Aidi G.V.

Sunsastera in the making

2011-10-27T20:31:00.002+08:00

When people think about Malaysian themed animation, typical ideas would include Kampung, Silat, or Sepak Takraw in the mix. This is not to say them typical ideas are necessarily bad. But how about the weather? It’s something all Malaysians can quickly relate to. Let’s face it: we all complain about how hot the weather is here.

Sunsastera was originally an animated film idea I conceived two years ago, inspired by Lake District during my visit there. It tells the story of a machine that manipulates the weather in any way possible for as long a distressed teenager it cares about can become happy.

Joining this year’s IPCC was actually a last minute decision, first suggested by Mclelun. It was only a year ago we submitted Mesinaut for IPCC 2010 and was not even shortlisted for it. Learning from that experience, we decided to put more effort on the documentation this time around, reinforced with character designs by Daim who had also joined the team upon our invitation. Our efforts paid off this time when we receive an e-mail congratulating us for being shortlisted. With only a week away from pitching day, we scrambled to make a teaser and managed to finish it in 4 days.

Pitching day came. It wasn't frying hot that morning despite the venue being the Cyberview Lodge Resort in Cyberjaya. Yet in the presentation hall (puts on shades), things were about to get heated (YEEAAAAAAAAAH).

When our turn came Rogue handled the presentation. We proposed the idea as a TV series instead of film in hopes our budget would appear more attractive. Rogue gave a clear and concise pitch (he claims he learnt from Steve Jobs’s style of presenting). Then we played the teaser for Sunsastera.

For a while, the judges were silent. It was odd for we were expecting the torrent of questions like how the other teams got it. Finally one of them started asking question about budgets and the planned schedule for production. One nice comment she gave was that our idea is of very high quality and that it should be a film production instead. The judge from Astro said he only had one question: “What can we expect if we give you the RM50k?”

The other judges however decided to keep mum. And that made us unsure. Where were the questions about story, characters, and art direction that the other groups received? Is it a good or a bad thing that they’re not asking for any further detail? Perhaps Mesinaut’s past failure had also played a part in fuelling our uncertainty.

The results were announced some days later on a Friday. 20 winners were given the grant and fortunately, we were among them.

By the end of this program, we are expected to produce the complete Sunsastera trailer. Please look forward to it. We’re going to deliver our best.

Eddy and the Galaxy Whale

2011-07-19T16:25:00.000+08:00

We’ve been working on a proposal for a new animation tv series and film during the past 3 months. Check it out.

The story follows the adventures of a boy and a space whale as they visit the many amusing planets of another galaxy. What made us in love with the concept was the mental image of a boy on a whale cruising off into the stars. The idea of a flying whale is certainly not entirely original—we simply stole it and made it our own. It’s something we believe our target audience (including ourselves) would enjoy watching.

Here is our proof of concept. Have a look.

Mclelun has posted some bits about the Galaxy Whale project as well, so check it out.

Friendship Plus

2011-04-06T00:17:00.000+08:00

Are you fed up of your friends? Do you wonder if you are important to them at all? They say things that make you unhappy. Writing to them yields no reply. Their good times with other people are written with passion but your name was not even mentioned once before. Your friends would hang out without inviting you, too inconvenient for you, too inconvenient for them. When conversing with them, you sense from the tone of their voice, their choices of words, that they look down on you. After all that you are expected to be your usual self, as though you would be rewarded for it.

Worry not my dear readers, for I have found the solution.

From the makers of Love Plus now comes Friendship Plus! Here an exciting high school life is waiting for you where 6 very likeable characters can be encountered. Talk to them and befriend one or all of them. It is a game focused on creating great buddies for you instead of soul mates hence it can be enjoyed by both male and female players.

Have you ever wished you were friends with a really cool guy? Sure thing dude! Have you ever wondered how is it like to be friends with a fashionable chick? That’s like so totally possible! Want to be friends with an enigmatic person? Yes you can! Or be friends with the class comedian? Sure cannn one!

You are important to them. Your interaction with them gives them hope and satisfaction. They will never say things that would put you down. They will always cheer you up when you needed it. In fact, all of them will look up to you and even ask for your advice! Never again will you end up saying something stupid and embarrassing to your friends, imagine that!

Thanks to the portability of the Nintendo 3DS, you can also bring your friends around with you. Take your friends out for lunch, or shopping, or even jungle-trekking---everything is possible because they will always agree to your awesome plans. All you have to do is specify what event you are doing with your friends and voila, the display will show your friends in a similar setting and will react accordingly.

Also in the game is a social network. After you have successfully established a friendship, you may add the person as a friend after which you may start interacting with them online. From here you can post your thoughts and pictures just as you do with real life social networks only this time you have friends that will never ignore you. By selecting the type of mood your status meant to convey like happy, angry, sad, serious, and such, your friends can reply accordingly. You can even visit your friend’s page and comment on theirs. Because in this game, you are given the attention you deserve!

Choose to never be alone again by getting your copy this Fall 2011. Friendship Plus: who needs real friends when you have 2D friends that are way more awesome!

P.S. Any images that resemblances Kimi ni Todoke are purely coincidental. Serious.

Some past works

2010-12-12T17:42:00.001+08:00

The following two videos are some animation work I've done in the past. Feel free to check them out if you haven't seen them before.

Mesinaut

Mesinaut was Purple Flame's submission for the IPCC 2010 animation category. It didn't make it into the shortlist. Rogue, Mclelun, Daim, and I worked on this. Made in 1 month.

Snowfall Rising

Snowfall Rising is an animation short I made during a break between two jobs. 2 months in the making.