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by MEB Journal Staff
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 From the ninth floor of a Beirut office building, Ahmad Kanj puts the final touches on a new logo for Maraya TV, the latest in a growing number of channels that are streaming viewer-generated SMS text messages across the Arab airwaves.
Kanj creates broadcast graphics, such as a recent cupid animation which will be used to predict the compatibility of viewers who text-message their info for a fee. He says he is perpetually busy producing content for his employer, Lebanon-based Monty Holding, which is planning to launch yet another text channel later this year. Projects take one day to a week to complete and are sent to a third-party broadcast center over a network.
He uses 3-D and 2-D software such as Maya and Photoshop and draws a storyboard to help foresee problems before they occur. He says that seeing the idea on paper makes it easier to apply modifications before rendering.
The 28-year old, who previously worked on broadcast animations for Lebanon’s New TV, says he adapts music from CD libraries and the Internet to avoid using copyrighted material. Kanj says he comes up with his ideas by watching TV, especially German and European channels, whose graphics he admires.
Kanj completed a degree in 3-D animation and graphic design at Centennial College in Toronto. But he warns that 3-D animators are very much underpaid in Lebanon because “people don’t understand the process, technology, and effort involved.” |
What do u do? 
