Guest Column: Expert Speak
"Passion for achieving quality gaming education" 07 June 2008 03:50 PM
Guest Column: Expert Speak
Gaming education has been an area of concern in India for a long time. Although the requirements of animation and gaming as mediums are poles apart, education for both is still treated as one by most of the institutes. The dearth of good game artists and programmers drove two gaming veterans to step into the academic front and establish Asian Institute of Gaming and Animation (AIGA).
Established by seasoned gaming professionals like Shailesh Watsa and Joshi Mark Premnath, who have been in the Game Industry from the early days of its advent in India, AIGA functions with aim of providing education which is at par with international benchmarks. Today as guest columnists the founders speak about the Indian gaming industry, its manpower requirements and the passion that drives them in their journey of achieving quality gaming education.
"Passion for achieving quality gaming education"
By Shailesh Watsa and Joshi Mark Premnath, AIGA - Asian Institute of Gaming and Animation, Bangalore.
Love and passion for games is a sure advantage for youngsters aspiring to build a career in gaming. A point to note though:Game Development is serious business and requires people across multiple disciplines with specialized skills. Game studios world over are constantly looking for talented and qualified professionals who could add value to their teams.
Young professionals looking to acquire such skills and domain specific knowledge need authentic and quality education. Game education the world over is trying hard to cope with this progressive and fast evolving industry.
Looking at the Indian scenario, education especially with respect to gaming is nascent. Few institutions have made a conscious effort to contribute to this specialized field. In addition, game education sector in the past has had hardly any game professionals or involvement from the industry, leading to mis-matched curriculum and quality benchmarks that are far from what is expected at an international level.
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This can be evidently seen in the quality of applications received by game companies. If one were to talk to game entrepreneurs in India, most would agree that it has been a struggle when it comes to building good quality teams for Game Development. Through our own long tenure in the gaming industry, we have always faced client pressure for more work on one side and the dire scarcity of qualified professionals on the other.
While training tends to be more focused and short sighted, education is more holistic with long term vision and impact. Quality education is the key to strong and sustained build up of man power, though what India needs today is a blend of education and industry relevant training.
Speaking of industry relevant training, there is a mis-conception among many that training for Animation and Games is very similar. This is not true. While both forms exhibit art, creative skills and thinking and might possess further areas of overlap, they are two independent streams.
Education in animation at its core concentrates on utilizing 2D or 3D art as a tool for expression, visualization and story telling by developing a strong understanding of art, movement and timing.
On the other hand games are real time and focus on game play. Game development needs being multi-discipline, education in gaming could have multiple streams specializing in Game Design, Game Art or Game Programming.
By nature, games are more technically inclined and involve close interaction between various disciplines like art and programming, thus ushering the need for a developer to have a holistic understanding of various aspects that go into making a game in addition to the specialized domain specific skills needed.
We believe it is vital for educational institutions to employ industry professionals either on a full time or part time basis. It‘s more like the chicken-and-egg situation, the acute demand for qualified professionals has resulted in very minimal involvement from the industry at an individual or company level.
Qualified and experienced professionals from the industry need to take this up as an initiative. Their contribution to education can go a long way in shaping careers of young professionals and strengthen the industry.
Some suggestions have been to get people from the industry to train existing trainers. While this isn‘t the same as industry people training students directly, it might be a useful model to follow and has its advantages in terms of scale and reach.
Another option could be for studios to invite trainers from educational institutions to work with them for a short span of time, wherein they are exposed to industry work, quality standards and expectations.
Games, especially is a field that is constantly and rapidly evolving. It is heavily driven by technology improvements, be it in full fledged game consoles, PCs or mobile devices. Hence it is important for Game Education to be dynamic and adapt to these changes through its courseware, delivery, assessment and quality standards. Game studios can contribute hugely to this by sharing their expectations in terms of content and quality with qualified educational institutions on a regular basis.
The industry would benefit from players with long term vision, who are passionate about delivering quality education, as against short sighted monetary benefits. Overall in the past couple of years, the field of education in Games and Animation seems to be moving in a positive direction, and is showing rays of hope.
To conclude, we believe that if any task undertaken, is done with real passion, interest and genuine effort - be it in production or education - the results can be fruitful and gratifying.
TurtleinMotion Studio,a group company
of the RDB Organisation which has been engaged in production and distribution
of movies and television series for over 40 years ,is in search of talented
artists in the field of 2D/3D animation for our Kolkata based office in various
department
Script Writers
Character Designers
2D B/G Artist
Storyboard Artists
Layout Artists
2D Animators
Flash Animators
3D Artists
Marketing Executives (based in Mumbai)
Freshers may apply as interns.
Interested candidates may send an e-mail with
updated resume at careers@turtleinmotion.com
along with the link to your showreel or call at 033-6616-9718.
UK-based Snipple Animation is building
up a new animation studio in Pune that is pulsating with creative energy. A
place where art, technology and sharp business acumen co-exist and complement
each other. Snipple provides 3D as well as 2D animation services for films,
TV series, advertising and related areas.
At Snipple we hire only the best of the best,
and we take pride in our relentless pursuit of excellence in everything we do.
If you think you have what it takes to be a part of this world-class team, we
would like to hear from you.
We are currently recruiting for the following
positions: 1) Senior Modeler
2) Senior Surfacing Artist
3) Senior Rigging Artist
4) Senior 3D Animator
5) Senior 2D Animator
6) Production Manager
Reliance MediaWorks Limited is India`s
fastest growing film and entertainment Services Company and a member of the
Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group.
The Company has a dominant and comprehensive
presence in the Film & Media Services: Motion Picture Processing and DI; Visual
Effects; Film Restoration and image enhancement; Digital Mastering: Studios
and Equipment rentals with facilities located at US and India.
Reliance MediaWorks invites you to be a part
of India`s fastest and largest growing entertainment conglomerate. We are launching
VFX Films Division in Mumbai & Pune shortly. We are in search of talent
from the industry that meets our requirements. We are currently looking out
for:
Also send hard copies along with showreel
to:
Reliance MediaWorks Ltd. Plot No A - 62 and 63, Kodak Cinelabs Building, Behind
Tunga International Hotel, Post office Lane, MIDC, Andheri (E), Mumbai-93
Cornershop Animation Studio, A Zee Network
Company (Essel Group Enterprise) which focuses on 3D and 2D animation content
development and broadcast media has opportunities in various departments.
For our 2D Operations in Pune, we are
looking for following artists.
1. Visualiser
2. Flash Animators with 2D background
3. Storyboard Artist
4. 2D Compositor
5. 2D Classical Animators
6. Layout Artist
For our 3D Operations in Mumbai, we are
looking for following artists. 1. Art Director
2. Broadcast design and Motion Graphic Artist
3. 3D Animator
4. Lighting Artist
5. Compositing
6. Production Coordinator
Tasaa Infosolutions Pvt. Ltd (Formerly
Tasaa Netcom Pvt. Ltd) is a rapidly growing IT
corporate with focused interests in:
Packaged solutions from World renowned organizations
like: Autodesk Media and Entertainment Software, Adobe (Gold Partners), Apple,
Wacom, Corel, Microsoft (Gold Certified Partner), PTC, Sage Accpac. We are also
Authorized Training Partner for Autodesk, adobe and Corel.
We are a one step solution for all software needs
of Animation, Gaming, Visualization, Post Production and Manufacturing Industries.
Besides being a professional training and technical
resource for our clients, Tasaa is committed to providing high level support
to our customers and ensuring their success by improving competitiveness, streamlining
operations and helping them to be current on technology.
Requirement for Mumbai Programmer:
Candidate needs to know Programming: MEL and Python.
He should have relevant work experience in a
studio and must have worked on Developing Tools/
application for Autodesk products.
Please send your CV at resumes@tasaa.com
or call at +91-22-42121717.
BIG AIMS, a premier animation training institute
of BIG Animation (I) Pvt. Ltd. a part of Reliance Big Entertainment - the largest
entertainment group in India is hiring for following position for various franchisee
locations in India:
1) Centre Head: Candidate with experience
of over 7 years in heading an animation or educational institute. The candidate
should have skills in marketing and
managing day to day operations of an institute.
2) Counselor: Candidate with of over 3
years of experience in counseling students and should have good communication
and interpersonal skills.
3) Faculty: Candidate should have working
experience of minimum 3 years in a production studio and over 2 years as faculty
with a well established training institutes.
After Effects, Nuke,
Fusion ,Combustion, Boujou, Shake
Post-production (editing) faculty
Editing & sound
Premier, FCP & Editing
Interested candidates can e-mail their resumes
with the position applied in the subject line to: hr@biganimation.com or can
send a hard copy of the resume along with demo-reel to "The Human Resources
Department", BIG Animation (I) Pvt. Ltd, 3rd Floor Muttha Towers, Don Bosco
School Road, Yerawada, Pune 411006.
Sheen Animation Studio Pvt. Ltd. A Delhi
based Production Studio is looking for talents in 2D and 3D for their ongoing
and new international as well as national projects. If you have the experience
an expertise of 2-5 years in the relevant domain handling any of the following
functions, apply in confidence.
Pre-Production
1) BG Design Artists
2) Character Design Artists
3) Matte Painting Artists
4) Concept Artist
2D Animation
1) Flash Animators
2) 2D FX Artists
3) IB And Clean-up Artist
Hiring for all VFX Positions Digital Media Imaging Ltd (a Reliance Media Works Limited company) is involved
in Digital restoration of films, content processing, and 3D Stereo conversion
of filmed entertainment. We are in the process of ramping up to become the biggest
2D to 3D conversion facility in the world. As part of the phase II of our growth
plan we are hiring Compositors and 2D to 3D Stereo conversion Artists.
The required Software skills are:
1+ years experience in any of the following
software platforms
Adobe After Effects, Adobe Photoshop, Combustion
Digital Fusion, Nuke, Shake
Smoke, Flame, Inferno
Silhouette Paint & compositing
3Ds Max, Maya or any other 3D software.
Traditional artists with Painting skills in
Photoshop also can apply
Besides a Quality work environment and Sophisticated
Infrastructure,
We offer you…
Specialized VFX and 3D Stereo conversion training
by an International team from Hollywood.
Opportunity to work on popular international
blockbusters.
Opportunity for tremendous internal growth
for talented Artists.
Long term association will be rewarded based
on performance
We are an employee centric organization, who
believes in touching and changing lives.
We are in a growth phase with ambitious plans
where our primary aim is to build a culture in the organization which focuses
on building careers meaningfully for each employee with a very caring & warm
working culture where everyone is approachable and believes is being proactive
to building a great organization together with a fantastic employee experience
and great results from each employee.
Be part of an exciting journey! Technicolor India (previously Paprikaas) is a premiere animation studio,
based out of a state-of-the-art centre of excellence in Bangalore, working on
international projects for marquee clients in animation, gaming and Film visual
effects.
Technicolor India is currently seeking
highly talented artists to work on international projects in animation and film
visual effects.
If you are game for tough challenges, cut out to work in high pressure situations,
and are armed with excellent credentials in any of the following disciplines: Concept Art
Matte Painting
Modeling
Texturing
Effects
Character Animation
Lighting & Compositing
Film Visual Effects (Rotoscopy, MatchMove, Paint & Prep) or Production Management
ANTS is seeking talented artists and teaching
faculties to be a part of the expansion team and work on various national and
international projects. Areas of key vacancies are: Lighting, Animation and Rigging,
Dynamics, Game Design, Texturing, Creative Art, Designer, Web Developer and Content Creator. Interested candidates can send their resumes and works to hr@antsindia.com.
URL: www.antsindia.com,
Phone Numbers: 080 - 40627000 (ext) 224
Redchillies.vfx is all ready to start
their next project - Ra.One, post the success of "My Name Is Khan".
Loads of challenging 3D and Compositing visual effects work is to be done for
the live action sci-fi superhero film starring Shah Rukh Khan as a superhero.
We are currently looking out for extremely talented
& experienced candidates to work on employment/contract basis. Key vacancies
are Lead Lighting Artist (3DS Max), Animators (3DS Max),
Lead VFX Artist(Maya), Lead Rigging Artist(Maya), Animator(Maya), Lead Match
Moving Artist, to name a few. For details on many more vacancies Click
here.
Apply on hr.vfx@redchillies.com
with your show reel OR send in your showreel at the following address: Ground
Floor, Crescent Towers,Off New Link Road, Oshiwara, Near Morya Estate, Andheri-W,
Mumbai-58.
India`s No.1 Multimedia & Animation Academy
with one of the best state of the Art infrastructure requires trainers in the
field of:
3D Animation: Experience in a 3D Production
Environment. Must have good working knowledge of Max or Maya with simulation
systems-particle, cloth, fluid, fur.
Editing & Vfx: Experienced Candidates
in Premiere, After Effect, Final Cut Pro and Nuke. Knowledge of other compositing
software will be added advantage (Apple Shake & Fusion).
Flash Animators: Experience in Flash with
advanced scripting, Toon Boom Harmony. Should have knowledge in sketching /
traditional animation skills.
Pre Production Artists: People from fine
arts background with pre production experience of animation industry.
Graphics: Candidates with Print Media
and Advertising background with sound knowledge of Photoshop, Illustrator, Corel
Draw & Indesign.
Candidates with Adobe & Autodesk certification
would be preferred.
India`s largest Animation & Multimedia Training
Facility reputed for its path-breaking academic initiatives and profound
achievements requires the following talent to meet surging demand for its revolutionary
training programs and to complement its expansion plans:
CLOTH HAIR & FUR ARTIST
DYNAMICS FX ARTIST
MAYA INSTRUCTOR
3D STUDIO MAX INSTRUCTOR
Dilsukhnagar Arena is a people-friendly organization
offering enriching and rewarding careers with the emphasis on personal as well
as professional growth. You will be working with some of the most talented people
in an empowering, challenging and inspirational work-environment with ample
"Learning and Career Progression" opportunities.
Cornershop Animation Studio, A Zee Network
Company (Essel Group Enterprise) which focuses on 3D and 2D animation content
development and broadcast media has opportunities in various departments.
BIG AIMS, a premier animation training institute
of BIG Animation (I) Pvt. Ltd. a part of Reliance Big Entertainment - the largest
entertainment group in India is hiring for following position for various franchisee
locations in India:
Sheen Animation Studio Pvt. Ltd. A Delhi
based Production Studio is looking for talents in 2D and 3D for their ongoing
and new international as well as national projects. If you have the experience
an expertise of 2-5 years in the relevant domain handling any of the following
functions, apply in confidence.
Hiring for all VFX Positions
ANTS is seeking talented artists and teaching
faculties to be a part of the expansion team and work on various national and
international projects. Areas of key vacancies are: Lighting, Animation and Rigging,
Dynamics, Game Design, Texturing, Creative Art, Designer, Web Developer and Content Creator. Interested candidates can send their resumes and works to 
India`s No.1 Multimedia & Animation Academy
with one of the best state of the Art infrastructure requires trainers in the
field of:
