to students: Don’t know 2D, not an animator
“If one wants to be a singer, one has to learn the 7 notes of music, If one has to be an animator, it is necessary to know and understand all aspects of animation. 3D is good but 2D is the base which will make you an animator. Required skill sets will change as technology changes. But the fundamentals will not change. Do you know how to tell a story? or how to create endearing characters?” addressing an audience comprising mostly of students, academic consultant I S Mathur went all out to dispel notions and misconceptions on what it took to be an animator.
A triple graduate, formerly with the NID, Mathur is currently a consultant with Padmalaya ZICA. Emphasizing the benefits of ‘value based education’ as against ‘need based education’, he asked the audience to decide for themselves whether they wanted to be labourers or film makers.
Elaborating his point further, Mathur added, “Animation involves 2 things, skills and concepts. Would you like to become a skill oriented person or a skill and concept oriented person? Do you want to be a technician, an assistant or do you want to become a director, a complete animator? Both are required.
Labeling institutes that claim to teach animation in 3 months as factories that create a labium force, the consultant called upon such institutes to at least be honest and not call themselves educational outfits. “It takes 7 years to become an animator, how can any one claim to teach animation in 3 or 6 months” argued Amateur.”Need based education will stay only as long as the need is there, a 3 month course will simply satisfy your employment needs for the moment” he added.
Just a month ago at c/a World, Ram Mahout and others like Ramjet Tony had voiced similar sentiments.
Another point which Amateur touched upon was the low level of drawing skills in the country. Describing the standard of drawing skills in the country as pathetic, he lamented that drawing was neglected in primary as well as secondary education.
“It becomes difficult to grant admission to students when most of them dont have any drawing skills. The time that teachers could use in teaching animation film making is diluted in teaching drawing.” commented Mathur.
Mathur concluded his talk asking students to take additional classes in drawing if they were seriously interested in pursuing animation as a career.
MUMBAI: History is getting a fresh rewrite this time with code, creativity and a longer arc in mind. Lens Vault Studios has announced its first original production, Bal Tanhaji, marking the official entry of the newly launched, tech-driven studio into India’s evolving entertainment landscape.
Arriving six years after the box-office success of Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, the new project expands the universe rather than revisiting familiar ground. Bal Tanhaji explores uncharted narrative territory, signalling a clear shift from one-off cinematic spectacles to long-format, world-building storytelling designed for digital-first audiences.
At the heart of this ambition is Prismix Studios, the in-house generative AI and technology arm powering the creative engine behind the show. The studio’s approach blends storytelling with next-generation tools, aiming to reimagine how Indian IPs are created, scaled and sustained beyond theatrical releases.
For Lens Vault Studios chairman Ajay Devgn the new venture represents a deliberate step beyond traditional cinema. The focus is firmly on building long-form intellectual properties across fiction and non-fiction, tailored to changing viewing habits and platform-led consumption. He said the studio intends to explore formats that remain largely untapped, while drawing on the team’s experience with large-scale cinematic storytelling.
Lens Vault Studios founder and CEO Danish Devgn echoed that sentiment, describing Bal Tanhaji as the studio’s first generative-AI-led IP and the starting point of a broader vision. The aim, he noted, is to carry forward the legacy of the Tanhaji universe while connecting with younger audiences through a blend of powerful narratives and emerging technologies.
With Bal Tanhaji, Lens Vault Studios is planting its flag early not just launching a show, but signalling a larger play for cinematic universes that live, grow and evolve across platforms. If this debut is any indication, the future of Indian storytelling may be as much about imagination as it is about innovation.
