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.

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.
VCL has already established itself as a force to reckon with having created the special effects for several Hollywood and Bollywood films like ‘Ironman’, ‘Ghostrider’, ‘Spiderman 3′, ‘One Night with the King’ and ‘Drona’, ‘Kidnap’, ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’, ‘Jodhaa Akbar’, ‘Taare Zameen Par’, ‘Rang De Basanti’ & ‘Dhoom 2′. ‘Roadside Romeo’ marked their foray into animated feature films.

I’ll keep you posted as more details are revealed.

For Creative Minds, students are required to design an advertisement to promote an original brand, either for print or in a multimedia format - Interactive CD Rom Presentation, Animation or Web design. The students have to do their R & D, select their target audience and come up with an original creative concept. Awards will be given to the best three entries in each of the two categories.

The Placement Expo has a seminar and aptitude test be conducted by Rhythm & Hues Studio, India. Besides this, top e-learning companies, Television channels and other reputed studios and companies involved in Web Animation, 3D walkthroughs as well as Medical Animation would be participating in this expo. Students will be allowed to interact with HR-personnel of these companies and present their resumes and show reel. Selected candidates would be offered placement on the spot.

It would be nice to have “placement expos” on a pan-Indian basis and open to all students. CGTExpo by CGTantra was a step in that direction but a little limited in what it had to offer. There were more institutes at the expo than studios, the focus being more on education than careers. Hopefully, next year they will take care of that as well.

The hype was not all bad. Many more people began sitting up and taking notice of this thing called ‘Animation’ than before. Students and parents alike opened their eyes to this new career prospect. Existing animators began celebrating their new-found respect in the eyes of their detractors who had so far looked down upon their choice of vocation. All-in-all the Indian animation industry saw a spurt in interest, enthusiasm, educational avenues and job opportunities. Within a year, more than 70 animated feature films were announced. Actual work began on a far lesser number of movies.

But the latest news coming out of studios is not good. Many production houses and studios have folded up. Others have laid off a majority of their employees. People have woken up to the fact that making an animated film is no cake walk. There may be a lot of enthusiasm and ideas but the lack of funds, acute shortage of ‘talented’ artists and short-sightedness of studios have become major obstacles.

For sometime now, there were a lot of outsourced projects being done by our studios, besides the in-house developments. Companies needed to ’show’ their prospective clients their team strength so a lot of  average and even below average talent got hired. The cream of the crop was being poached from one studio after the other. As pay scales rose, so did the rate of employee attrition. Now outsourced work has dried up. A few substandard animated releases turned out to be duds (why am I not surprised?!!) And suddenly a lot of hopes have come crashing down like a pack of cards.

Many artists now find themselves jobless. An alarming number of fresh graduates from institutes have secured neither jobs nor offers. As in other industries, animation too is now seeing a massive slow down. So is it time yet to declare this a ‘bust’ quite like the dot-com bust less than a decade ago?

I do not think so. This is just a phase. We have hit a plateau. And I think it is very good. Critical, in fact, for the well-being and future success of Indian animation. Why, you might ask. For multiple reasons:

1. Let this be a wake up call for all those who jumped into animation without a thought. For those who took the plunge not for the sake of animation but at the instance of the $$$$$… They read in the media about the billions of dollars waiting to be gathered and followed the ‘Pied Piper’ to their doom. Art can not succeed without heart.

2. This phase will help separate the wheat from the chaff. The joblessness is short-term. The ones with true creativity and skill will get hired again. The only ones who need to worry are the ones who lacked talent to begin with. The rest can use this time to enhance their skills and glean more knowledge rather than wallow in hopelessness and self-pity. This way they will be prepared when the wind changes and new assignments beckon them.

3. Our film-makers will now focus a little more on quality content than quantity. (I hope!!) Rather than rush through projects at breakneck speed without really analyzing they should be a little self-critical and work very hard to deliver good work. Original concepts and well-executed films will surely succeed and bring the train back on track. We have hit a plateau, yes. But the graph will rise once again.

4. Indians have this tendency to take things easy till a problem of gigantic proportions arises. This recession-like situation should give us a good kick on our behinds and motivate us to do what it takes to get out of it. Talk, discuss, share, try… No point just sitting around and cribbing. Web 2 followed the dotcom recession. Perhaps this is an opportune moment for Indian animation’s second coming.

After talking to many people in the Indian animation industry, I found that most are waiting with bated breath for the Diwali-release of Roadside Romeo. The fate of many an animator lies in the success or failure of this Yashraj film. Studios, production houses and investors alike have put new projects on hold until they see whether the audiences take to the first official fully-animated Bollywood movie. (And no, Icy n Spicy doesn’t count!) From the promos, Roadside Romeo looks promising. The Disney involvement in itself is a quality stamp.

I feel positive that over the next few months, things will improve. I know a lot of my blogs have focused on the problems. But I truly believe that if we pull up our socks, gather the courage to invest confidently and generously in animation, work ten times harder, push the envelope, overcome our limitations and do all this sincerely, we can take forward Indian Animation successfully into its second phase. Cheers to that!

The Session dates are 4th July, 11th July and 18th July 2008. Each Session is been scheduled to be held at 12.00 noon at the Graphiti School of Animation.

The workshop will deal with basic issues like:
- What is animation? What are the steps involved in making an animation film?
- Is animation a formula for successful career?
- What are the Job opportunities in Animation?
- Can anyone animate or is it limited to only a particular group of people?
- Where and how should I learn Animation?

Registrations details for the workshop are given below :

Pre - register for the workshop and book your time slot, call Graphiti on 022 24440107 or 022 32448544 or sms at 09833841580. You can also visit www.graphiti.net

The address of the workshop is
Graphiti School of Animation
404, Udyog Mandir No 2
Mogul Lane, Mahim West,
Mumbai 400016
Phone No: 32448544 / 24440107
training@graphiti.net
www.graphiti.net

The planning was perfect, arrangements flawless and the least possible glitches ensured that everyone had a lot of fun and went back having gained something. Newbies, students, job-seekers, curious spectators, anxious parents of would-be animation students, were all milling around together in the two main halls and two smaller ones.

The event began on the right note by starting on time, which is a rarity these days. (God forbid you reach an event before time, you will be left cooling your heels for 2 hours before there is any sign of life! Thankfully, here it was not the case.)

RK Chand from CGTantra and Jigar Parekh from Nine - Making it Possible performed a small ‘pooja’ to begin with.

The show was inaugurated by volunteers, two girls who had come all the way from Jharkhand to be part of the expo. It was a genuinely nice gesture on the part of the organizers to show their appreciation towards the community that has actually contributed towards the success CGTantra.

The crowd began arriving early on Saturday morning. In the foreground is Laura Dohrmann from NVIDIA. Also seen in the middle of the crowd is Nigel Sumner, scene supervisor for ILM who has worked on films like Transformers, Terminator 3, Space Cowboys, Jurassic Park III, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, Van Helsing, The Hulk, The Perfect Storm, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, War of the Worlds, Poseidon and Eragon.

The 2 day event organised by CGTantra with the help of Nine, went off smoothly right from the word GO. Apart from volunteers from Mumbai, there were students from all over India who had come just for the event, not only to participate but to help and to volunteer.

The opening speeches!

Student competitions in progress throughout the 2 days of the event.

Bang in the center of the hall was the Frameboxx pavilion which was also probably the liveliest and noisiest stall in the entire expo! Their yellow and black branding was everywhere as the team gave demos to curious visitors and prospective Frameboxx students alike. Large banners announced forthcoming projects including a Character Design contest that begins on the 28th of May.

Also present were Hardware vendors like NVIDIA, Apple distributors and resellers like Unicorn and Ample, Institutes from across India, Studios like Paprikaas, BIG Animation and Lucas Film Singapore who had come looking to hire new talent, Animation-related media companies like Animation Xpress, Animation Reporter, Animation Today and of course yours truly representing AAA, Zapak Games play-zone for gaming enthusiasts, Master Classes, student competitions, everything under one roof. TASI - The Animation Society of India also made its presence felt at the expo, announcing this year’s edition of the 3 day animation fest - Anifest India 2008! It was a place to learn, earn, network, have fun, share, make noise and lose your voice with all the talking!

Some more fun stuff!

Education Pavilion

Studios looking to hire fresh as well as experienced talent.

A huge Gaming Plaza by Zapak - every gamers dream…

Keep playing!

Kreeda Games’ Dance Mela and M M Mukhi & Sons’ Book and CD/DVD stall.

…and that’s Yours Truly at the AllAboutAnimation stall. A BIG THANK YOU to all the visitors and the readers who came specially and told me how much they like the website/blog. Feels great to know that one’s hard work is appreciated.

I sincerely hope that CGTantra keeps organizing more such fests in other cities as well. Kudos to their team!

Date: 23rd Feb. 2008
Time: 2:00 pm onwards
Venue: IDC Auditorium, IIT Campus, Powai, Mumbai
Entry Fee:
The session is FREE for TASI members
Non-member professionals: Rs.100/-
Non-member students: Rs.50/-
For pre-registrations, you can send an email to ritesh@tasionline.org

Seminar Outline

• Importance of music in the world of animation
-How music helps enhance character expressions

• Technology makes things easier and opens up possibilities
- Inevitable use of software

• How to approach a film
- The process of music production for a film from scratch

• The importance of sound-effects
- They make the animated film “believable”

• What you should know (as animators) about music
- The importance of editing “to the beat”
- Synchronize with the composer
- Composer friendly “story-board”

• Questions from audience
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About Tapas Relia

Hailing from Ahmedabad, Tapas Relia is a Music Composer/Producer based in Mumbai for the last 12 years. He is one of the leading names in the Indian advertising industry with many trend-setting jingles, including the very popular “Kya Aap Close-up Karte Hain” for Close-up toothpastes and the Amaron batteries ad.

He also has the distinction of composing for India’s most successful animated film “Hanuman” and the more recent “Return of Hanuman”.

The recruitment drive is going to be held on a national level. The first stop will be Hyderabad from 22nd to 24th Feb 2008. Graphiti is also looking out for professionals from Chennai and Bangalore.

Tilak Shetty - CEO & Director, Graphiti, said, “We are proud that our vision of creating original content is now showing results. We want to show the world that India has the talent and the expertise to make good animation films on par with the world animation. We need a lot of young talent to join us.”

Munjal Shroff - COO & Director, Graphiti said, “Over the years, we have built Graphiti as an organization that delivers quality animation by concentrating on original content. Graphiti has a unique combination of technical expertise and creative excellence. We have already begun the recruitment process for professionals with suitable experience for senior positions.”

Ram Mohan - Chairman, said, “I invite all the young talent to join me and create original content”

Interested people can send their resumes and showreels and register their seat for interviews in Hyderabad. There will also be walk-in interviews.

The person to contact is Pooja.

Address: Graphiti Multimedia Pvt. Ltd.
122, Udyog Mandir no 1, Bhagoji Keer Marg, Mahim West. Mumbai 400016
Telephone: 022 - 24441580 / 82
Email: jobs@graphiti.net
Website: www.graphiti.net

Schedule
Date: 22nd – 24th Feb 2008
Venue: Banquet Hall, Comfort Inn Woodbridge
11-4-649/C, A. C. Guards, Lakdi-ka-Pul,
Hyderabad.
Timing: 9:00 am onwards

For more information about this send an email to poojab@graphiti.net

Our guest writer for today, Gaurav Jain, producer, Illusion Interactive , has some advice to give to our young animation enthusiasts who would like to take up Animation as a career.

Here is what he has to say:

BECOMING AN ANIMATOR

The Indian animation market is poised for strong growth as IP becomes the order of the day and many youngsters have begun to choose animation as their career path.

What you need to know:
Firstly, it requires a great amount of patience and hard work. The work is fast but the results are slow. It can take a whole day just to see a second’s worth of results (if you are lucky!) It is not for those who lose interest quickly. Good drawing is very important. Without it you will not get far.

Skills required:
The ability to observe bodies in motion and being able to replicate that motion on paper is the most basic skill required. Drawing skills are of paramount important, as is consistent drawing. To become a well rounded animator one must also be able to create a script, storyboard and have a fair level of cinematic understanding. These additional skills take prominence when one works on one’s portfolio or smaller personal projects. A great deal of animation is created by large teams and one must be able to communicate well with other team members.

Animation Education:
With the popularity of animation, several new educational institutes of have sprouted up. Their expertise is, however, doubtful. Before selecting a course, ensure that the facility has a good track record, the program offering is sound (drawing related education vs. learning software)and that the quality and level of placements is credible.

2D versus 3D:
The debate never ends. Personally, however, I don’t think it really matters. These are tools and they offer options. By themselves, they rarely make or break a project. The script, characters and concepts of an animated project will make it work, not the format of its production. The same goes for software packages- they are just tools. However, I will insist that only a good 2d animator makes a great 3d animator and I have yet to see otherwise.

“What if I can’t draw?”
If you can’t draw you still have many opportunities in CGI arena where you can join as a texturing, rigging, lighting artist or become a sfx compositor and still be a part of the animation process, these activities are just as important as making key drawings.

Finally…
Once you join a team or after your course is over, do not expect to immediately and rapidly move up in the world. Expect at least 12-18 months of intense work before you can become a competitive animator. You will learn a lot while working with others and this will in turn make you better. There is no alternative to this. It is an exhausting but ultimately rewarding process.

Good luck!

Before you dive into a career in animation, you need to educate yourself on the subject. Any career begins with training. In the absence of university level animation education in India, the only options that aspiring animators have are the tons of Institutes that have mushroomed all over the country, with no way to separate the wheat from the chaff.

So how does one choose the right animation school?

Having fielded this question one too many times, I have listed a few points which, I hope, will serve as guidelines to budding animators.

1. Animation Pro in 3 months? You’ve got to be kidding!
Rome was not built in a day. Beware of institutes claiming they can turn you into world class animators within days. Animation is a high-skill, labour-intensive and time-consuming vocation. It will take a lot of time, effort and patience on your part to become a master of animation. The school can only provide you with the building blocks. After that it is up to you to take up the challenge and succeed.

2. Look who’s teaching!
Make sure that the instructors possess art as well as animation industry experience and are easy to reach out to when you have questions and doubts. A good quality training institute will have arrangements with people from the industry to teach or at least conduct guest lectures. Such people can give you valuable insights into latest industry trends, market needs and practical information that will give you a head start.

3. Been there. Done that.
Talk to ex-students of the Institute. Find out if they had a satisfactory experience with the school and its teachers. Enquire whether the courses are industry relevant and up-to-date.

4. Too much is too less.
If the course is crammed with too many offerings, it may not be such a great idea. Select a course which trains you thoroughly in the basics, followed by specialisation in any one aspect of animation. Do not fall for the all-in-one, “3D Max, Flash, DTP, Maya, Adobe ” Masala-Mix. It is a sure indicator that too many divergent subjects are being crammed together. Ideally, subjects must include - storytelling, layout, character design, direction, design, editing, acting and visual communication.

5. Short is not always Sweet.
In fact, when it comes to education, the longer the course duration, the better. Try to enroll for a complete programme that teaches the ART as well as the SCIENCE of animation. The course should ideally teach drawing, anatomy, storytelling, layout, character design, direction, design, editing, acting and visual communication. Animation skills should include not only a knowledge of fundamentals (weight, movements, timing, reversals, motivational forces and thinking time, etc.), but development in posing, breakdowns, in-betweening, clean-up and special effects (wind, rain, shadows, water, explosions, etc.) as well. Some background in visual communication - design, composition, texture, color theory - is also critical. Creating believable animation requires a keen understanding of the properties and effects of gravity, momentum, inertia, friction, fluid dynamics etc. All this cannot be taught in 3 months!

6. Facilities and Access
Visit the Institute and ask for a tour of their classrooms and facilities. Make sure that the institute has one computer per student per batch. There is no point if u have to share the computer with another person while learning and practicing. Ensure that their equipment, software, hardware and all requisite tools are up-to-date and that students will be given access to all of them. Without hands-on experience, the entire exercise is a waste.

7. Art before technology
Give preference to the institute that teaches the art of animation before the tools. Software can even be learnt on your own with a good book, tutorials and lots of practice. What you need is a guide to take you through the basics of animation, its principles and various techniques. Someone who can correct your mistakes and clear your doubts. A commonly quoted example “You don’t teach Mathematics with a Calculator” applies perfectly to animation. Learn the Art first and then master the Tools.

8. Google ‘em
The internet is an amazing tool to use for research on any topic. Search for information on the Institute, its faculty members and the courses offered. Read articles about them that appear on news sites or blogs. Keep your eyes open. Spend some time on this. Look around for different courses and then choose the one that suits you the best. Go the distance. If the right institute is in another part of town or even in another city, travel. Don’t be lazy. This is what is going to shape your career.

So go on and take the first step. Work hard. Animation is not meant for lazy people. Observe. Practice. And don’t forget to have fun while you do it. Animation needs passion. Lots of it. Aspire to be the best. There is a dearth of talented animators in the Indian animation industry. There are more jobs than people. Fill the gap and do it well. I wish you good luck!

For detailed information or questions, email us.