Armchair Academics

13/11/2024

This week we're back in the studio working on episode four! ✍ Here's a sneak peak at some of the character art for the next episode. Right now, we're moving into the 13th and early 14th centuries, focusing on the broad-reaching impact of the Mongol Empire in Central Asia and the empire's sudden fragmentation in the aftermath of the Toluid Civil War (1260-1264). Inside Tibet itself, we primarily follow the Sakya school as it rises to a position of near unprecedented power in the 13th century and the ways in which the Yuan Dynasty's patronage of the Sakya re-shaped the Tibetan political world.

The image features character art by the amazing Saraa Amber for Drogon Chogyal Phagpa (འགྲོ་མགོན་ཆོས་རྒྱལ་འཕགས་པ་), Kublai Khan, and Chabi, the first empress-consort of the Yuan Dynasty. 👏

11/11/2024

This week the team is welcoming a new animation intern! Lopsang is a talented animator and studio artist based in Arunachal Pradesh. He'll be working on asset creation, inbetweening, and a pile of other tasks in episodes 4 and 5, which are already in the works. Welcome aboard! 🎉👏 Can't wait to get started!

05/11/2024

Hey there!
While we're working on pre-production for episode four of The Animated History of Tibet, the wheels are still turning at the studio. This Thursday (the 7th of November) I'll be giving a lecture at the University of Oxford on the role of animation in documentary filmmaking and the importance of promoting public-facing Tibetan histories in digital spaces.

The talk is open to the public... so, if you're able to reach the area geographically, consider yourself cordially invited! If you are unable to attend, the department is recording the TGSS lecture series and posting the videos, after a bit of a delay for editing, on their website. You can learn more here: https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/series/tibetan-graduate-studies-seminar

19/09/2024

Big news! 🎉 Over the summer vacation we finished an audio remaster of a feature-length director's cut of the first three episodes of the Animated History of Tibet. This is our first documentary feature on Tibetan history and culture -- the first of many, we hope! The film, which is titled "The Rise and Fall of the Tibetan Empire" (2024), has already been picked up by the amazing people at Tricycle: The Buddhist Review , who plan to stream it in their Film Club Archive in October! In case you don't know, the Tricycle Film Club Archive is an awesome resource for screening documentaries and independent films on Buddhist topics. It's definitely something you should check out!

31/07/2024

"The Tibetan Renaissance | An Animated History" (ep. 3 part 2) is out now!

How did Tibetan Buddhism become one of the dominant religious and political forces in medieval Central Asia? And how did Tibetan society recover from the disastrous fall of the Tibetan Empire to emerge as one of Asia's great centers of Buddhist learning and culture?

The "Tibetan Renaissance" refers to a period of roughly 250 years (950-1200) during which Tibetan society underwent a profound religious and political transformation, emerging from the dark ages following the collapse of the Empire to become a patchwork of vibrant Buddhist kingdoms and aristocratic estates. This episode takes us on an animated journey through the 10th, 11th, and 12th centuries, focusing on the decline of Buddhism in India, the rise of the Sarma schools of Tibetan Buddhism, and the incredible political and religious revival that took place during the Tibetan Renaissance.

How did Tibetan Buddhism become one of the dominant religious and political forces in medieval Central Asia? And how did Tibetan society recover from the dis...

30/07/2024

Episode Three: Part Two "The Tibetan Renaissance" is almost done! We're finishing up the audio this afternoon and the episode will be up tomorrow (Wednesday the 31st of July)!

This one takes us through the 10th, 11th, and 12th centuries, focusing on the decline of Buddhism in India, the rise of the Sarma schools of Tibetan Buddhism, and the incredible political and religious revival that took place during the Tibetan Renaissance.

Episode Three of The Animated History of Tibet is a two-parter. Part one, "The Fall of the Tibetan Empire" came out on the 31st of May and is free to watch on our YouTube channel.

19/06/2024

Our Indiegogo campaign is now closed! Thanks to our amazing backers we managed to raise a jaw dropping $91,292.00 for the second half of the series. We are enormously grateful for the support and the outpouring of positivity that we've had following the release of episode three. We'll be posting more updates soon thanking the individuals and organizations that formed the backbone of the campaign. For the moment, though, on behalf of the entire Animated History of Tibet team, I want to extend our heartfelt thanks... Every penny will make a difference!! 👏🎉

05/06/2024

Hey you! Yes, you!! This is the last chance to contribute to our campaign to fund The Animated History of Tibet! Our campaign closes up shop on the 14th of June and backers get access to some really cool perks that will only be available until next Friday. So get on over to igg.me/at/fundtheanimatedhistoryoftibet and check us out! No donation is too small to make a difference.

31/05/2024

Episode Three (Part One), "The Fall of the Tibetan Empire" is live! 🙌 Head on over and check it out and remember to like, share, and subscribe -- all that YouTube jazz -- to support the series and our amazing art team!

The Tibetan Empire was once one of the most powerful political and economic forces in the ancient world. However, in the mid-9th century, the entire empire s...

24/05/2024

Episode 3: Part 1 "The Fall of the Tibetan Empire" is coming out on Friday the 31st of May! Court intrigue, religious revival, fratricide, and civil war... The Empire's collapse is an incredible rich period in history. 🎥🎉 Check it out and learn how Tibetan Buddhism survived the fall of the Tibetan Empire.

Episode Three of The Animated History of Tibet is a two-parter, with Part Two, "The Tibetan Renaissance" coming out at the end of July.

Now that this one is almost out there, I also want to thank the hardest working little animation team out there 👏💯

15/05/2024

🎉 We're half way through our campaign to fund episodes 5-9 -- and, thanks to a number of generous donations, we're also half way to our goal! Thank you so much for your support! If you haven't donated -- get on over to igg.me/at/fundtheanimatedhistoryoftibet and pick something from our amazing list of perks today!

From the whole Animated History of Tibet team, I want to send a HUGE thank you to our backers! 🙏 Let's keep the momentum going!

13/05/2024

Our latest video is live! An exploration of the medium of animation in historical documentary filmmaking. As a fan of documentaries myself, I feel like it's no stretch of the imagination to say that animated historical documentary films are more popular and prolific than ever. But, if documentary filmmakers put a high price on realism, why are they turning to animation to tell their stories? And why, exactly, is animation so evocative in teaching us about the past?

Following the recent success of animated documentaries like Tower (2016) and Flee (2021), it's no stretch of the imagination to say that animated historical ...

30/04/2024

Support The Animated History of Tibet and get access to some great perks: igg.me/at/fundtheanimatedhistoryoftibet

Our Indiegogo campaign is up and running! We're fundraising to finish episodes 5-9 and fund the translation of the entire series from English into Central Tibetan and Mandarin. It's a huge project that would also provide work for native-speaking voice actors, so come on over and check us out! Backers get some pretty awesome perks, including stylized maps, concept art, commemorative mugs, and more! Campaign ends on the 14th of June, so hurry up!!

Don't forget to also visit and support our partners at Tibet House US - NYC

24/04/2024

The Animated History of Tibet is currently running a follow-up crowdfunding campaign to finance the translation and re-narration of the series into Central Tibetan and Mandarin. A significant part of the community that we share is not well-served by English-language resources. So please do consider sharing our campaign to support the translation work and have a look at the project to see how far it's come in the past year! 🎉🙏 Check it out and support us at: https://igg.me/at/fundtheanimatedhistoryoftibet

I also want to thank our awesome partners at Tibet House US - NYC, as well as thank VOA TIBETAN for organizing a spotlight on the series in "Cyber Tibet" this past weekend.

23/04/2024

Just in case you missed it, the second episode of The Animated History of Tibet is now free to watch! 🍻🥳

Episode two, "The Golden Age of the Tibetan Empire" is a twenty minute animated historical documentary that focuses on Tibet at the height of the Tibetan Empire -- a time of near constant warfare and cultural change during which Buddhism was rapidly emerging as an influential force on the Tibetan Plateau. Check it out! 👇👇

For a brief period of time, the Tibetan Empire was one of the greatest military and political forces in the entire world, rivalling the Chinese Tang Dynasty,...

21/04/2024

The Animated History of Tibet just launched a second crowdfunding campaign to finance the translation and re-narration of the series into Central Tibetan and Mandarin. A significant part of the community that we share is not well-served by English-language resources. So please do consider sharing our campaign to support the translation work and have a look at the project to see how far it's come in the past year! Support us at: igg.me/at/fundtheanimatedhistoryoftibet

20/04/2024

We've got some wonderful news! Voice of America Tibetan VOA TIBETAN did a (five minute!) feature on The Animated History of Tibet! Check out 4:02-9:00 to see their take on the series and our ongoing crowdfunding campaign. We've very grateful to the team at VOA Tibetan for their amazing work!

If you would like to learn more about The Animated History of Tibet and how to support our work, visit us at: https://igg.me/at/fundtheanimatedhistoryoftibet

15/04/2024

We are now funding! The Animated History of Tibet is a nine-episode, fully-animated historical documentary series, written, directed, and animated by historians and artists passionate about Tibetan history and culture. The series covers the entire history of Tibet, from the earliest instances of writing on the Tibetan Plateau, through the 20th century, and into to the present day. Our goal is to translate and re-release the entire series with Tibetan-language and Mandarin-language subtitles + narration, as well as finance episodes five through nine!

Check out our campaign page and help us spread the word! 👇🎬 Let's take this animated journey together and bring The Animated History of Tibet all the way into the 21st century!

Bringing Tibetan history to life - one frame at a time. Now funding the final five episodes! | Check out 'The Animated History of Tibet - Part Two!' on Indiegogo.