MAAC Ultadanga and MAAC Rashbehari took part in the”100 Hour,” Competition Race Against Time and POP- Up 2020.
Change is inevitable and so is adaptability, living with the COVID -19 pandemic which invaded and quickly spread around the globe instilling fear and caution people are adapting to the words “social distancing”, “isolation” and “quarantine”.
Our daily lives have been deeply affected and so has the system of human communication.
But we at MAAC Chowringhee, Rashbehari and Ultadanga strive our best to not let the times pull us down and we burn our creative fuel to shine even brighter than we ever did.
When the pandemic first knocked our doors we geared up and launched the fully virtual online classroom system to ensure that our students could receive their training uninterrupted from the safety of their respective homes.
And so, when the second edition of MAAC 100hrs was announced, we geared our students once again to prepare themselves to experience a purely virtual competition.
“MAAC 100 Hours” was first launched in the year 2015.
In its very first edition, which was themed around road safety, it made itself known as one of
the fiercest short film competition, with the clock ticking to keep you determined.
This year after a break of about 5 years the second edition of the event, themed with “Indian Railways”, was announced towards the beginning of the year.
But it was stopped in its tracks by the pandemic and was halted for quite some time before it was re-launched with full force again in September, 2020.
With the excitement of the competition came the question, “How are we even going to do it?”
But like all the changes in the course of life, adaptability is the key as mentioned earlier.
So, the answer was to conduct the competition in a fully virtual environment just as we did with the classes.
With this concept in mind the respective teams started working towards the goal with team selection done at the centers and everyone waited in anticipation of the event and the surprises it came with.
The event kicked off with unprecedented determination on 22nd September, 2020.
With the data packets, which contained pre-production materials (story board, color key, production, pre-production etc.) being made available at 12 noon the centers.
Centers conducted virtual meeting to discuss the strategy about how we are going to go about tackling each part and we wished one another all the very best for what was about to come.
It really was like an exploration of the uncharted territories.
Working separately at their respective homes it was as if we are the only ones in the competition but the online connectivity made it possible to connect at any time, and we all made sure that everyone was available and reachable at all times.
From the get go it was history in the making with the team of five warriors and the mentors guiding them through these turbulent waters.
The creative spirit of participants at MAAC Ultadanga and MAAC Rashbehari was not even in the least dampened by the distressing situation and the physical boundaries it set.
Working from miles apart in isolation, we bridged our distances virtually and kept the spirit going with hours of unrelenting work.
The ticking clock was our reminder to not let go of the spirit and be stronger to hold on.
The days and nights intermingled together as the amount of work we had to process kept us from making out any difference between the too.
The students continuously worked and asked for feedback round the clock.
Also the team of the HO (Head Office) made themselves available round the clock for any guidance or feedback we required.
The first day and night passed in the flurry with the gravity just settling in.
The models were ready ongoing and blocking of scenes started with every detailing from script to screen.
Then with the other centers posting their own progress made us stand at our tiptoes and rush forward with no looking back.
The team worked in sync leaving a little time in between for everyone to rest.
But nevertheless the students lunged forward with sleep at bay to keep up the pace.
The next parts of the production speed up we really rushed forward with 3d modeling and shading the blocking the scenes.
In between the tiresome working hours the HO team kept us motivated with the small rewards and competitions.
Till the end of the third day, we were really exhausted but the end was very near and catching up to us so, we increased our efforts to make the deadline.
With the limited amount of time we had at our disposal we did not have much time to experiment.
We had a mix of 2D effects with the 3D production. Rigging and animating the characters was being done.
With only a few hours close to the deadline we were ready for it but no impressed.
But the greatest reward from the HO came in the form of deadline extension of 6 hours and that was where the difference was made.
The room and scope that we had for improvement now was realized and we could work on the small details and mistakes we had to overlook previously.
Just in the nick of time we submitted our projects and heaved a sigh of relief.
Now the only thing we could do was hope for the best and wait for the judgment.
On 22nd of October, 2020 we were all set for the announcement of winners.
At 2.00 in the noon we received the list and to our surprise and joy we had topped the list and claimed the limelight for ourselves.
MAAC Ultadanga bagged the Gold Award for Best Animated Short in the East Region.
MAAC Rashbehari got the Silver Award for Best Animated Short in the East Region.
The Animated short film by MAAC Rashbehari was Titles as Property Theft
Story Synopsis: A teenager is seen playing games on his tablet. He suddenly realises a bald man stealing the lights of the compartment.
When he looks around he observes there are others who are carrying the seats of the trains. He also observes a man stealing stuff from the toilet.
Even before he could realise the compartment body was moved and the teenager was seen standing on the track.
Message: Railways is a Public Property. Theft in Railways is a Criminal Offence Report any theft to the authorities.
We are filled with a sense of great pride as our students and mentors created history in not only overcoming the boundaries the situation set on us but also by acing the competition and coming out as victors.
Come and share with us our joy on our success.
