| Nasscom in India puts the animation marketsize at | | | | the artists have flooded into the market over the past |
| over Rs 2000 crore, the industry is getting bigger, | | | | three years and bar has continually risen." He explains. |
| craving for high-quality animation - now even the Indian | | | | MAAC with its set of 30 centers all over the country - |
| film makers are following the Hollywood footsteps | | | | offers 7 different courses in areas like animation, |
| With - Hollywood blockbusters like Lord of the Rings, | | | | composition editing, visual effects and sound editing. |
| the Matrix reload, Finding Nemo, pretty much | | | | "We have close to 1000 students enrolled with us and |
| dominating the box office, even Bollywood (Mumbai) is | | | | we are offering education in Discreet and Maya |
| catching up with special effects embedded in Koi Mil | | | | software," he added. |
| Gaya, Rudraksh or Jajantaram Mamantaram. It's safe | | | | In keeping with the industry trend of expansion, Maya |
| to say that digital filmmaking has arrived in full force | | | | too is planning to have more than 50 centers by the |
| and special effects are no longer so special. | | | | end of this year and is starting the expansion process |
| Stars Wars, released back in the dim past of 1977, not | | | | by opening its centers in Bangalore and Chennai. |
| only made its creator, George Lucas, a very wealthy | | | | "The high-end studios like Crest Communication, Jadoo |
| man, but more importantly, it changed the way movies | | | | Works, UTV, Padmalaya Telefilms, Movie Pictures and |
| were made. No longer did a film need actual human | | | | Sahara TV are now pushing the digital envelope |
| beings to carry the story when multi-million dollar | | | | because of the high standards being set up globally. |
| animated and special effects could do the trick. | | | | Now even Hollywood producers are looking at India as |
| This public taste for eye-popping effect work has | | | | a favorable destination for outsourcing the content. |
| proven insatiable and created a growing industry for | | | | We are engaged in talks with some foreign production |
| computer animators. "According to Nasscom, the | | | | houses for developing 3D animation, " Gupta informed. |
| overall size of the market in content development, | | | | Certainly there is a growing demand for highly skilled |
| animation, engineering and design is a whopping Rs | | | | computer animators, not just tech--heads, but artist |
| 2000 crore in India. So this industry is growing quite | | | | who can work in the digital world. "I think things will |
| extensively and a desire to see high-quality action is | | | | become 100 per cent digital in the next five years, and I |
| driving the animation market," says Naveen Gupta, | | | | may be stretching it," Gupta quips. |
| Vice President, Maya Academy of Advanced | | | | At present a fresher having animation and visual |
| Cinematics (MAAC), who is spearheading the | | | | effects knowledge can start by earning close to Rs |
| company's efforts in the animation education sector. | | | | 7,500 per month. "This is an industry where your |
| "There's always jobs for talented animators. At the | | | | creativity is being rewarded. We have seen people |
| beginning of this industry it was strictly the technicians | | | | starting their career at Rs 7,500 and soon moving upto |
| who were using the software and it was tough to use. | | | | Rs 25,000 in no time," he added. |
| But slowly artists have seen what the technical people | | | | With more and more Hindi movies now going in for 3D |
| have been able to create. If you get an artist behind | | | | animation and visual effects, which was predominantly |
| these machines and on the software, you start to | | | | regarded as a Hollywood phenomenon - Bollywood is |
| develop incredible work. What has happened is that | | | | now all set to follow the footsteps of its big brother. |