The Road To DUCKTALES @DisneyXD #DuckTales

Hi Friends, 

Did you know that it takes up to 18 months to create a single episode of Disney’s DuckTales? Whoah! From story ideas through to final animation, it’s a long journey to bring the cartoon to life. Want to know more? 

In this exclusive interview Executive Producer Matt Youngberg and Co-Producer and Story Editor, Francisco Angones of DuckTales discuss their hit Disney XD show. 

What surprised you the most about the fan response to the first series of DuckTales? 

Matt: For me, I think some of the best responses have come from fans of the original series from the ‘80s who now have children. It’s been great to hear about how the show has become an opportunity for the whole family to watch together. It’s also really satisfying to hear that the young fans are just as excited – or even more excited – than the fans who grew up with the ‘80s show. 

Francisco: It’s really satisfying to know that people enjoy what we’ve created. We took a lot of chances with the show, but people believe in the show and they are excited for more. That’s great to hear. 

Can you talk about the chances you took during the first season? 

Francisco: We took chances in terms of the characterisations on Huey, Dewey, Louie and Webby. We also took chances on the types of adventures that we were going on with these characters. It’s really gratifying to hear a kid say, “I’m a Louie and my brother’s a Dewey, but my friend is a Webby.” That’s music to our ears. 

You must be thrilled… 

Francisco: We are. Not only are people able to connect to the show on a nostalgic level and not only are they able to connect to the show on a comedy level – but they are also connecting to the show on a character level. It’s also great to see the response to new characters, like Lena, and to hear the reaction to what we did with Magica and our version of Beakley. We were really excited to work on the show, but we have been constantly afraid that we’d mess it up. The fact that fans have embraced it lets us rest a little easier. 

Do you still get a kick out of writing for Donald and these iconic Disney characters? 

Francisco: Definitely. You always feel a charge of electricity whenever you get to write “Bless Me Bagpipes” into a script, although that’s become a little bit of a crutch. One of my favorite things is to have someone else say a different character’s catchphrase. For example, in season one we had Scrooge say, “Ah, sweet.” We also had Louie saying, “Oh, boy!” It is truly the greatest joy of DuckTales any time you find a new way to have Dewey insert his name into a sentence. That’s tons of fun for me. 

What else thrills you about the writing of the show? 

Francisco: I still get a charge from writing scenes in the interior of Scrooge McDuck’s money bin. 

Matt: It’s also really exciting to be able to be a part of this legacy and to know that we’re doing something with these characters who are going to out-live all of us. It’s really exciting to be able to contribute to this legacy and to see these characters grow within the boundaries of our show. Knowing that Donald Duck is going to be Donald Duck forever, it’s really exciting to be able to say we contributed towards that. 

THE ROAD TO DUCKTALES . . . 

STEP ONE: THE IDEA… 

DuckTales is Disney’s dynamite new show that follows the high-flying adventures of Duckburg’s most famous trillionaire, Scrooge McDuck. The dapper Scottish duck has a trio of mischief-making triplet grand-nephews trailing his every move: Huey, Dewey and Louie. And let’s not forget about Scrooge’s world-famous nephew, Donald Duck. Donald is a huge part of the animated action, too! 

STEP TWO: THE TEAM… 

Who’s in charge of creating DuckTales? The show’s executive producer, Matt Youngberg, and story editor and co-producer, Francisco Angones, lead a talented team of artists, writers and voice actors. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to be bringing DuckTales to audiences around the world,” explains Matt. “It’s a dream come true because we’re both life-long DuckTales fans.” 

STEP THREE: THE EPISODES… 

“At the beginning of the season, we have to come up with a general idea for the show’s main storylines,” reveals Francisco Angones. “That’s our first major step in the production process. What are the big stories we want to tell this season? Where do we want to focus the story? At this stage, we create a loose template for 25 episodes. It all starts there!” 

Executive Producer Matt Youngberg

STEP FOUR: KEEP IT FRESH… 

“We want each episode to feel fresh and new, so we spend a lot of time on the story,” adds Matt Youngberg. “We’ll sit down together with our team of writers and we’ll figure out what each episode is going to be about. We brainstorm together and throw around interesting, fun ideas and situations – and then the writers go off to write an episode. Usually, it’s one writer who goes off to tackle an episode – but we all come together to look at it once it’s finished. We want to make sure we can’t add anything else to make it even better.” 

STEP FIVE: THE VOICE RECORD… 

“As soon as a script is completed, we try to record the voice of every character in the episode,” continues Francisco Angones. “We have a huge main cast and the actors' schedules can sometimes be tricky to nail down for voice records, but we try to get everyone in for a recording session with each script as soon as it’s written. Our goal is to get as many people as possible at this stage, so that the animators can incorporate the actors’ performance into the storyboards.” 

STEP SIX: BOARD SILLY… 

“The storyboards are a sequence of drawings that display the story of an episode,” reveals Matt Youngberg. “It usually takes a little over a month to create the storyboard for a single episode. After that, it takes another month to refine it, which is when we do the animatics. We want to make sure that the story works and the jokes are funny before we commit to fully animating an episode, which is why we do these rough animations – or animatics – first.” 

STEP SEVEN: FINAL DESIGN… 

“After the storyboards are completed, we then go into final design,” continues Matt Youngberg. “At this stage, we design all of the assets that we need for the episode. We have to create everything you see in the show. That includes all the buildings, vehicles, characters and backgrounds that we explore in our high-flying adventures.” 

Co-Producer and Story Editor, Francisco Angones

STEP EIGHT: DESIGNING DUCKTALES… 

“A lot of time and effort goes into the design of the characters in DuckTales,” admits Matt Youngberg. “For example, Donald Duck has been around for many, many years. He was around way before we were born and he will be around long after we’ve gone – but we wanted to make sure we created a design that was fun and exciting for this new show. For inspiration, we looked at the DuckTales comics written by Carl Barks. We also looked at the DuckTales cartoon from the 1980s and the rich history of Disney.” 

STEP NINE: THE ANIMATED ACTION… 

“As soon as everything is designed, we’ll start to animate,” continues Matt Youngberg. “The animation stage is one of the longest parts of the process. It takes months. While this is happening, we work on the other stages of production. We’re figuring out new stories for other episodes and we’re also keeping an eye on the progress of everything to make sure it’s finished on time.” 

STEP TEN: A FINAL POLISH… 

“As soon as the animation is complete, we’ll take a long look at the episode to make sure everything works exactly as planned,” reveals Francisco Angones. “We edit the animation. We add sound effects and music. This is the stage where we polish the story and make sure it runs smoothly. Once this stage is completed, we have a fun new episode of DuckTales.” Quackers!

Sawubona!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts. Namaste!

Cape Sterling @SANParksKNP @SANParks #SA #PhotoYatra #TheLifesWayCaptures

Hi Friends,

Kruger National Park is a must-visit place in case you are visiting South Africa and love wildlife too. The habitat and vegetations change from camp to camp as you travel from one end of the park to another. 

I was at Skukuza Rest Camp for my morning breakfast when I saw this beautiful glossy blue colored birds flying length and breadth of the restaurant in the search of some food. 

This one is named Cape Sterling and you will easily see them in this base camp and Skukuza camp has a nice view of the river underneath. 

I tried to take pictures of this one flying but those came out very blurry and not good enough to share and go directly under the category of shift+delete. 

All these photos are taken by Aashish Rai at the Kruger National Park using the Nikon D7000 camera and Sigma 70-300mm lens. 

The search for food is the biggest reason we all wake up in the morning and in the animal kingdom the survival of the fittest along with taking care of oneself is of utmost importance. 

This is a very quick flying bird and its silky blue and green feathers look great and the eyes of this bird can be noticed from far far away. I hope that you make Kruger National Park a must on your trip to South Africa.

Namaste!!!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts. Namaste!

Keep Your Children Entertained & Learning While at Home #HuaweiAppGallery @HuaweiZA

Hi Friends,

Being home-bound is the new normal for people the world over, and a reality we all have to get used to. But although we know staying home is the best way to stay safe, we can’t help but miss our old lives when there were more things to do and places to go.

Luckily, we have our smartphones to keep us busy. Imagine isolation before the digital era. Exactly – things could be worse. So as long as you’ve got a smartphone in your hand and a suite of Huawei apps, there is no excuse to be bored during the lockdown.

HUAWEI AppGallery enables you to keep doing many of the things you’re used to doing but in a different way. One of the significant aspects of our lives that has changed during lockdown is children being able to go to school. This has had a big impact on children (and their parents!). Some schools have opted for distance learning, with the assistance of virtual teaching and parent tutoring, while others are simply not able to offer that service.

D6 School Communicator App

The Department of Basic Education may extend the break from schooling and adopt a phased-in approach until July, which means that many children will not have access to the formal education they’re used to for a while. This makes it even more critical for parents and students to be aware of the developments at their school while the education system navigates a way around the rest of the schooling calendar. The “D6 School Communicator” app, which can be found in HUAWEI AppGallery, enables better school-parent communication. As a parent, you can easily stay in touch with the school with just a few swipes. D6 School Communicator provides homework, news, events, as well as other useful resources.

Jellipop Match App

In addition, staying at home does not have to be a boring sentence for children, nor does it mean they have to sacrifice learning entirely. It’s very important to keep the younger ones’ minds engaged in this period of little physical and social activity. HUAWEI AppGallery has a variety of children’s apps that will keep them entertained, while also learning. That way, you can keep them busy, while you’re focusing on working from home.

Kahoot! App

For example, the “Jellipop Match” app in HUAWEI AppGallery is a casual, match-3 puzzle game with missions to be fulfilled on each fascinating level. The app has sugary-sweet graphics and smooth controls so it’s fun for children – they won’t even know they’re learning while playing! There’s also the “Kahoot!” app - a game-based learning platform with multiple-choice quizzes that make it fun to learn subjects for all ages.

K53 South Africa App

During this time at home, it’s also important to plan for life post-lockdown. With this in mind, there’s the “K53 South Africa” app, which helps teenagers prepare for taking their learners and drivers license tests. Seizing this downtime to learn the rules of the road is ideal for teenagers wanting a bit of independence when they no longer have to stay at home 24/7.

Being home-bound is definitely being made easier by our mobile devices. Our smartphones have proven invaluable in keeping us productive and sane. Indeed, a lot can still be accomplished during this uncertain period. Thanks to mobile platforms like HUAWEI AppGallery, you can also make the staying at home experience a much better one for you and your children.

Sawubona!
Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts. Namaste!

#HuaweiAppGallery Hello Doctor App - 1 Month Free Access @HuaweiZA Smartphones

Hi Friends, 

COVID-19 has made us all acutely aware of how important our health is and how quickly a niggling cough or a runny nose can potentially turn into something more serious. This is where the Hello Doctor app, which is available on the HUAWEI AppGallery, comes in handy. 

This app connects you to a doctor, either by phone or text, from anywhere at any time. You are guaranteed a response to your medical query from a qualified health professional within an hour. It’s a whole new and personalized way to manage your health using the one thing you always have with you – your phone.

Other services offered by the Hello Doctor include:

• Symptom checker- Put your symptoms into the app and it will give you a list of possible conditions. You can then discuss your results directly with a doctor.
• Health tips- Subscribe to the health categories that interest you, and Hello Doctor will send you daily advice, vetted by doctors, on how to improve your health.

Hello Doctor partners with certain medical schemes, including Momentum Health, and their service is free to members.

At a time when we need good healthcare the most, HUAWEI AppGallery is offering Huawei users a one month's free subscription for this app if they sign up before 30 April. To redeem the voucher simply do the following:

1. Download the Hello Doctor app from HUAWEI AppGallery
2. Go to the Gift Centre within HUAWEI AppGallery
3. Click on “Claim” to redeem you the voucher 
4. Open the Hello Doctor app and enter your personal details to sign up for the one-month free complimentary subscription with your voucher code.

For more information, go to https://www.hellodoctor.co.za/

Sawubona!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts. Namaste!

African Sacred Ibis Enjoys Walking Inside @SANParksKNP #SA #PhotoYatra #TheLifesWayCaptures

Hi Friends, 

Kruger National Park is filled with wildlife that you need to identify using the various birds and animal manuals available at the stores' insides the park. I had the pleasure of going with the guy who loves wildlife to the core and together we roamed from the start of the day till the time gates close of the rest camps. 

Time management is of supreme importance if you are inside the park and you need to predefine where you want to go and what you want to do in Kruger National Park. 

There are so many loops - gravel and dirt roads which will take you off the main road and that's where plenty of waterbodies lies and wherever there is a waterbody you can easily see some of the group of animals arriving at different times of the day. 

The speed limit of your car is also important as you will be fined heavily around R2500 if you cross the speed limit of 50km/h on the tar road and gravel its 40km/h. There are rangers throughout the park hiding behind the trees, caves and on famous routes and straight roads. 

African Sacred Ibis is one of the beautiful birds found in Africa and you will spot the same inside the Kruger National Park. We found this bird close to the Mopani Rest Camp gates once we came out of the same and traveled around the Tropic of Capricorn loop.

If you are interested in Bird Photography, you shall take the biggest possible lens giving you enough zoom as these birds don't come close to the vehicles. If you have a hybrid camera with a 40x zoom that will be great for the Kruger National Park. 

I really loved the black and white color combination of the birds' feathers and it really made it glow in the park filled with small flowers on the grass.

All the photos are clicked by Aashish Rai using Nikon D7000 camera with 70-300mm Sigma Lens at Kruger National Park in South Africa. 

Sawubona!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts. Namaste!

Howick Falls in #KwaZuluNatal #SA #PhotoYatra #TheLifesWayCaptures

Hi Friends, 

Howick Falls is nearly 95m in height and Umgeni River water forms the main source of this fall. The beauty of these falls is amazing and KwaZulu Natal as a province is one of the most beautiful states with all its natural beauty. 

This comes when you are traveling from Johannesburg to Durban via N3 and there is a small detour of around 10km from the main road to get to the inside town of Howick and see this beautiful waterfall. 

This is the only fall where you don't have to walk more than 10-15m to see the same after parking your car. There is plenty of parking for at least 10 cars. 

The viewing area of the falls is right on the edge of the road and can easily be reached by anyone. There is plenty of shops and restaurants around the falls to get cold drinks, beers, etc. 

There are many local shops selling South African cultural key rings, collectibles and merchandise made by the local artists and villagers. 

This falls causes a lot of accidents and many people have died around this falls as you can see there is a community living right near the edges of these falls. Also, many people try to dive into the pool underneath and lost their lives because of hitting the rocks, etc. 

It was really great to visit these falls for the first time and there were free community washrooms that were clean. It was too hot weather when I visited the same and I immediately went to buy the cold drinks at the shop nearby. I also bought a copper bangle for myself to wear every day from the local shops along with some keyrings.

All the photos are taken by Aashish Rai using Canon EOS 100D camera at Howick Falls, South Africa.

Sawubona!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts. Namaste!

Tropic of Capricorn @SANParksKNP @SANParks #SA #PhotoYatra #TheLifesWayCaptures

Hi Friends, 

I never knew that there is a Tropic of Capricorn milestone inside the Kruger National Park as I never traveled so far up to the Mopani Rest Camp earlier in my life and trips to the national park. This comes after you go from Mopani Rest Camp towards Letaba Rest Camp on the main road. 

As you all know, Tropic of Capricorn is the parallel latitude south of the equator. It is at this latitude that the sun's rays strike the earth vertically on only one day of the year at noon on or about 21 December.

Fortunately, I was there on the 26th December so the sun was shining so brightly and the temperature was to the tune of 44-degree celsius. It was so difficult to even open the car window as the warm air would take away all the airconditioning of the car. 

This also marks the beginning of summer in the Southern hemisphere and the beginning of winters in the Northern hemisphere. This latitude of the south is called The tropic of Capricorn because the sun enters the constellation of Capricorn at the Southern Hemisphere's summer solstice. 

The Kruger Park has made that you can come out of the car at this point and take some photos but at your own risk and also they made a line of bricks on the road to mark the Tropic of Capricorn. 

When you travel, you learn a lot as you come across somethings you read about in your school geography lessons and when you come across that facts in real life, it wows you. 

How are you liking this series of Kruger National Park? There is so much to show in Kruger National Park that my mind is working on the titles all day long to post the same and the selection of photos is also taking time all clicked using Nikon D7000 camera. 

Sawubona!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts. Namaste!

Giant Plated Lizard Came to Meet #Mopani @SANParksKNP #PhotoYatra #TheLifesWayCaptures

Hi Friends,

Starting with the journey to Kruger National Park in various posts will definitely give you the wide availability of wildlife in South Africa. We camped at Mopani Rest Camp which is one of the best camps in the upper region of the park. 

At the end of our second day traveling from camp to camp, we had a braai in the evening and when I wake up in the morning and came outside to the kitchen area, I found this huge Giant Plated Lizard feasting on the leftovers of food from the dustbin. 

I was so scared to see it so up close that I stood still and was not carrying any camera at that time. I just took the time to check it out with my eyes and didn't make any noise. 

When my friend came from the bathroom I told him about this thing and then went and fetched the Nikon D7000 camera to take these pictures. Even then I didn't want to go so close to this big reptile also called at Giant Plated Lizard. 

There was a whole family of these lizards who was making rounds near all the chalets as the maintenance staff was clearing the dustbins in the morning. They were feasting on the chicken bones and the leftover meats. 

I don't know about you but if this lizard comes running after me, I would run like anything and yell at the top of my voice to help. This is something crazy I saw at the Kruger National Park, South Africa. 

The lizard has no intention to attack and went away shyly into the bushes and covered herself with the leaves and just like a dog makes its hole in the ground, she made it underneath a stone till the time she could totally relax and hide away from the naked eyes of human beings. 

Sawubona!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts. Namaste!

Crocodile Stood Still #DinosaurPark #Sudwala #SA #PhotoYatra #TheLifesWayCaptures

Hi Friends, 

Crocodiles are one of my favorites wildlife animals due to its capacity to stay calm till the time of the attack and they can still themselves like made of rock or something fooling other animals and even human beings. 

Recently, we went to Sudwala Caves which is one of the oldest caves in South Africa which has not been uncovered fully and it is believed that the stalagmites and stalactites inside are thousands of years old. 

Next to the caves, there is a Dinosaur Park which has all the kinds of dinosaurs in their full avatar made up for kids to learn and enjoy. This park has a separate ticket and it gives you a walking tour to see all the animals in an artificial jungle setup. 

Though there is not much for adults they definitely need to go as there are some crocodiles at one end of the park which is far in a deep hole. 

But at the start or the end of the park depending on how you start the tour - clockwise or anticlockwise, there is this small wall which has these two big crocodiles which look like artificials and kids can easily climb the wall. 

My daughter and her friend were totally fooled and they thought it to be not real or alive but then I showed them the breathing mouth which was pulsating and it was so dangerous. 

All the photos are taken by Aashish Rai using Canon EOS 77D camera. 

Sawubona!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts. Namaste!

Wall Art in Northcliff Ridge Eco Park #Joburg #SA #PhotoYatra #TheLifesWayCaptures

Hi Friends, 

Wall art or graffiti forms part of many countries and really makes for the decor of many parks and cities. 

We have a great Northcliff Ridge Eco Park in Johannesburg, South Africa which is on the top of a hill and the view is amazing. 

The place looks great when it's raining in the city and I have been there which will be covered in a separate post. People come there for a morning walk and the amazing picnic spot it is on a clear day. 

So great are these artists who take some time to make these walls great. There are many places where the government pays to these artists to decorate the walls. 

It looks so great to look at these walls but I am unable to understand what's written in these walls of Eco Park. 

The Northcliff is one of the highest points in Johannesburg and you can see the whole city from there. All the photos are taken using the Samsung Note 8 smartphone in auto mode by Aashish Rai. 

Sawubona!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts. Namaste!

Lotus in the Pond @Walkersons Hotel #Dullstroom #SA #PhotoYatra #TheLifesWayCaptures

Hi Friends, 

Last few days I have been thinking about my life and it didn't give me enough courage to come and open the laptop as I was totally uninterested and demotivated to do anything. 

But when I thought about myself a little longer, I found that I have qualities which even if no one can see now but the process of improvement is going on and the qualities are improving. 

I am like a Lotus which despite being surrounded by dust and mud and water flourishes and gets directly to the garlands of the Almighty Lord. 

I am like a Lotus which despite being surrounded by people who have no big dreams flourishes by his own hard work and no support from anyone. 

I am like a Lotus which not only grows using the resources available to him but also gives back his beauty, fragrance and stems to the community. 

I will help not only blossom myself fully but also the people around me. My touch and friendship will grow them too. 

One day will come when I will meet nature and the five elements and then my legacy will grow and make this pond a view to cherish. 

All photos are taken by Aashish Rai using Canon 77D at Walkersons Resort during a Day visit to Dullstroom which is around 265 km far from Johannesburg, South Africa. Whilst day entry is free, this only allows people access to the hotel building and surrounding gardens, horse riding & pre-booked spa treatments. Day visitors are NOT permitted to roam around the estate for walks, fishing, or photography. The hotel is situated on a private estate and as such has to follow the rules of the Homeowners Association. Guests who are booked into the hotel / self-catering houses on the estate have full access to all areas and facilities but this is restricted for day visitors.

Sawubona!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts. Namaste!