Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki teases new movie

Hayao Miyazaki has teased Studio Ghibli’s next movie, calling the upcoming release a return to “big, fantastical” stories. In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Studio Ghibli producer and general manager Toshio Suzuki gave an in-depth update on How Do You Live?

According to Suzuki, Miyazaki’s movie has continued production through the coronavirus pandemic but is at least three years away from completing animation. “We are still hand-drawing everything, but it takes us more time to complete a film because we’re drawing more frames,” Suzuki said. “So, there are more drawings to draw than before. Back when we were making [1988’s] My Neighbor Totoro, we only had eight animators. Totoro we made in eight months. [For] the current film that Hayao Miyazaki is working on, we have 60 animators, but we are only able to come up with one minute of animation in a month. That means 12 months a year, you get 12 minutes worth of movie. Actually, we’ve been working on this film for three years, so that means we have 36 minutes completed so far. We’re hoping it will finish in the next three years.”

In addition to Miyazaki’s projects, Ghibli also has a movie helmed by his son Gorō (Tales of Earthsea, From Up on Poppy Hill) in the works, a computer-animated adaptation of an unnamed story from England with a wise girl at the center.

The director’s upcoming project is an adaptation of Yoshino Genzaburo’s 1937 story about a young boy who comes of age while living with his uncle after the death of his father.

How Do You Live? will be Miyazaki’s first feature-length movie after retiring from the industry in 2013 following the completion of The Wind Rises. Miyazaki announced his return in 2016 and went on to release the CGI short film Boro the Caterpillar in 2018.

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New ‘Frozen 2’ documentary series is coming to Disney+

The latest expansion to the world of Elsa and Anna isn’t another story, but a making-of docuseries that goes behind the scenes of Frozen 2. Disney will bring Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2, a six-episode series, to Disney+. All episodes will be available to stream starting on 26 June.

Co-directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, as well as cast members Idina Menzel (Elsa), Kristen Bell (Anna), Josh Gad (Olaf) and Jonathan Groff (Kristoff and Kristoff pretending to be Sven) will return for the sequel.

The six-episode series will follow the final year leading up to the film’s release as the creative forces behind the sequel try to wrangle the highly-anticipated movie into something that will be able to stand alongside the beloved original.

Official synopsis:
With the clock ticking and less than a year until the world premiere of Frozen 2, the filmmakers, artists, songwriters and cast open their doors to cameras for a six-part documentary series to reveal the hard work, heart, and collaboration it takes to create one of the most highly-anticipated films in Walt Disney Animation Studios’ near-century of moviemaking. For the first time, cameras were there to capture an eye-opening – and at times jaw-dropping – view of the challenges and the breakthroughs, the artistry, creativity and the complexity of creating the #1 animated feature of all time.

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SPINVFX president Neishaw Ali to bestow career insights

Locked down but not bogged down! That’s been the slogan for quite some time as educationists and organisations come together to equip students with a world of knowledge in the visual effects field.

Launched by Visual Effects Society in partnership with software developer Autodesk, Ask Me Anything: VFX Pros tell all is an initiative that is set to shine a spotlight on diversity in visual effects as well as career insights. This include a lineup of talks with successful visual effects professionals from different backgrounds.

Neishaw Ali | Spin VFX

Marking the beginning of the series of sessions featuring worldwide leaders in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software is going to be SPINVFX president and executive producer Neishaw Ali who will be inspiring budding VFX artist.

They shared, “Have you signed up yet? Join our next Ask Me Anything: VFX Pros Tell All live webcast with Neishaw Ali, President, Executive Producer, SPINVFX – Tuesday, May 19th at 11 am (PDT)! Join us to get career insights and tales from her journey & get inspired! As a founding Partner, President and Executive Producer of SPINVFX, Neishaw Ali has been working in the film and television industry for over 25 years. She has molded SPINVFX into an internationally recognized leader in visual effects production, with teams in Toronto, Atlanta and Los Angeles. Her creativity and leadership has produced an expansive body of work including over 120 feature films and 26 television series. Neishaw represents the film and animation industry at large as the Co-Chair for the Computer Animation Studios of Ontario (CASO), and serves as part of the Government Policies Platform Committee . She also serves on the Ontario Film & Television Advisory Panel, the Toronto Film, Television & Digital Media Board, the Digital Media Infrastructure Working Group for the City of Toronto, as a Board Member of The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television and a Board Member of the Visual Effects Society.

Through this interactive live webcast series, you can :-

  • Hear from successful VFX pros from diverse backgrounds
  • Ask your questions to the pros
  • Get exclusive insights – career highlights, hurdles, lessons learned on the journey
  • Explore career choices in the evolving world of visual effects

A must attend event for VFX artists who should make the most out of it!

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NVIDIA launches new generation of GPU and AI solutions

NVIDIA has announced in their keynote a number of new products that will see a new generation of GPUs and AI Solutions to enter the market alongside the exiting DGX Family line up. Amid the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown during which GTC San Jose was cancelled earlier this year. These announcements mark the latest in a wave of innovation and expansion powered by NVIDIA, after the purchase of Mellanox Technologies last year and Cumulus announced just this week.

NVIDIA A100 GPU
The NVIDIA A100 GPU delivers unparalleled acceleration at every scale for AI, data analytics, and high-performance computing (HPC) to tackle the world’s toughest computing challenges! The A100 is  the engine of the NVIDIA data center platform; and with A100 you can efficiently scale to thousands of GPUs thanks to new Multi-Instance GPU for Elastic GPU Computing (MIG)!  The A100 GPU offers 7x higher throughput than V100 and with simultaneous instances per GPU, you have the flexibility to run GPUs independently or as a whole.

 NVIDIA DGX A100:
NVIDIA DGX A100 is the universal system for all AI workloads. It integrates eight of the world’s most advanced NVIDIA A100 Tensor Core GPUs, delivering the very first five petaFLOPS AI system. Now enterprises can create a complete workflow from data preparation and analytics to training and inference using one easy-to-deploy AI infrastructure. NVIDIA sees the DGX A100 fitting into the existing line up of DGX systems and the wider NVIDIA product catalogue from the idea to the office, datacentre, edge and results. Combined with innovative GPU-optimised software and simplified management tools, these fully-integrated systems are designed to give data scientists the most powerful tools for AI development—from the office to the data center.

AI development journey progresses, each of the solutions enables the effortless mobility of most important work from one system to the next, without changing any code along the way, so that one can right-size resources for the task at hand. NVIDIA DGX A100 unifies all of the AI workloads into a consolidated system with optimised software that is the foundational building block for AI infrastructure. DGX A100 further lowers TCO not only by offering the highest performance but also from improved infrastructure utilisation with the flexibility to handle multiple, parallel workloads by multiple users.

Supermicro HGX A100 platforms:

Boston is a partner of Supermicro who has also announced three servers featuirng NVIDIA A100 GPUs. The three servers offer choices for those looking to run AI compute, model training, deep learning and High-Performance Computing workloads in three different form factors. The expected 4U HGX A100 (SYS-420GP-TNAR) features 8x SXM4 A100 GPUs and offers Titanium-level efficiency whilst the AS -4124GS-TNR also offering 8x GPUs but in PCIe 4.0 form factor, but the most interesting of the three servers is a compact, yet high-density 2U 4x A100 SXM4 server that takes advantage of PCIe 4.0 thanks to dual AMD EPYC 7002 Series CPUs – this really is a benchmark busting solution that gives those who aren’t ready to scale to the 8x GPU solution that the DGX A100 and HGX A100 versions offer.

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Airtel Digital TV join hands with EPIC ON to bring ‘Malgudi Days’ to homes

DTH service provider, Airtel Digital TV today has inked a unique content partnership with IN10 Media Network’s OTT platform EPIC ON to bring the nostalgic series of Malgudi Days to over 16 million homes across the country.

Under this deal, Airtel DTH customers can enjoy the timeless series on their television. Commenting on the collaboration, Airtel DTH marketing head Aashish Ahuja said, “As a brand we are always innovating to delight our customers with a rich bouquet of content. We picked up that nostalgia is a strong consumer need and Malgudi Days is one of the most perfect all-time classics that a whole lot of us grew up watching. We are delighted to add the show to our offerings and promise to continue adding such relevant content for our customers.”

Adapted from short stories by RK Narayan, Malgudi Days series is about a bunch of characters leading simple lives in a fictitious small town called Malgudi. The plots revolve around the trials and tribulations faced by the protagonist, Swami and his peers. 

First aired on the national television in 1986, Malgudi Days went on to become a cult series as well as an integral part of Indians’ lives who grew up during that period. Directed by Shankar Nag, the series features the then famous child actor Master Manjunath and other acclaimed actors including Girish Karnad, Vaishali Kasaravalli, Ananth Nag and Arundhati Nag. The stories of Malgudi Days evoke a feeling of nostalgia as well as have strong resonance among audiences who enjoy simple and powerful storytelling.

Further adding on the deal, EPIC ON COO Sourjya Mohanty noted, “We are happy to join hands with Airtel Digital TV and strengthen our presence across the country. This is the beginning of a long-term partnership. We are hoping to continue bringing high-appealing India-centric bespoke programmes for the service and truly entertain audiences across all age-groups.”

Airtel digital TV customers will now be able to relive the magic of this 80’s classic on channel no. 102 at just Rs. 1.5 per day. Airtel has introduced this series with unique options with which customers can binge watch the series by playing the episodes back to back or at a dedicated time every day like they catch up on their regular TV shows.

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These car racing games help to enjoy long drives #WhenatHome

Many of you who are an adventure junkie and love car racing must be missing going out on a long ride due to Covid19 house arrest. To give that similar taste of  car racing virtually we have listed  few mobile-friendly car racing games wher you  can enjoy the drive even in quarantine:

Asphalt 9: Legends : Asphalt 9: Legends is a racing video game developed by Gameloft Barcelona and published by Gameloft. Released on July 2018, it is the ninth main installment in the Asphalt series. In comparison to previous entries, there are several new and improved features, such as a prestigious car lineup, new control schemes, including the autopilot mode called Touch Drive, and race modes, and the reimplemented “shockwave nitro” from Asphalt 6: Adrenaline. The graphics are also considered significantly improved compared to its 2013 predecessor, Asphalt 8: Airborne. The gameplay in Asphalt 9 is similar to Asphalt 8: Airborne, with noticeable differences in graphics and design. There were 48 cars featured in the game when soft-launched, but the worldwide release saw the introduction of four new cars, leading to 52 cars. There are currently 93 cars as of May 2020.

Platforms : iOS, Android, Windows 10, Nintendo Switch, macOS

Need for Speed: No Limits: Need for Speed: No Limits is a free-to-play racing video game for iOS and Android, and a mobile installment in the Need for Speed video game series, developed by Firemonkeys Studios and published by Electronic Arts. It is the twenty-first installment in the franchise, the franchise’s second free-to-play title (after Need for Speed: World), as well as the franchise’s first original title made for mobile devices, unlike past mobile games in the series that were adaptations or companions of various Need for Speed games. It was released on September 2015. The player must race in Campaign races (which is considered the game’s story mode), Car Series races (where only certain cars may participate to win in-game rewards) and Rival Races, which are ghost-based multiplayer races. As well, the player can participate in time-limited special events, where the player will be loaned a special car for use in the event. If the player finishes the event before the event time runs out, the player will be able to keep the loaned car as a completion reward.

Platforms: iOS, Android

Horizon Chase – World Tour: Horizon Chase – World Tour is a racing video game developed and published by Braziliancompany Aquiris Game Studio. It was released on August  2015, for iOS and Android. A 3D game, it touts the fact that it has a unique retro aesthetic inspired by 2D, 16-bit titles. Its soundtrack has Nintendocore influences. In 2019, a successor, called Horizon Chase Turbo was released for Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One. This version includes enhanced graphics, more cars and tracks, and presents new features like couch co-op. Horizon Chase challenges the player to complete races on tracks located around the world. Additional twists to the racing formula come in the form of fuel pickups which need to be obtained to complete the race, as well as tokens that unlock new tracks and the use of nitro boosts to speed up the player’s car.

Platforms: iOS, Android

Mario Kart Tour: Mario Kart Tour is a kart racing mobile game, the fourteenth in the franchise in the Mario Kart series, developed and published by Nintendo for iOS and Android devices. The game was announced in January 2018 and was released on September, 2019 on Apple App Store and Google Play.

This game features biweekly themed Tours with different Cups, each of which has three courses and a bonus challenge. In addition to courses which already appeared in Mario Kart series, Mario Kart Tour includes courses located in cities in the real world (e.g. New York, Tokyo, Paris, London, Vancouver).

Platforms: iOS, Android

Hill Climb Racing: Hill Climb Racing is a 2012 2D physics-based racing video game released by the Finnish studio Fingersoft. It was originally created by Toni Fingerroos, Fingersoft’s founder, and is the company’s best-known product. The player controls a driver across hilly terrains, collecting coins along the way and spending them on vehicular upgrades while being watchful of the driver’s head as well as the vehicle’s fuel supply. The object of Hill Climb Racing is to drive as far through progressively difficult racing stages as possible while collecting coins, taking advantage of the nonrealistic physics and using only two simple controls: the Gas and Brake pedals. Fuel is replenished by picking up gas canisters or batteries along the way.

Platforms:  Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, and Windows Phone

Motorsport Manager: Motorsport Manager is a racing management-simulation strategy video game developed by British video game developer, Playsport Games. The game was released in August 2014 and in 2015. A desktop version of the game was published by Sega on macOS, Microsoft Windows and Linux operating systems in November 2016.The game has received regular updates and patches, including downloadable content on the PC versions, since release. The latest iteration of the game on the PC version was released on 1 November 2017. In March 2019, Motorsport Manager was released for Nintendo Switch.

Platforms: iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Linux, Nintendo Switch

Grid AutosportGrid Autosport is a racing video game developed by Codemasters. It is the ninth game in the TOCA series. It aims to move the series back towards “more authentic racing games” following the release of Grid 2, which Codemasters felt was not as well-received by the company’s core fanbase as it was hoped for. Grid Autosport is a simulation racing game — the physics of racing try to match up to how driving a car would be in real life. Naturally, that makes this game a bit slow-paced when compared to some of the other racing games on this list, but this attention to detail is what makes this such a good racing game.Grid Autosport costs Rs. 900 on the Google Play Store. There’s a good reason it’s this expensive, though; the game was originally developed for PC and consoles, and is now available on Android courtesy a very good port by Feral Interactive — a game developer known for bringing top-tier games to mobile platforms. The Android version is nearly as good as the full-fledged version, and that’s saying something.

Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Linux, iOS, macOS, Nintendo Switch and Android

Riptide GP: Renegade: Riptide GP: Renegade takes the racing to the water. While some people may consider Riptide GP2 to be better, we quite liked the plot and post-apocalyptic setting of the game world in Renegade. You control an illegal hydro jet (essentially a very fast and manoeuvrable water scooter) and race against competitors on detailed race tracks while performing death-defying stunts. There’s also a fair amount of evasion involved, as the authorities look to shut down your illegal racing.The game plays fairly well on budget smartphones as well. It currently costs Rs. 69 on the Google Play Store, but the graphics and fast-paced gameplay make this well worth your time and money.

Platforms: Android

Real Racing 3: Real Racing 3  sets a new standard for mobile racing games. Boasting over 500 million downloads, Real Racing 3 features officially licensed tracks with 40 circuits at 19 real-world locations, a 43-car grid, and over 250 meticulously detailed cars from manufacturers like Porsche, Bugatti, Chevrolet, Aston Martin, and Audi. Plus Real-Time Multiplayer, Social Leaderboards, a hub dedicated to Formula 1 Grand Prix and Championship events, Time Trials, night racing, and innovative Time Shifted Multiplayer technology, allow players to race anytime, anywhere.

Platforms: iOS and Android.

 

 

 

 

 

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SPINVFX president Neisha Ali to bestow career insights on VFX pros episode

Launched by Visual Effects Society in partnership with software developer Autodesk, Ask Me Anything: VFX Pros tell all is an initiative that will shine a spotlight on the diversity of visual effects as well as world of career-insights for the budding artists including a lineup of talks with successful visual effects professionals from different backgrounds.

Neishaw Ali | Spin VFX

SPINVFX president Neisha Neisha Ali will being joining the first session, marking the beginning of a spate of sessions that see the leaders from around the world talking about various aspects of the craft.

Through this interactive live webcast series, attendees will be able to :-

  • Hear from successful VFX pros from diverse backgrounds
  • Ask your questions to the pros
  • Get exclusive insights – career highlights, hurdles, lessons learned on the journey
  • Explore career choices in the evolving world of visual effects

They shared, “Join our next Ask Me Anything: VFX Pros Tell All live webcast with Neishaw Ali, President, Executive Producer, SPINVFX — Tuesday, May 19th at 11 am (PDT)!  Get career insights and tales from her journey & get inspired! As a founding Partner, President and Executive Producer of SPINVFX, Neishaw Ali has been working in the film and television industry for over 25 years. She has molded SPINVFX into an internationally recognized leader in visual effects production, with teams in Toronto, Atlanta and Los Angeles. Her creativity and leadership has produced an expansive body of work including over 120 feature films and 26 television series. Neishaw represents the film and animation industry at large as the Co-Chair for the Computer Animation Studios of Ontario (CASO), and serves as part of the Government Policies Platform Committee . She also serves on the Ontario Film & Television Advisory Panel, the Toronto Film, Television & Digital Media Board, the Digital Media Infrastructure Working Group for the City of Toronto, as a Board Member of The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television and a Board Member of the Visual Effects Society.”

A must watch event for every VFX artist who wishes to upgrade their skills.

 

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#WhenAtHome: Few Indian original series you can watch with your family on International Day of Families

Never have we spent so much time with our families before as we have in the last couple of months. In times of global crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic, all of us have taken a refuge in the comforting shelter of our homes surrounded by our families.

While these are uncertain times, somewhere, this has taught us to cherish our near and dear ones a little more and not take little pleasures and happiness for granted.

As we celebrate International Day of Families today, the sentiment of familial love and bond deserves a celebration, today and everyday.

To make this day extra special and quarantine better, we bring to you a curated list of Indian Original web series which you can watch along with your family as they are complete entertainers. Read on :

The Family Man

What better thing to start this list with? The Family Man is an edgy action-drama series, which tells the story of a middle-class man portrayed by Manoj Bajpayee, who works for a special cell of the National Investigation Agency. 

While he tries to protect the nation from terrorists, he also has to balance his professional and personal duties as well as protect his family from the impact of his secretive, high-pressure, and low paying job. The show is a full family entertainer promoting good values.

Where to Watch : Amazon Prime Video

Hostages

Written by Nisarg Mehta, Shiva Bajpai and Mayukh Ghosh, Hostages is a crime thriller under Hotstar Specials. Directed by Sudhir Mishra, it is an official adaptation of an Israeli series of the same name.

Starring Tisca Chopra, Ronit Roy, Parvin Dabas, Aashim Gulati and Mohan Kapoor, Hostages revolves around Dr. Mira Anand (Chopra) whose family is taken captive the night before she’s going to operate on the CM, and asked to kill him. What follows is the choice she makes and adventurous circumstances.

The series is very intriguing at some parts with the cast doing a great job. This one is sure to keep you and your family on the edge of the seat.

Where to Watch : Disney+Hotstar

Made in Heaven

If you’ve ever had fun at family weddings or even if you’ve had to suffer through them dodging questions like ‘Beta tum kab shaadi karoge?’ from nosy aunties, Made in Heaven is the show for you and your family. 

Created by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti, Made in Heaven questions the concept of marriages being a celestial happening. The series shatters age old norms like dowry and several others associated with weddings.

The show revolves around Delhi-based wedding planners and tells the  stories kaleidoscopically, each episode revolving around individual weddings creating specific issues, problems both outlandish and plausible. It’s sensational yet extremely engaging.

Where to Watch : Amazon Prime Video

Mentalhood 

Is a family ever complete without mothers? Mentalhood is a tribute to all the mothers out there. Produced by Rupali Guha under her banner Film Farm India, the series revolves around different types of mothers and showcases how they manoeuvre their way through unreasonable expectations, balance home and work while trying their best to raise their children. 

The series explores the multitasking of mothers and marks the digital debut of actress Karishma Kapoor and stars Sanjay Suri, Sandhya Mridul, Shilpa Shukla and Shruti Seth.

Where to Watch : ALTBalaji and ZEE5

Queen (Web series)

Released in 2019, Queen is an Indian historical drama series, based on the novel of the same name by Anita Sivakumaran. The story depicts the life and evolution of Shakthi Sheshadri, from her childhood and her entry into the cinema industry and her eventual foray into politics as well as her relationship with GMR.

Loosely based on the life of the late Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa, Queen is directed by Gautham Menon and Prasath Murugesan, written by Reshma Ghatala, and produced by Times studio originals and Ondraga Digital. It stars Ramya Krishnan and Indrajith Sukumaran.

Where to Watch: MX Player

Mighty Little Bheem 

The only animated series on this list, which is way lighter than the rest and provides genuine feel-good happiness, fun and good vibes. Also this will keep the little ones of the family hooked, and the elders can relive their childhood antics and naughtiness.

A spin-off of the popular animated series, Chhota Bheem, Mighty Little Bheem portrays the childhood adventures of the intelligent yet naughty baby Bheem. While there are other power-packed Netflix Indian original series, this will surely bring a smile on your face and make your time spent with your family .

Created by Green Gold Animation founder and CEO Rajiv Chilaka, Mighty Little Bheem has received rave reviews on Netflix beyond the border of the country. Its third season is currently in production.

Where to Watch: Netflix

Mighty Little Bheem

As they rightly say, that ‘Family has got our backs’ always, these challenging times testimony that. We’ll overcome this, with our families by our side!

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