Film short title: चाय (chai)
Duration: 1:05 minutes
Format: Animation (stop motion, pixelation and 2D digital)
Medium used: natural materials (herbs, spices, powder)
Language: English (spoken voice over)
Softwares: Dragonframe and Adobe Premiere
Completion Date: December 2023
SYNOPSIS
For this animation I wanted to showcase my family's daily routine of making masala chai (tea) at the beginning of the day. This is our moment of peace and preparation before starting our respective days. Using all natural materials found in the process of brewing chai, I mimic the the different growth of the spices and how they behave when boiling them. It was extremely special to have my grandfather speak about its importance to him, which I hope communicates the drinks importance across generations in our Indian culture.
CREDITS
Animated/Edited/Written by Venya Luthra
Voiceover Monologue: Vinod Luthra
SFX from freesound.org, freesoundeffects.com, and pixabay.com
Features
Experimental Animation End-of-year Screening- May 2024
First-Time Filmmaker Sessions Hosted by @LiftOffGlobalNetwork - Sept 2024
Planning and Process Work
As I am constantly looking to challenge myself with each work, Chai was my first attempts at using natural materials in an animation. Although aging and oxidation wasn't a problem with these spices, keep a clean work environment was a constant challenge. In between takes, the white parchment background was cleaned or replaced to maintain consistent colours. The materiality of Chai is intertwined with its message which has inspired me to incorporate ideas of materiality and natural materials into my future works.
