Animation is abuzz with new digital tools

By Ruchi Shrimali

The FICCI-KPMG Report 2012 studied and analysed how the digital ecosystem has impacted various segments of the media and entertainment industry. According to it, new media such as Animation, VFX, gaming and digital advertising have done well last year and its growth momentum is expected to continue uninterrupted this year.

In 2011, animation and VFX industry raked in revenue of 31 billion rupees, registering 31 per cent increase over 2010. This spurt in business is believed to have stemmed from increased volume of outsourcing work, increasing use of visual effects in movies and local TV channels, licensing and merchandising of popular animated characters, and the increasing volume of 2D/3D conversion and restoration projects.

"Budget 2012 too has been quite positive for the animation education sector. Since vocational training institutes have been exempted from the service tax, a lot of students will be able to get good animation training at a better price. Good training will usher in good animation professionals and hence, bode well for the animation industry in general", says Mr. Ashish Kulkarni, CEO of Big Animation, and member of the Animation Forum at NASSCOM.

With growing acknowledgement of creativity, capability, and availability of infrastructure, Indian animation studios are now getting larger projects from Hollywood. Indian movies too are using higher quality VFX and animation. This has led to greater absorption of skilled and talented animation and VFX professionals in the industry.

Television channels have emerged as the biggest source of business for Indian animation studios. "Digital distribution platforms such as Windows, Android, and Apple iTunes have fuelled the content creation in Animation and VFX space too. The growing penetration of Internet and mobile platforms means that a large chunk of jobs for animation and VFX professionals comes from smartphone or tablet programming and applications", says Mr. Kulkarni.

Besides entertainment industry, education too consumes a lot of animated content. Digital books, virtual education solutions and audio-visual aids are being increasingly used in Indian classrooms.

And yet, India still lacks awareness about animation as a sustainable career option. High fees of animation institutes deter many talented youth to pursue these programs. For a handful of institutes that do have high-end infrastructure and latest technology, emphasis is mostly on production skills of students. However, students need to know that the arts and crafts of storytelling and film making are fundamental to be a successful animation professional.