Ogopogo sounds like a made up name, but it is in fact Native Canadian folklore, a sea monster who is said to live in British Columbia’s Okanagan Lake.
So how did two intrepid creatives come to name the first stop motion animation studio in Bangladesh, Ogopogo? Co-founder, Saiq'a Chowdhury explained: “You know Ogopogo spelled backwards is still Ogopogo?”
“We tried a lot of names, but none of them felt right. When we finally came across Ogopogo, it had a perfect balance of quirkiness and fun that we were trying to convey.”
Unlike traditional animation, stop motion work is very labour intensive. It is a handcrafted approach instead of relying solely on digitization.
In 2019, Ogopogo Studios debuted as Bangladesh's first foray into the off-the-wall stop-motion animation subgenre.
"It's very tactile, and emotional. It's being able to feel texture", said co-founder of Ogopogo Studios, Amit Ashraf.
The stop-motion method entails meticulously photographing every single action of hand-sculpted clay figures, toys, or miniature figurines and stitching them together to give them the illusion of movement.
It stands out because it requires much physical work, a human touch, and an eye for tiny details to bring characters and a story to life.
"The only thing the computer does is help you stitch the pictures together; the rest is all handcrafted," said Saiq'a Chowdhury.
The creators' love for the art form inspired them to start working on it professionally. "We never thought of it as a studio," stated Amit Ashraf.
Having a solid grounding in animation made the transition to puppetry a breeze for me. Chowdhury, who has done both stop motion and mainstream animation, says: "In a sense, it's easier to manipulate body parts, and puppets than to draw every piece."
"We both like practical handcraft work as opposed to VFX, that's what brought us together," Ashraf remarked, while discussing their partnership.
They have worked with various handcrafted characters, from live-action sci-fi props to clay figurines. While they have found success with multiple materials for the characters, they insist: "nothing is easier, but it's fulfilling when they see the final product."
"It's absolute physical labour and time consuming, but what makes it rewarding is you're giving life to something," Chowdhury added.
While many people may initially compare stop-motion animation to puppetry, the two are distinct.
Another reason why stop-motion is more complex than puppeteering is because: "Stop motion is puppet mastery in a frame-by-frame level, where you're manipulating time and space," as Amit Ashraf asserts.
Animating meticulously made characters and sets will provide viewers of all ages with a unique experience that tugs on heartstrings and offers timeless entertainment.
Although they have yet to work on feature films, the future goal is to be able to create stop-motion feature films.
"We would love to make our own feature films in the future," said Amit Ashraf.
Is there a clientele for stop motion in Bangladesh?
As the first stop-motion firm in Bangladesh, Ogopogo Studios is now growing by accepting clients for projects and delivering short films or videos.
"We need that as a growing company and stop-motion also requires a lot of other things that are also unavailable in Bangladesh," Ashraf said, adding: "We are garnering the required finances from our clients rather than making independent features."
In contrast to the West, Bangladesh still needs to familiarise itself with the nuances of stop-motion animation instead of sticking to digital animation to which it has been accustomed.
Rather than comparing the projects she worked on in the two countries, Chowdhury draws on her experience working abroad in the same industry to assess whether or not the platform, industry, and art form are headed in the right direction for growth. This is because stop-motion is a relatively new art form in Bangladesh but well-established in the United States.
"With my experience, I check to see if we're moving in the right direction as opposed to comparing the kind of projects we're getting because we're still growing," she added.
Due to the widespread unawareness of stop-motion capabilities, digital animation has an enormous potential audience in Bangladesh.
Chowdhury has identified the lack of clarity on the part of clients, and the misconception regarding stop-motion leads to budgetary estimates that need to be higher as the root of one of their struggles.
"When people are looking for a cheap and fast animation method, the problems arise," she added.
Clients who have not experimented with stop motion before but are interested can be put off by the art form's apparent complexity and high price.
"We also have clients that are happy with digital, but want to explore stop-motion but the moment they find out the amount of work that requires, they back out," Chowdhury said.
Despite the stereotype that animation is only appropriate for children, the medium has a wide range of subject matter that can be explored.
"It's not just for kids, you can animate objects, infographics, and so much more," Ashraf elaborated. Chowdhury explains what they offer: "We sell magic."
"The handcrafted art, or the realism of human touch attached to it," Ashraf elaborated.
"We would love to make stop-motion feature films in the future," he added.
Currently, Ogopogo faces a conundrum because they must choose between clients who have the money to pay but have no interest in experimenting with the medium of stop-motion and clients who don't have the money to spend but are interested in experimenting with stop-motion.
"There are alot of children's music videos who want to explore but they don't have budgets," Ashraf added.
However, financial restraints can spur creativity.
"You are limited in some ways but must use your imagination to problem solve," Chowdhury said.
The pioneers of stop-motion animation believe the industry will flourish when the next generation, increasingly interested in anime and animation, assume positions of power.
Chowdhury noted: "There's a growing interest in the make-belief world that helps."
When the younger generation takes control, exciting things will occur. When those manga readers or anime watchers become advertising executives," Ashraf continued.
The duo uses low-budget projects to train the next generation of animators. "When the project is on a smaller budget, we specify that someone learning the craft, a new animator will work on this project to learn from it. That is the trade off," added Ashraf.
Things to keep in mind before learning stop motion
The animation process is explained in detail to new animators, beginning with the basics.
"You may invariably become an expert in a specific area, but it's best to start at the beginning and master the fundamental," Ashraf said.
The co-founders had different perspectives on whether bringing on clients or animators was more difficult.
Chowdhury asserts that the full-time animators and the right people at the right time who will stick to learning the craft are harder to come by because candidates often need to pay more attention to the amount of physical labour involved and be physically fit. It is also challenging to work in these conditions because of the working conditions.
"We need people who will passionately stay involved and not leave after one workshop," she said
On the other hand, Amit Ashraf believes he can teach animators within a month if given a 6-month time frame, and therefore, it is harder to get clients than trained animators.
"I can take one month to train and make 20 animators if we have the projects. The work feeds the machine," he said.
"It’s a matter of dual perspectives," added Chowdhury.
The Ogopogo stop motion school is their latest venture starting in October.
This school is meant for adults and kids with the vision of further expanding their knowledge and raising awareness regarding the advantages of stop motion.
They teach everything from animation to making miniature costumes. Adult graduates can also apply for a job right after.
Link to their website: https://www.ogopogostudios.com or email [email protected]
