Kamal Krishna – Senior Interactive TV Designer at Astro Broadcast Centre

CG Today : You were honored with First Prize for an “Astro-Get Interactive 2006” competition. Your award was presented to you for your innovative and revenue generating ideas for interactive television. Can you tell us more about this competition?

Kamal : There was a competition among four teams to come up with best revenue generating ideas for Interactive TV and our team won the first prize. In our model we clubbed the 3G Mobile and interactive TV technologies to promote and sell creative content. Our ideas seemed practically doable and profitable.

CG Today : Recently, you attended a winter course in Film Making and Advanced Motion Graphics at the School of Visual Arts in New York. While there, you won an Adobe Design Premium CS4, through a Graphic Design Contest at the school. Can you fill us in on the details of this competition?

Kamal : I attended a short-term course in the School of Visual arts on motion graphics and introduction to filmmaking. During that time I participated in a graphic design competition on promoting the School, my design won me Adobe CS4 Design premium worth $1800.

CG Today : Your tenure with Navayuga Infotech must have been something of a departure from your normal connection to more diversified, entertainment-based companies. Were you able to keep your creative juices flowing while working at a company that seems to be more IT-centered?

Kamal : With Navayuga as a Design Consultant I have made some corporate and product presentations. This required a little programming too; so that was challenging and learning for me. Also Navayuga group being an established engineering company, I got the opportunity to travel, research and create a presentation on the construction of the prestigious Yanam Bridge (named as Balayogi Bridge later).

CG Today : On the other hand, your time at Tata Teleservices seems to have provided you with a wide array of outlets for your artistic energy. Is this true?

Kamal : Working at Tata Teleservices was a very important and memorable phase in my career. I was pushed off my limits creatively. I used to work under immense pressure with unrealistic deadlines. I designed for web and VB applications. I maintained the Intranet site of three states (AP, TN & Karnataka). I designed newsletters, books, posters, billboards, badges, corporate stationary, certificates, invites, trophies, stage sets, presentations etc. I was also part of managing events.

I was practically living in Tata Teleservices and delivered everything an AD agency would as a single person.

CG Today : Eduempire.com Pvt. Ltd specializes in integrating the educational communities -- institutes, parents, teachers and students -- on a single platform while leveraging the benefits of the Internet through e-learning initiatives. You were Creative Head there in 2001, 2002. You did everything from creating their logo to maintaining their website. How did you like working in the education realm?

Kamal : After working as a Faculty, Eduempire.com was my first break into the outside world. I was taking care of graphic design and web design with a team of two. That time was the boom of dotcom industry. We were making websites for every school and college in the city. Though I was not trained as a web designer, having done so many projects here, I quickly mastered the art of coding for web.

CG Today : Your website, kamalkrishna.com, is very cool. Tell us about the making of this site.

Kamal : Having created so many websites for so many, I thought I should have an identity too on the World Wide Web. I have been maintaining my website for over 10 years and I keep updating the content and the look n feel as per the changing design trends.

CG Today : You have been involved with Indian Classical Dance. Is there a correlation between the art of dance and the visual arts, in your opinion?

Kamal : I was trained for 12 years in three Indian Classical dance forms (Kuchipudi, Andhra Natyam and Perini Shivathandavam) from the age of 5. I performed twice in the national television and gave over 15 stage performances. I also won Best dancer award for Salsa in Shiamak Davar’s workshop.

I definitely feel there is a correlation between the art of dance and visual arts. In dance you create and narrate a story using diverse arts like music, rhythm, tone and expressions. Similarly the blending and fusion is integral in visual arts. Creativity is the key in both.

CG Today : When you need creative inspiration, are there certain activities you do, or actions you take?

Kamal : Today there are plenty of resources available on the web. I browse through many sites and tutorials for inspiration and learning. I observe a lot in TV, movies and ads. Anything can be an inspiration and everything can be translated.

CG Today : Did your course in film-making whet your appetite to learn more about the making of movies? You have took up the challenges of writing the dialogues, directing, acting, camera, make-up, visual effects, editing, sound mixing and everything that takes, to make a professionally looking short film with no budget, ‘Hitchhiked’, what’s next?

Kamal : Before attending the course I already made two music videos. With that interest I joined the short-term course “Introduction to film making”. But all they taught was something I already learnt while experimenting. What I needed was a full-fledged course that teaches the technical aspects in detail. But at this point of my career I can’t afford to attend a fulltime course. With Hitchhiked I’ve learnt new things and I will be making more short films and keep learning this way.

For my next project I’m planning to shoot an experimental video completely with an iPhone. Let’s see how it will turn out.

CG Today : Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to speak with us, we love to see your next short film soon...

Kamal : Thank You, sure will share with you all...

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Kamal Krishna - Senior Interactive TV Designer

Astro Broadcast Centre, Malaysia

Website: Kamal Krishna

e-mail : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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