Author Archive for akshata
“Making of a Showreel” - Today in Mumbai
This informative session will begin in a few hours from now at the Rangsharda Auditorium in Bandra Reclamation, Mumbai. AAA will carry the complete coverage in tomorrow’s blogpost.
Bambi Reincarnated in India as Buji? You decide.
Classic Animation has announced that it is releasing a 90 minute, Hindi cel-animated feature in Summer 2009 called ‘Buji’. The film is about an orphan fawn raised by a family of lions. I’m yet to interview the creators but I did find the 3 minute video on YouTube, uploaded by the producers themselves. Take a look and decide for yourself if this is Bambi reborn or not.
You can visit the Classic Animation website here.
India Gaming Summit on 21st Nov. 2008 in Mumbai
India Gaming Summit 2008 this year is going to be held against the backdrop of the Intel & Zapak India Gaming Expo 2008 on 21st Nov. in Mumbai, creating a public showcase for the Gaming Industry in India.
The summit would cover the following topics:
· Gaming on the road to 2011: An overview on how the India Gaming industry plans to gear up to reach the estimated target ofUs$200 mn.
· Driving the Gaming Eco System – Opportunities an Challenges: This session provides a unique opportunity to look at what drives Gaming in India.
· Infrastructure and Technology – Opportunities and Challenges: The backbone of gaming is based on technology – what do the tech guys have to say about this industry.
· Distribution and Access - Opportunities and Challenges: Distribution and access form the core of gaming. How is India taking gaming to the masses.
· Marketing and Advertising: Understanding of media structure, media potential, consumption habits, etc. Case studies on successful brand partnerships, insights & learning.
The Gaming Summit will have leading industry stalwarts coming from the varied fields namely, gaming, media, advertising fraternity, addressing important dynamics of the industry. There will be panel discussions addressing different topics which will involve industry players from diverse fraternities.
Some of the speakers are:
Mr. Rajesh Sawhney, President Reliance Entertainment Ltd.
Mr. Rohit Sharma, Chief Operating Officer, Zapak Digital Entertainment Ltd.
Mr. Prakash Bagri, Director Marketing, Intel (South Asia)
Mr. Quentin Poulet, Chief Executive Officer, Kreeda
Mr. Nishant Goyal, Manager-Sales, South East Asia, NVIDIA
Mr. Jaspreet Bindra, Regional Director - Entertainment and Devices, Microsoft India.
Mr. Madan Sanglikar, Partner, Inventions - Mindshare
More on industry employment trends…
In my previous post I had mentioned how despite the bleak outlook of the market in general, VCL is about to embark upon a hiring spree. Information trickling out of other studios suggest that VCL is not alone. Many Indian studios and production houses are currently packed with work - be it outsourced or in-house. Most of them are even working on multiple co-productions simultaneously. What seems to have worked in their favour is that most of these projects began before the financial slowdown emerged. And the duration of these projects extends to another year or so. Therefore, the effects of the recession will not be visible in this industry at least for some time to come. A lot of animated features are being currently produced and though I’m not confident of the quality of the animation, it at least bodes well for the animators whose jobs are guaranteed.
What happens after a year remains to be seen. By then, if the situation is improving outside of the industry as well, then one couldn’t be asking for more.
The subject of recession particularly pertaining to the Indian Animation industry has been addressed before in this blog. Read here.
VCL bucks the trend. Plans to increase workforce 5 times over!
While there’s talk of recession, layoffs and pink slips all around, Visual Computing Labs (VCL), India on the other hand is looking to increase its team strength 5 times over!
Sources from the company revealed that VCL, which is a division of Tata Elxsi, plans to increase its headcount from the present 300 to 1500 animators and special effects artists over the next three years. Having completed ‘Roadside Romeo’ they are now working on three more animation films, TV shows for Germany and bidding for large Hollywood projects.
Shemaroo Entertainment’s home production animated film ‘Bal Ganesh’ bags two Awards!
The Li’l Star Awards presented by Red Chillies Entertainment took place at Yash Raj Studios on 31st October and was attended mostly by the stars of Bollywood. What was unique about these awards was that thousands of children from 25 cities in India chose the categories and selected the nominees through a national survey. The final jury for the awards was headed by Neetu Kapoor and comprised of popular child actors from film and television.
Arena Animation organizing Creative Minds & Placement Expo on 16th & 17th Nov.
Arena Animation, one of India’s oldest players in Animation & Multimedia training, is organizing Creative Minds, an inter-centre competition for its North zone students along with a Placement Expo on the 16th & 17th November in New Delhi.
Toonz to animate Santa Claus for 2010 Christmas release.
Toonz Animation is all set to foray into feature-length 3D animation, and how! The Thiruvananthapuram-based studio which had earlier created the animation for Hanuman is now going to animate the life of Santa Claus.
Singapore based Toonz Entertainment, which owns the Indian animation studio Toonz Animation India, has tied up with Gang of 7 Animation USA and Hyde Park Entertainment USA to produce a CG animated feature film “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus”, based on the classic book by L. Frank Baum, the creator of ‘The Wizard of Oz’.
