Industry, Institutes, Govt. reps…all set for IAI

More than 300 professionals from studios and institutes from all over India and abroad are set to converge on 21 & 22 May 2008 for AAG presents AnimationXpress.com Industry Academia Interface. Joining the professionals will be Industry support bodies and organizations including NASSCOM, TASI, ASIFA India, NID, ABAI, CGTantra and host AnimationXpress.com. Also expected is participation from the Government by way of representatives from the HRD Ministry and IGNOU.

Being held at the ISKCON Auditorium in Juhu Mumbai, the two day event is focused on growth of the industry, and it seeks to achieve this objective by tackling the very important topic of better education for a better and more scalable and trained human resource pool.

The first day of the event which begins at 9:00 am and ends at 8:00 pm boasts of keynote presentations by Industry stalwart Ashish Kulkarni and Animation Maestro Chetan Sharma, and has more than 40 heads of studios, institutes and organizations participating in panel discussions focusing on solutions such as “Industry support structure”, “Building perception of Animation as a career”; “Need for specialized courses”; “Faculty Training Programs”, “Guest Lectures and Maximization of resources through technology”, “Studios starting their own institutes” “International Tie Ups” and so on.

The opening day also includes an interaction session with government representatives from the HRD and IGNOU, as well as a presentation from NASSCOM on its education initiatives including standardized exams. International representatives from studios and institutes are going to be involved in the discussions to share their approach to the subject.”

(Scroll down to have a look at the action packed program line up)The second day will focus on best practices for teachers, counselors, HR, Artists and students. It will have a master-class series on IP creation as well. Amongst highlights include a special series of talks and presentations, by some of India’s best Animation teachers on how to teach and nurture creativity and art in students. This session has been designed for the benefit of several teachers in the animation training space who would like to be mentored on how to teach animation in a more fundamental and effective way.

AnimationXpress.com Founder & Chairman Anil Wanvari shared, “It is very heartening to see the proactive way in which everyone including studios, institutes, govt., support organizations, artists, students, and sponsors are coming forth for IAI. The focus shall be on solutions that are practical; that can be implemented soon; and those that will immediately be beneficial for the growth of the industry.”

AnimationXpress.com Co-Founder & CEO, and initiator of Industry Academia Interface, Anand Gurnani shared “The artist is at the heart of the studio. The more we nurture our young talent to become better artists, technologists and creators, the stronger the chances are of India become a global leader in animation. The Industry Academia Interface National conference seeks that goal through the means of studios collaborating with, and guiding institutes on enhanced and more focused education as well as training”
Academy of Animation & Gaming (AAG) is the presenting partner for the Interface. Other supporting partners include Arena (Gold Partner), Frameboxx (Silver Partner), Xplora Design Skool (Badge & Session Partner) and Arena Dilsukhnagar (Session Partner). Aditya & NVIDIA are the presenting partners for the Nationwide group discussions that preceded this conference and ICAT, Manipal and Carizma Foundation are regional logistics supporters. Graphiti School is the partner for the art schools discussion. The event is also supported by TASI & ASIFA India and CG Tantra is the online partner.

PROGRAM LINE UP

AAG presents AnimationXpress Industry Academia Interface
May 21 & 22, 2008, Mumbai.

ISKCON Auditorium
Hare Krishna Land, Juhu
MUMBAI , 400049

Day 1: Wednesday, May 21 2008

8:00 am
Gates Open & Registration begins

9:00 am
Welcome & Lighting of Lamp

9:15 am
KNOWLEDGE SHARING & ARTISTIC INSPIRATION
SUPPORT STRUCTURE FOR THE ECOSYSTEM
(Session Sponsor Xplora Design Skool)

Ram Mohan Sir
Vaibhav Kumaresh, Vaibhav Studios & TASI
Sekhar Mukherjee, NID
Uma Karwir, ASIFA India
RK Chand, CG Tantra
Anand Gurnani, AnimationXpress.com
C Prakash, ABAI

Moderated by Rajiv Vaishnav, Nasscom

10:30 am
ORGANISER & PRESENTING PARTNER‘S ADDRESS

Enhancing Education & Human Resource: Solutions, Best Practices & Action Points
Presentation by Anil Wanvari & Anand Gurnani, AnimationXpress.com

Collaboration for growth
Ajay Joshi, CEO, Academy of Animation & Gaming (AAG)

11:00 am
KEY NOTES

Ashish Kulkarni, CEO, BIG Animation
& Co Chairman, FICCI Animation & Gaming Forum

The Eternal Student
Chetan Sharma, Animagic India

12:00 noon
SUPER SESSION I

GOVERNMENT INTERACTION & PRESENTING THE INDUSTRY
AS A PRIME CAREER OPTION

HRD Ministry & IGNOU representatives (Names to be announced)
Col. SV Ramachandran, NASSCOM
Representative, FICCI (to be confirmed)
Ashish Kulkarni, BIG Animation
Biren Ghose, Kahani World
AK Madhavan, Crest Animation
Sanjiv Waeerkar, UTV
Ajay Joshi, AAG
*Krishnan R, Arena (To be confirmed)

Moderated by Anil Wanvari & Anand Gurnani, AnimationXpress.com

1:30 pm – LUNCH BREAK

2:15 pm
SUPER SESSION 2

COLLABORATIONS & INITIATIVES
TO GROOM STUDENTS THE STUDIO WAY
(Session sponsored by Arena Dilsukhnagar)

Manvendra Shukul, Lakshya Digital
Sukumar Subramanian, Sanra Soft
K Pandyan, Graphiti School of Animation
Naveen Gupta, Frameboxx
B Rajasekhar, Arena Dilsukhnagar
Rajesh Shetty, R&H India
ABRP Reddy, Picasso

Moderated from amidst the audience by Anand Gurnani & Rajesh Rao

3:30 pm
HOLISTIC EDUCATION & INTERNATIONAL TALENT IMPORT

Ramakrishna Polina, IACG
Dr Kolaskar, DSK – SUP Infocomm
Rohit Swarup, Founder & MD, Xplora Design Skool
Richard Dolan, Dean, British Columbia Institute
Jesh Krishna Murthy, Founder, Anibrain Digital
Veerendra Patil, Co Founder, Paprikaas
Manu Ittina, Takshaa

Moderated from amidst the audience by Ashish Kulkarni & Anand Gurnani

4:30 pm – HIGH TEA

5.00 pm

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

*SONY IMAGEWORKS IPAX PROGRAM (awaiting confirmation)
Krishnakant Mishra, Imageworks India

QUALITY BECNHMARKS & STANDARDIZED EXAMS
Dr Sandhya Chintala, NASSCOM

6:00 pm
FOCUSED COURSES & UPGRADATION PROGRAMS
Amit Dhawal, Filaments VFX
T Barnidharan, DUX Soft
Shailesh Vatsa, AIGA
Greg Acuna, PalaFlicks
Christopher Erhardt, International School of Gaming
Binish Parekh, Maximus
V Natarajan, ICAT
Sreedhar VT, Wiztoonz

Moderated by Rajesh Rao & Anand Gurnani

7.00 pm
TECHNOLOGY & EDUCATION
Speaker names to be confirmed and announced*

8:00 PM
End of day 1

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Day 2, Thursday, May 22 2008

BEST PRACTICES DISCUSSIONS & MASTERCLASSES

9:30 am

BEST PRACTICES IN TEACHING: ART & STORY TELLING

Nurturing Art & Creativity in Students
Special Series of presentations and talks delivered by India‘s Gurus & Mentors to guide new trainers and teachers on how to nurture creativity and art in students.

Nina Sabnani
*Ajit Rao
Sekhar Mukherjee, NID
Prosenjit Ganguly, Toonz Animation India
*Tehzeeb Khurana, Toon Club
Vaibhav Kumaresh
Professor Shilpa Ranade, IDC
Prince Paikattu, Wiztoonz
Sumant Rao, Animagic India and Professor IDC
Robert Lloyd, Srishti
Aadesh Bharadwaj, Graphiti,

1:00 pm LUNCH BREAK

2:00 pm
CREATING YOUR OWN CONTENT
A special master-class conducted by IP creators especially for educators, artists and students

Biren Ghose, Kahani World
Greg Acuna, Palaflicks
Prakash Nambiar, Katha
Amit Anand, ettaminA

Followed by Q&A and open mike discussion

3:15 pm
BEST PRACTICES IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Special set of Presentations by

Rajashekhar, Head of HR Crest Animation Studios
Robert Allen, Head of HR, Paprikaas
Rajesh Shetty, Head of HR, R&H India

Followed by Q&A and open mike discussion

4:15 pm
BEST PRACTICES FOR ARTISTS
Ethics, Commitment to projects, IP confidentiality, Focus on Specialization

Special Set of presentations

– RK Chand, CG Tantra.com
– Mark Joshi, AIGA

Followed by Q&A and open mike discussion

4:45 pm
GUIDANCE SESSION FOR STUDENTS

How to prepare for a career in the Animation, FX, Games Industry
Presentation by Uma Karwir, ASIFA India

5:15 pm
STUDENTS‘ VOICE
Students Voice: The future speaks about present day scenario

An open discussion that seeks to unravel the mindsets of animation students, their aspirations, fears, challenges and state of mind.

6:00 pm
Valedictory Address
Anand Gurnani, AnimationXpress.com

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