A HISTORICAL figure from the Crusades. A team of enthusiastic and talented animators. A national project.A lot is riding on Saladin, an animated series conceived and produced by the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC)..
The project represents the collective talent in the animation field in the country, said Kamil Othman, vice-president for MDeC’s creative department.
Animation for Saladin will be done by Silver Ant and the sound effects by Imaginex Studios – both local companies.
Salah al-Din or Saladin is one of Islam’s most legendary figures that united and led the Muslim factions during the Crusades.
“Saladin was chosen because he was a reluctant warrior that was sucked into the machinery of war,” said Kamil.
“He was the most chivalrous warrior and also the most well known in the time of the Crusades.”
Saladin will be a 13-part animated TV series. Production started in May 2004 and a six-minute trailer was previewed during the Multimedia Super Corridor’s 10th Anniversary celebration in April 2005.
The trailer, which shows a dramatic battle scene between Saladin’s troops and his enemies at sea, with breathtaking fire and water visual effects, can be viewed at www.saladin.tv.
Silver Ant completed the trailer within three months while Imaginex took only two weeks to add the sound effects.
To highlight the project to investors and distributors, MDeC is planning to showcase the trailer at the upcoming Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival.
Currently, MDeC only has funds for the first two episodes and is actively seeking more funding from large local companies. However, MDeC declined to elaborate further.
Work on the production of the TV series commenced this month, and the pilot episodes (episode one and two) are expected to be ready by year-end.
“It’s the beginning of many things to come. Once the character has been properly developed, it can be turned into such things as videogames and merchandise – like figurines that accompany value meals,” he said.
Kamil, the main driver behind the project, speaks about his labour of love.
Why did you choose to make a movie about Saladin?
The only common denominator is that he was a Muslim hero. However, if a local hero or story was chosen we would not have the benefit or discipline to conduct proper research on the scale we had done with Saladin.
Saladin, which had to be seen from the context of a foreign character, required exacting research into a different culture.
Research of the period he lived in, the clothes, the horses and the mosques had to be studied in detail
If the project is successful, we can show to the world that Malaysian talents can tackle any subject, even if the origins are not Malaysian.
Furthermore, Saladin’s unique position in the western and eastern society will open more doors globally for the project.
Was all the animation done in Malaysia?
Yes, it’s 100% made in Malaysia. The pre-production work was done by the Visual Development Team in MDeC, animation was by Silver Ant and audio by Imaginex, a company based in Bangsar.
How many animators were involved in creating Saladin?
The pre-production phase of Saladin – designing the character and creating the look and feel of the world – was done by MDeC and the project involved 14 people.
The actual production of the trailer was done by Silver Ant, an animation company based in Damansara, and this took the effort of 40 people to finish it.
The actual number of people that will be involved in the production of the TV series is not known yet because the number of companies that will participate in the project has not been determined yet.
How long did it take?
The animation for the trailer took only three months to produce, but the pre-production work which include the production design, historical research and the script writing for 13 episodes started in August 2004.
What was the budget for it? Is it the biggest budget for a local animation movie?
MDeC is looking at a budget of around RM10mil for producing the entire TV series. This is arguably the largest domestic funded animation series.
What was the biggest challenge?
The biggest challenge was in adopting the project as an audit of our nation’s skills in the field of 3D animation as well as in interpreting a “foreign story” for the global market. To create exportable content, we must be very conscious of what the global audience seeks.
We are pleased that so far we have proven that creativity exists in Malaysia and by marrying this creativity with the available technology tools the opportunities will be endless.
All that needs to be done now is to pay attention to the elements that can facilitate a better ecosystem for the industry to flourish.
Also, we must find ways for using local talents to create content that can be marketed overseas. To achieve this, we must focus on skills development programmes, funding, marketing and infrastructure.
It was also a challenge selling the idea that Malaysia has the capability to produce work of global quality.
Many people still do not believe in the creative multimedia industry, especially in its potential to be a viable export orientated industry.
What type of animation techniques were employed?
With Saladin we chose to focus mainly on 3D animation techniques.
This does not mean that we will forsake 2D animation companies but MDeC believes that a strong showcase of 3D capability is essential to sell our industry globally.
When will this be shown? Will it be in cinemas?
The first roll out will be in 2008 and it will consist of 13 episodes.
It will be in time for the World Congress on Information Technology, which Malaysia will host.
Will it be shown overseas?
We are definitely targeting for a worldwide release, as the content is being created in a way that will be appealing to the global market.
We are already generating interest from several countries but all will depend on the final quality of the series.
Source :The Star Online (The Star Online)Posted : 31/5/2006
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