Careers in Animation in India

Animation is an amalgamation of different creative arts and technologies where moving images are created in 2D as well as 3D to leave audiences awe struck. Animation involves conception of images into either a feature film, advertisement or computer game. There are a large number of interactive media and animation institutes both in India and abroad that offer a wide variety of courses in 2D, 3D, VFX as well as other courses in web & graphic design. After graduating from a reputable animation institute, one can get placed in reputed VFX studios, ad agencies, gaming companies, etc in India or abroad.

Indians have always been a fan of western superhero movies which gave rise to Indian superheroes in recent times. We remain awe struck after seeing a X-men, James Bond, Finding Nemo or Up! film. This liking for western amazement gave rise to Indian superheroes such as Krrish and Chhota Bheem as well as proved to be a boom for the Indian animation industry.

It is of utmost importance that if one is interested in a career in animation, the quality of the institution should be given weightage. The quality of the animation institute does not just depend on the faculty but also of the software and hardware it has on offer to its students. The faculty needs to be an animator by himself/herself so that he/she can guide the student from scratch. Therefore, it is important to interact with the faculty when choosing a top animation institute.

In today’s date, companies such as Pixar and EA Games don’t need any introduction and the reason behind it is animation and the quality of the animators work. Walt Disney set the precedent for quality animation for the masses in the beginning of the twentieth century itself which still amazes both young and old in every corner of the planet. With the purchase of Pixar Studios, Disney became a powerhouse of the animation world and is now on the forefront of character design, CGI and VFX.

It is the job of animation institutes to prepare candidates to gain employment in such companies and showcase their talent. Animation institutes provide a variety of courses to aspiring animators ranging from animators, designers, VFX artists, lighting experts and game designers. The courses are tailored to emerging trends in the animation industry and sometime animation courses are coupled with courses in graphic or web design and mass communication as well. Therefore it is imperative to choose an animation institute which provides career oriented animation courses that help a student gain an insight into the emerging trends of the animation industry.

Overview of the Indian Animation & VFX Industry

India has come a long way in animation since the 1930’s when DadasahebPhalke made the first stop-motion film. Animation is the creation of moving pictures or images with the help of specialized software. Whereas, VFX refers to the creation of visual effects also referred to as VFX by combining real life images with animation using specialized software. Animation & VFX are used not just in film & television but also in gaming, education & medicine apart from other interesting uses. It is expected that the Indian animation industry will swell to about 60 billion rupees by the year 2015. 

Even though the global market for animation and gaming stands at USD 122 billion dollars the Indian animation industry only has a small portion of this. In recent times, global players such as Disney & Cartoon Network have set up shop in India and major Hollywood production houses constantly outsource work to companies such as Tata Elxsi, Red Chilies & Reliance MediaWorks however still the industry faces challenges. 

The advantages that the Indian animation/VFX industry brings is that of cheap labour and lower costs of production however motion pictures do not generate as much revenue as the films of the west. For example, Disney’s ‘Frozen’ crossed USD 500 million dollars and is still going strong at the global box office whereas India’s top grossing animation film from 2012 ‘ChotaBheem’ could only garner INR 5 crores at the box office. The perception is mostly that in India the mass market doesn’t see animation as a film worth watching on the big screen. That being said a major chunk of revenues for such ‘brands’ come from merchandising deals still the revenue is not even close to a Pixar or DreamWorks production.

India has seen its fair share of animation ‘duds’ as well. Yashraj Films foray into the space with Roadside Romeo in the last decade barely broke even. Disney-UTV’s 2012 30 crore animation magnum opus ‘Arjun: The Warrior Prince’ was another disappointment. So where is the Indian animation industry lacking? Industry insiders feel that firstly, it should be granted industry status and be given SOP’s and grants by the government as they feel that the sector generates a fair share of foreign exchange for the government. Secondly, they feel that taxes & duties should be waived off or reduced on the import of high end computers & equipment that the animators use. Lastly, the quality of animators needs to become better. Even though many institutes have sprung up across the nation however very few of them are a part of a university; they operate as fly-by-night operators in major cities. Therefore quality of curriculum, content and delivery varies from centre to centre. Although a lot of them have international partnerships, very few actually enforce them.

Once these challenges are met the sector can see a surge in revenues as well as becoming an interesting job opportunity for the country’s emerging creative youth.

2D and 3D animation techniques, animation courses, Courses in Animation, Degree in Animation, 

VFX shots breakdown in ‘BHAAG MILKHA BHAAG’

Pixion is the most well renowned name in the VFX industry. Pixion has recently delivered VFX shots breakdowns for ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ . A force of a hundred artists worked day and night to deliver the VFX of this film, in a staggering three months time.
 

In order to show the crowd in the stadiums they actually shot reference plates using 8 different Red Epic digital cameras. These shots were completely flat, in which they used zoom lenses and setup 5 different angles with a crowd of about 200 people sitting closely. They kept shuffling the crowd to reduce monotony and repeat the crowds in the entire stadium.

In some shots characters were shot against chrome backgrounds from different angles, and then it was composited.

To watch the  VFX shots in the making of “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag” please follow the below link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NmJ46WptOM0