MUMBAI:The Animation Society of India (TASI) recently organized a seminar titled ?‹?“Music for Animation in Mumbai at the IDC Auditorium, IIT Campus, Powai. The seminar was conducted by renowned Music Composer and Producer Tapas Relia, the man behind the music of Hanuman and Hanuman Returns and the composer of path breaking jingles of Close-up and Amaron batteries commercials. The three hour seminar encompassed a variety of topics ranging from sound-effects, technology involved, the process of music production for a film from scratch to the importance of editing to the beat, synchronizing with the composer and composer friendly story-board.

Tapas started off by showing some of his works from Hanuman Returns and commercials like Amaron Battery. He then explained the process of music composition during the making and how he went about designing music for the same. While emphasizing on the importance of basic knowledge of music that every animator should posses, he said, A generic understanding of music helps you communicate to the composer the concept that you have in mind. Also the animator should know what he wishes to highlight in a particular sequence as this helps to relay your expectations clearly to the composer. Everybody doesnt have to be an expert in music. Even a basic lesson in piano or guitar would help in putting the message across. If I as a composer have some knowledge of cinematics, then it is just fair to expect the same other way as well.

Stressing on the role that music plays in a movie, Tapas gave the example of Hollywood movie Jurassic Park. He said that even if you shut visuals off and just listen to the audio of the film it will still scare you because the background score has been so aptly composed according to the plot.

He briefed the crowd about the things that had to be in place before the process of composition began. As a composer when you are talking about cinema before starting off with composing the effects should be laid first and the voices are equally critical. This helps me decide where there is a need for silence and where there is not. It is risky to create music without voices. You will never know the gap, the expressions without it. This is a practice that is followed everywhere unless there is a time constraint. And in animation this cannot happen because the voices obviously come, he explained.

The recurrent debate of live player v/s a digital player was also discussed upon. He stated that using a digital MIDI player is easy, convenient and less time consuming than live performance. But in terms of quality, nothing can replace live performance. On the same lines he added, I am a studio musician working with an inevitable help of computers. How am I to know how a particular instrument is supposed to be played? So if I want the best in some instrument like say flute, I will ask for a person who has spent his entire life in it for live performance as he will have his own creative inputs to offer that will be at my disposal.

Speaking about reference tracks that come with sequences, he stated that working with them is not a good idea as it serves as a hindrance in the creative process. Moreover it always comes with conditions from the directors. They will state ?‹?“I want something like this or something similar to this. Nobody will give you something that is tailor-made for the movie. Hence I never work with reference tracks, he added.

The spectators had queries about the selection of instruments for different sequences to which Tapas explained, It all depends on the mood and the genre. There are some standard co-relations like one always relates to flute or Indian aalap for sad mood. But I experiment a lot with instruments. I feel that a drum, a guitar or a synthetic pad can also be used for sad mood. The whole approach to the song changes as you change the instrument. You have the creative freedom but you use it responsibly.

Speaking exclusively to us, Tapas explained the difference between music composition done for ad films and feature films. In commercials, you have very little time, hence one has to make something very catchy that registers fast. You should be able to make an impact in that span of time. In films however you have a lot of time and you can go building on a particular concept and experiment with lots of things. But as I mentioned earlier the script drives everything. Also there is a difference between the composition done for a live action film and an animation film also. In live action, the actors have their own personas and styles so you dont have to do much on that regard. In animation however you have to highlight everything. In animation you may show people doing impossible things and hence a different kind of music is required for the same.

On the conclusion of the seminar, speaking to AnimationXpress.com, Ranjit Singh, Hon. Secretary, TASI, said, We got the feedback from a lot people that they wanted to know about the music composition involved in animation, hence we came up with this seminar. Secondly it is an element of animation filmmaking that everybody needs to know. Animators should have an understanding of sound and appreciate the process of music composition as one of the key elements of filmmaking. I think Tapas has done a really good job and touched upon some fantastic topics.