(Sporting
stylized
animation
that
is
very
VFX
driven,
Ajay
Devgn
and
Kajol
Starrer
Toonpur
Ka
Superhero
is
all
set
to
hit
silver
screen
December
24th.
With
the
promos
being
played
all
around,
the
movie
is
effectively
establishing
the
position
of
Director's
vision,
creativity
and
great
performances
of
Ajay
and
Kajol.
Directed
by
Animation
expert
Kireet
Khurana,
the
film
is
much
awaited
among
the
kids
this
holiday
season.
In
this
exclusive
piece,
Kireet
shares
some
of
his
insights,
experience
and
challenges
which
he
noted
in
his
diary
while
working
on
the
film.
Here
are
the
excerpts...Read
on!!
)
Director's
note:
We
started
our
journey
in
Jan
2007,
with
an
idea
that
seemed
different
and
quite
impossible
for
its
time
to
achieve
in
India.
But
I
am
glad
we
found
the
right
partners
to
execute
this
1st
of
its
kind,
extremely
complex
film.
I
would
like
to
express
gratitude
to
the
100s
of
people
and
artists
who
toiled
day-night
for
this
film.
However,
this
film
would
not
have
been
possible
without
the
unstinted
support
of
Ajay
Devgn
&
Kajol,
their
belief
in
the
film
and
me.
They
have
given
remarkable
performances
considering
that
they
were
reacting
to
green
stands
and
props
against
the
green
screen
instead
of
live-actors.
I
would
also
like
to
acknowledge
my
Producers
-
Krishika
Lulla
&
Kumar
Mangat
Pathak
for
having
ventured
into
something
as
audacious
as
Toonpur...
and
I
would
like
to
believe
it
will
pay
rich
dividends.
Toonpur..
has
been
more
of
a
project
than
a
film
for
me
personally.
It
has
validated
our
technical
prowess
and
stretched
the
boundaries
of
our
imagination.
I
would
like
to
believe,
in
its
own
small
way,
Toonpur..
will
expand
the
cinematic
vision
&
expression
in
India.
1.
Toonpur
Promos....
(8th
oct
2010)
So
here
were
are
finally
Toonpur
Ka
Superhero
teaser
promo
is
out
with
Anjaana
Anjaani.
The
response
has
been
great
from
across
all
cross-sections
of
the
audience.
There
is
a
lot
of
intrigue
and
excitement
around
the
film's
live-action
&
animation
mix.
I
am
banking
on
this
unique
mix
as
the
USP
of
the
film
to
attract
audiences
from
all
age
groups.
Also
happy
to
reveal
the
first
look
standee,
this
image
clicked
@
Suburbia
Cinema,
Bandra
earlier
this
week.
Hope
to
upload
the
teaser
promo
soon
along
with
the
new
website
which
is
almost
done.
A
lot
more
activities
lined
up
for
Toonpur
for
the
run
up
to
the
release.
Keep
watching
this
space..
thnx
for
ur
love
&
support.
Cheers.
2.
Directing
Animation
(5th
July
2010)
200+
animators,
artists
and
compositors
spread
across
4
studios
(2nz
Animation,
Art-ery,
Pixion
&
MEL)
and
6
locations.
Notwithstanding
the
geographical
spread,
the
direction
team
was
committed
to
creatively
micro-manage
every
single
shot,
staging,
blocking,
composition,
animation,
providing
colour
keys
and
even
acting
and
facial
performance
sketches
for
each
of
Toonpur's
characters
across
all
locations.
Feedback
was
to
be
centralised
and
efficiently
managed
from
my
office
at
Climb
Media
so
that
commuting
to
other
studios
was
minimized.
Yet
the
feedback
system
had
to
be
fail-proof.
Setting
up
the
processes
and
pipelines
was
not
easy.
Shots
and
materials
were
uploaded
to
centralized
servers,
downloaded
by
the
line-production
team
at
Climb
Media,
reviewed
for
feedback
by
the
Direction
team
and
uploaded
again
with
a
24hr.
turnaround
time.
Each
week,
100s
of
rapid
sketches
(drawn
in
15-30secs.)
were
provided
to
animators
and
artists
for
clear
direction.
Feedback
was
as
pointed
as
stronger
line
of
action,
clearer
silhouettes,
more
head
tilt,
curve
reversals
etc.
For
this,
we
did
several
workshops
with
the
animators
to
align
them
and
an
"Toonpur
Animation
Bible" was
created
for
them
to
use
as
a
ready
reckoner.
Here's
a
sample
of
a
couple
of
rapid
sketches
I
have
drawn
for
the
animators
to
give
them
direction.
It's
been
a
steep
learning
curve
for
one
and
all.
The
journey
has
been
long,
with
enormous
rounds
of
feedback
for
each
aspect
spanning
more
than
a
year.
I
am
happy
with
the
outcome
and
with
what
we
have
achieved.
Now
it's
over
to
the
audience.
Cheers.
3.
Marketing
the
Viral
Land
of
Toonpur
(31st
May
2010)
Making
a
product
is
one
thing,
marketing
it
is
all
together
a
different
ball
game.
More
so
for
a
live-action
and
animation
combined
feature
like
Toonpur.
So
here's
a
quick
update
on
the
marketing
front
preparations:
Just
finished
working
on
the
creative
look
of
the
posters
with
the
EPIGRAM
team
which
is
now
converting
it
into
hi-resolution.
Also
creatively
aiding
the
online
team
to
develop
the
official
website.
Cross-promotion
deals
are
being
explored
with
various
brands
and
media
cos.
A
few
promo
edit
options
are
ready
and
opinions
are
being
collated
to
finalise
the
right
version.
Since
there
are
a
lot
of
animated
characters,
the
marketing
opportunities
unique.
Plans
are
to
foray
into
licensing
&
merchandising,
for
which
a
"style
guide"
(brand
manual
with
poses
of
characters
to
go
with
merchandisable
products
&
suggested
product
placements)
is
currently
being
developed.
To
ensure
that
the
animated
characters
do
not
appear
differently
in
any
media
or
communication,
we
have
to
ensure
that
their
look
and
appeal
is
not
compromised
creatively
and
the
style
guide
is
the
template
for
it.
Working
with
the
technical
teams,
Producers,
Epigram,
Online
team
at
Eros
Entertainment
and
production
coordinators
is
getting
to
be
a
circuitous
but
necessary
approval
process.
Prospecting
&
short
listing
the
merchandising
team
is
on
to
take
the
M&L
front
forward.
Looks
like
we
will
have
a
360
degree
marketing
mix.
More
later.
Ciao.
4.
Sound
Track
of
Toonpur
(1st
May
2010)
In
any
film
soundtrack
constitutes
at
least
50%
of
its
total
impact
and
audio-visual
experience.
This
percentage
may
be
significantly
higher
with
a
film
that
involves
animation.
Sound
design
and
soundtrack
overall
acquires
a
totally
new
dimension
with
creative
sound
effects
and
foley
to
extend
the
visual
language
and
interpretation.
I
consider
myself
rather
lucky
to
have
on
board
some
of
the
best
technicians
on
the
sound
dept.
as
well.
The
sound
effects
and
BG
score
goes
in
tandem
and
as
its
been
a
good
run
so
far.
The
BG
score
is
based
on
western
classical
genre,
somewhat
Disney-esque
feel
for
an
international
flavor,
juxtaposed
with
some
rustic,
Indian
sound
effects
to
accentuate
the
Indianness
of
the
characters.
We
have
amazing
opportunities
to
create
2
distinctly
contrasting
forms
for
the
music
-
the
first
form
a
more
recognizable
and
identifiable
music
for
the
live-action
sequences.
This
is
in
sharp
contrast
to
the
2nd
form
-
distinctly
different
sounding
western
classical
genre
and
cartoony
touch
along
with
whacky
effects
for
the
animated
sequences
where
effects
take
precedence
over
melody,
punctuating
the
difference
between
the
real
world
and
the
toon
world.
I
revel
in
music
and
am
enjoying
the
process
thoroughly.
Toonpur
is
finally
getting
its
soul.
Cheers
5.
Animation
Team
(16th
April)
At
end
of
the
long
animated
road,
last
week
we
finished
all
animation
&
final
compositing
for
Toonpur.
At
the
end
of
this
milestone,
I
would
like
to
take
this
opportunity
to
personally
say
a
big
"THANK
YOU"
to
the
wonderful
animation
teams
at
Pixion,
Maya
Entertainment,
the
pre-production
team
at
2nz
Animation
and
the
VFX
supervision
team
of
Art-ery.We
completed
our
2.5yr.
journey
together.
The
journey
has
been
long
and
arduous,
lot
of
discussions
and
arguments.
Sometimes
amicable,
sometimes
heated.
But
all
moving
forward
towards
a
common
objective
of
making
a
world
class
live-action
animation
combined
film
with
an
all
Indian
crew,
never
seen
before
on
Indian
cinema.
We
were
riddled
with
issues
that
threatened
to
derail
us,
and
some
did
set
us
back
as
well.
But
never
for
a
moment
these
individuals
lose
the
qualitative
focus
on
Toonpur...
and
the
focus
of
how
important
it
was
to
get
this
film
right,
because
of
what
this
film's
success
will
do
to
the
flagging
Indian
animation
Industry.
Our
careers
and
our
trajectory
is
hinged
to
this
project.
There
were
many
individuals
who
have
worked
their
hearts
out,
producing
outstanding
results.
No
screen
credit
is
worthy
or
sufficient
of
their
priceless
contribution.
They
shall
always
be
the
unsung
heroes
of
Toonpur.
The
line
production
teams
passing
baton
between
the
pre-production
teams
and
post-production
teams
spread
across
multiple
locations
all
over
Mumbai
with
robust
pipelines
made
it
look
ridiculously
easy.
It
is
clear
for
me
that
Toonpur
attempts
to
set
new
qualitative
benchmark.
Hope
it
meets
with
BO
success
too.
We
need
all
the
luck
and
best
wishes...
THANK
YOU
once
again
to
the
animation
team
for
an
incredible,
memorable
journey!
6.
Edit
(23rd
Feb
2010)
Have
been
meaning
to
achieve
this
milestone
much
earlier
in
the
month,
but
couldn't
get
to
it
due
to
various
reasons.
Finally
the
film's
edit
is
locked
(barring
some
minor
scenes
for
which
the
renders
have
yet
to
come
in
from
the
post-production
animation
studio).
The
film's
length
is
around
1hr.
50mins.,
perhaps
a
tad
long,
but
it
does
sustain
interest.
Editor-
Dharmendra
Bablu
Sharma
and
I
have
worked
arduously
on
this
one.
I
think
both
of
us
have
been
ruthless
with
the
scenes
that
sag,
chopping
it
with
impunity
to
ensure
sustained
audience
interest.
This
may
not
have
been
an
easy
film
for
him,
as
he
has
had
to
fill
in
a
lot
of
his
imagination
while
editing
the
green
screen
scenes,
with
just
a
reference
of
a
storyboard
or
a
rough
animatic.
And
though
I
am
a
tad
weary
now,
Bablu's
excitement
seems
to
be
on
the
rise
as
the
final
visuals
with
animation
and
renders
are
piecing
up
together.
With
the
locking
of
the
edit,
the
background
music
will
commence
in
a
day
or
so.
The
Sound
design
team
too
will
have
a
greater
impetus
as
they
get
the
final
locked
edit.
Hopefully
March
will
be
a
lot
more
action
packed
with
myriad
activities
now
simultaneously
unfolding.
7.
Music
Recording
(4th
Jan
2010)
Concluded
the
singing
dub
of
an
entertaining
song
sung
by
Sonu
Nigam,
Mahalaxmi
and
Sudesh
Bhonsale.
This
song
was
an
extremely
difficult
composition
as
the
structure
and
tempo
of
the
song
varied
on
every
single
para,
some
sections
of
it
were
sung
ad
lib.
Kudos
to
Anu
ji
for
the
marvelous
composition
-
composing
for
live-action
&
animation
film
with
crazy
visualisation
antics
is
not
a
cake
walk.
Am
glad
Anu
ji
took
up
the
challenge
and
composed
something
out
of
his
skin.
Sorry
can't
reveal
the
details
at
this
point
but
this
is
definitely
one
of
the
moments
in
the
movie
to
watch
out
for.
Cheers.