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The Story of Shakti
Navya & Khushi in ATEC
NAVYA
"We wanted to tell an authentic story, and knew that we could only do so by creating from what we knew"
Khushi and I wanted to create a short film together that integrated both of our skills as well as shared the beauty of our culture. As a lighting artist, I knew that Hindu festivals in India were beautiful and full of color and tradition. Diwali in particular drew me in because of the emphasis on the light; I knew that if we created a story set during the festival of Diwali we could really make some visual magic happen!
We wanted to do something different for our capstone than what we had previously worked on by celebrating the joy and rich tradition of Hindu culture.
I enjoy seeing different cultures in animated short films because there are so many stories to tell. We wanted to tell an authentic story and knew that we could only do so by creating from what we knew. We grew up in such a rich culture that definitely had the space to be further explored in the media. When we did our research we also felt like many Indian animated short films had more serious themes to talk about.
We quickly realized that the story we wanted to tell was that of the joys of celebrating our culture in our childhood- when things were simple and fun.
KHUSHI
After we decided to create a story set during a Diwali celebration, we knew we had to tell a story that was fun and true to our shared childhood memories. We created the character of Ahani, full of emotion and funny, adorable expressions. When designing her- we looked at pictures of us as children, and how our moms used to dress us, home videos of us being funny toddlers and created a character who did things that we could have all related to as toddlers.
"Shakti is about celebrating the rich culture that we come from, from the eyes of a young girl who goes through a similar experience."
Diwali is one of our main festivals, and it’s something I really enjoyed celebrating while growing up. I also vividly remember how daunting the experience was to hold and light a firework for the first time, but the thrill, amazement, and wonder that came after. Shakti is about celebrating the rich culture that we come from, from the eyes of a young girl who goes through a similar experience.
For our capstone, Navya and I were always set on highlighting the South Asian Hindu background that we both grew up in. More than highlighting the festival, we sought to ensure that everything is made with detail and attention, from the character’s clothing and jewelry, to the set, environment, props, etc.
Bringing it to life in a 3D space really allowed us to fully immerse ourselves in the festivities of Diwali and the symbolism and history that comes along with it.
We were determined to spread awareness of the culture not only through the animated film, but also behind the scenes. We always used South Asian terminology like “Amma” ie Mother and “Fuljhadi” ie a sparkler to ensure the crew also learns side by side. Being raised in India and America helped me really connect with the liveliness of India and re-create it in Shakti’s 3D environment. We grew up eating corn from carts on the streets, hung clothes on strings outside our houses, traveled everywhere in auto-rickshaws; and we’ve done our best to represent all of this in Shakti. It’s been amazing to see our vision come true!
