One of the pioneers in the education space, training aspirants in fields of animation, VFX and gaming – Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics (MAAC) India is set to return with its longest running awards function recognising and appreciating the young talent pool in the Indian sub-continent.
Speaking to AnimationXpress.com, MAAC national head events, Shajan Samuel said: “MAAC 24 FPS is a marque property of MAAC and is the most prestigious Awards function for animation & visual effects segment across the Indian sub-continent and beyond. Held every year since its inception in 2003, the MAAC 24 FPS International Award function is a springboard to showcase talent & has grown from strength to strength. MAAC 24 FPS is a property which is unparalleled in terms of its reach and depth.”
An event which began as a property to honour and encourages in-house groomed talent has also opened its doors for participants from other institutes as well over the years. “We have got a record number of MAAC students participating this year, with close to 1,700 MAAC Students are competing for various categories including the mainstream team both in visual effects & animation category plus DFM, Skill & UNIC Category. We are also targeting 500 external entries.”
According to Shajan, one of the biggest problems in this industry is overinvestment in marketing and underinvestment in academics. “We at MAAC firmly believe that Academic conversion is the key .This is where MAAC scores. Academics is at the heart of operations at MAAC.” He further said that animation continues it struggle to break free from the vocational training mould and has to develop a flexible entry gate. “At MAAC we make the exit gate tight by having periodic T3 programs for faculties, assignments, projects, exams after every module, industry exposure and guest lecturers; apart from organising various other competitive contests. All of these are treated as a dial tone not as tick on the checklist.”
The process for involves teams being identified, selected and registered by their respective institutes, which is then followed by a meticulous process right from a feedback loop, to discussion forums to hands on support for mentorship, guidance and then final output.
“Essentially we follow a system of sequencing, proportioning, communicating and decentralising with a top view support system in place. The grind continues for 9 months culminating in the final ceremony where the lucky winners get a chance to firmly embrace the MAAC 24 FPS trophies,” Shajan explained.
The 12th edition of MAAC 24 FPS will be hosted in Sahara Star on 14 December 2015. “We have an eclectic range of jury members from all sections of the media and entertainment industry, as we believe to get one’s movie evaluated from the crčme de la crčme is a great boon for the young contestants. The UNIC Partnership is also a cherry on the cake; with its recognition it adds more credibility and prominence for MAAC 24 FPS International Awards.”