A new course, jointly developed by IGNOU and MAAC, may enable wannabe animators to learn the tricks of the trade
A new course, jointly developed by IGNOU and MAAC, may enable wannabe animators to learn the tricks of the trade
Animation is a booming industry in India and many people are interested in joining up. But this being the time of slowdown, one question is naturally askedu2014what of recession? Is this a safe option for students to pursue?
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Jai Natarajan, EVP and group head for business development and marketing with Maya Entertainment, pooh-poohs the idea that recession can hurt the animation industry. "India is still barely 1 per cent of the world animation market, so there is still a lot of room for us to grow," he points out.
Industry pundits seem to echo Natarajan's thoughts. While FICCI says that the Indian animation industry was worth an estimated Rs 1,740 crore in 2008, NASSCOM says that the gaming industry in India is expected to reach $1060 million by 2012.
The Indian animation industry had an estimated CAGR of 20.1 per cent during 2006-08, according to FICCI and the industry is estimated to touch Rs 3,900 crore by 2013. Clearly, animation is where IT was around two decades agou2014fledgling, but raring to go.
Appreciating differences
But this doesn't mean that the animation industry is similar to the IT industry. While there is obviously a huge amount of usage of high-end server farms for animation, Natarajan points out that animation is more allied with the media field than with the IT field.
Another important difference important to somebody contemplating a career in the animation field is that the field of animation is composed mostly of small outfits, ranging from individuals who are freelancing to small five-man outfits.
Business training
It is for this reason that Natarajan says that IGNOU and MAAC (Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics) have come up with a course that will enable students to also pick up nuances of business and communications, which will enable them to also do animation on their own in lieu of joining an animation company.
Natarajan is extremely upbeat about the usage of visual effects in India and says that these effects were bad some years ago because visual effects were an add-on. However, these days, he says that many special effects are built into the film right from the beginning.
QUICK TAKE
>>Animation is a growing field in India
>>Unlike the IT industry, it also comprises a lot of individuals
>>They need specific training on how to use their talents on a freelance basis
When did it begin?
While most of us think of animation as being something modern, one of the oldest uses of animation could be over 5,000 years oldu00a0- a 5,200-year old earthen bowl found in Iran in Shahr-i Sokhta has five images painted along the sides. It shows phases of a goat leaping up to a tree to take a pear. However, since no equipment existed to show the images in motion, such a series of images cannot be called animation in a true sense of the word. Source: Wikipedia
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