I watched cartoons in my childhood and now I enjoy making them: Prateek Rout

DPS Monarch International School, Doha Qatar organised Cybertronics, an inter-school computers-based competition and informatics symposium for students of classes 6 to 10. It is a two-week-long event starting from June 1-14. Prateek Rout (14) of class 10C, Apeejay School, Panchsheel Park, bagged the first prize in the event category ‘Weave n Voice’.

Tell us something about your interests?
I have a strong inclination towards computers. My ambition is to become a Computer Science engineer. I also have a YouTube Channel which I launched last year during the nationwide lockdown. At the time most of the people were surrounded with negative news, so to engage myself I thought of opening a YouTube channel. I am not a foodie, but like to enjoy the delicacies of all the festivals like Gujiya during the Holi festivities.

What is your video channel about?
My YouTube channel is by the name Prateek’s Infinite Knowledge Hub. So far I have uploaded more than 35 videos. Initially I uploaded videos related to subjects like water cycle, Newton’s Law. My thought behind making such videos was to make people aware of these important topics. Later, I made campaign videos since the Apeejay School had partnered with the Rotary Club for the blood donation camp at Select City Mall. The video that helped me win the inter-school cyber event ‘Cybertronics’ is also uploaded on my channel.

Apart from making videos, what are your other hobbies?
I like to play the keyboard. I am also a part of the school orchestra. I like to participate in debates. In school, I have participated in many extempore competitions where on-the-spot topics are given and we are supposed to speak spontaneously.  

Please tell us a little about your family?
I am the only child of my parents. My father is a businessman and my mother, who is a tutor, also helps my father in his business. We live in Malviya Nagar.

How do you divide your daily routine?
I have divided my day. Until 2 pm, I have school. After that I take some lunch and rest.  I then complete my homework and then I do some extra studies for competitive exams. Then I study for the next day’s school and like to do revision. As I have participated in many competitions, so for making videos or PPTs, I start doing that after 8 or 9 pm.  So, basically after completion of my studies, I sit on the computer and pursue my hobby.

Can you elaborate a little on the format of the Cybertronics event?
Well, it is a cyber-based competition. It is like an event where there are many competitions such as quiz, extempore, animation, video making, audio-mixing etc. I participated in animating videos.  After getting ourselves registered for the competition in the first seven days, we are allowed to make a video and submit it within a deadline. Selected students are then interviewed about the software used. It is like a one-to-one interaction. This was the first time I participated in this competition.

Have you expected that you will bag the first prize in your first attempt itself?
Not really. The kind of video that I made for the competition, I expected to win a prize but not the first position. In fact my one-on-one interview also went very well. My video was about cyber security. After they mentioned the topic on which I have to make a video, I submitted it within two days.

How was your experience of making this video?
I used to take breaks quite often as sitting in front of the screen for too long is not good for the eyes. Also, I made sure that my studies don’t get hampered by participation in this competition.  For this particular video, I didn’t sleep for an entire night.

How did you get to know about this competition?
Through a brochure that came to my classroom. When I read it, I was interested. So, I contacted my teacher who further guided me on how I could register myself. She did my registration and gave me an idea on the activities I could do. I then consulted my parents.

How did Apeejay help you in developing this skill?
From Class I onward we had computers as a subject.  Also, this video-making skill was developed last year when teachers gave us the holiday homework of making the PPT. I made the entire PPT myself and was appreciated by my teachers. After this appreciation, I searched for more tutorials which could enhance my videos and PPTs. I then started making many videos for our school too.

What interests you in making videos?
In the animation videos, the cartoons themselves are very much interesting. When I was younger, I used to watch a lot of cartoons. And now I am making cartoons myself. This is something that keeps me interested in the medium.

“Video making and editing is like fun and a hobby for me, so I don’t get stressed in the competition.“

-Prateek Rout