<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2016/sep/Tiger-1.jpg" alt="" />
Kolkata, some environmental scientists have predicted, will be flooded beyond recognition as the sea level rises, submerging one island after another in the Sunderbans delta.
Despite the alarming prediction, people prefer to look away from a doomed future. Governments look away, too, even as another water body is filled up for construction.
<img title="The team of illustrators and writers who created Wade" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2016/sep/17The-team-1.jpg" alt="The team of illustrators and writers who created Wade" /> The team of illustrators and writers who created Wade
But a group of National Institute of Design graduates, who form the Ghost Animation Collective, preferred to take note and imagine too, to make, Wade. In this upcoming animated short film, a small group of people and tigers roam around in a flooded Kolkata. The team is out with a striking short trailer and the project has been put up on a crowd-funding platform, where the team inches closer to its estimated target.
Upamanyu Bhattacharyya, a member of Ghost Animation Collective, says, they have been following the issue of climate change for a long time. &ldquo;The inevitability of sea level rising seems to be a ignored problem, often relegated to the science-fiction genre if it&rsquo;s discussed at all. Hailing from Kolkata, we wanted to examine what ecological and social effects the rise of the Bay of Bengal would have. What piqued our curiosity even more was the clash of species when sea-level rising takes its toll,&rdquo; he explains.
<img title="The makers of Wade find the inevitability of sea-level rise an ignored problem" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2016/sep/17sea-leved-1.jpg" alt="The makers of Wade find the inevitability of sea-level rise an ignored problem" /> The makers of Wade find the inevitability of sea-level rise an ignored problem
Being filmmakers with tight budgets, crowdfunding was the best way for Wade, explains Bhattacharyya, announcing that the costs have been recovered already. &ldquo;The film is being made on a tiny budget. More than financially, crowd funding helped us gauge our audience and see the demand for such content. We&rsquo;re hoping the success of the campaign encourages others to go ahead and make their film despite the lack of mainstream production aid. And at this rate, maybe we can start building a system that enables the making of animation films of this kind with more ease and support,&rdquo; he says.
Despite the constraints, most of the rough animations of characters are ready. Moreover, there are many collectibles to take back for the contributors. &ldquo;What&rsquo;s left is the background paintings, colouring of characters, and bringing them together with special and camera effects,&rdquo; he says.
<img title="The illustrators say their work has the influence of classical Indian art" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2016/sep/17sea-leved-2.jpg" alt="The illustrators say their work has the influence of classical Indian art" /> The illustrators say their work has the influence of classical Indian art
Kalap Sanghvi, another member, says that the impressive look of the characters is a result of inspiration from India&rsquo;s art history. &ldquo;We also wanted to make the environments as recognisable as possible, for which we carried out an intensive reconnaissance of Kolkata&rsquo;s iconic Park Street and pushed the look of the buildings to a slightly higher level of distortion and decay. Maybe it&rsquo;s unique because we tried to take inspiration from our real surroundings and bring them to the audience for the first time,&rdquo; he explains. Their work also comes alive with the depiction of 30 different tigers, each distinct.
<img title="A post-flood Park Street comes alive in the film" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2016/sep/17sea-leved-3.jpg" alt="A post-flood Park Street comes alive in the film" /> A post-flood Park Street comes alive in the film
Log on to&acirc;u00c2u0080u00c2u0088 www.wishberry.in/campaign/wade-an-animated-short-film/

The Royal Bengal Tiger, Sunderbans and Kolkata take centre stage in an animation film made by NIDites, driving home the dangers of climate change

Tiger, tiger on alert

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Tiger, tiger on alert

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