If the Industry has to go to the next level, it can‘t be possible without having an army of talent which has been trained to be competent. In its bid to offer students, exposure and interaction with real world animation studios and professional MAAC held an intensive studio and industry interaction program for its eighth annual National Student meet.
The meet was held in Mumbai in the first week of February and had more than 300 MAAC students from all over the country (including cities like Delhi, Aurangabad, Dehradun, Bhubhaneshwar) participating. Amongst the highlights of this meet were panel discussions, studio visits, seminars and workshops.
Speaking to AnimationXpress.com, MAAC General Manager Shravani Chopra shared “Students in other cities of India where we have MAAC centres are devoid of the actual industry scenario, the main objective of the NSM is to give those students exposure and interaction with the industry. This helps boost their confidence and interest levels in the industry”
The whole programme of eighth edition was divided into five days with lots of fun and frolic for students with a learning experience.
CG Tantra organized a panel discussion on the topic ‘The Ideal Showreel‘. Moderated by CG Tantra Administrator & co-founder R.K.Chand, the panel comprised of Kireet Khurana, 2NZ Animation; Virendra Chauhan, Crest Animation Studios; Vinod, Prime Focus; Tony Singh and Jai Natrajan, MEL and Surojit Sarkar, Rhythm & Hues India.
The Panelists discussed about the key elements of an Ideal Showreel and the expectations of the Industry from the students passing out from the animation institutes. The discussion was followed by Q & A section and panelists tried to reach to a conclusion as to what exactly are the requirements of the Showreel of a student to be considered Ideal.
A couple of days during the NSM were dedicated to studio visits where students got to a chance to visit Rhythm & Hues, Pixion, MEL and Prime Focus.
Commenting on student‘s visit at Prime Focus, Creative Director Merzin Tavaria said, “Having MAAC‘s students here was a great way to educate the fresh aspirants in the industry and to spread awareness about the important role visual effects plays in film making.”
“It is Prime Focus‘s endeavor and to this regard we have been working with many such institutes in India. It gives me great pleasure to see that visual effects has become a serious career option like medical and engineering and the young generation is very serious about it.” He added.
Pixion‘s Deepak Deshpande commented, “This was first time for Pixion to host such an event and we were delighted with the response of students. The National Student Meet organized by MAAC was a good idea and the kind of growth the sector is showing, we will have to showcase the opportunities we have. We received an excellent feedback from students who visited the studio and we were supportive of this activity”
Says Shravani, “I am very thankful to the studios for their kind support and the way in which they helped us was really beyond my expectations, they not only treated our students well but the presentations and tour organized by studios has made an excellent impression on students of MAAC.”
The NSM also included a seminar. Organized by MAAC and held at Tejpal Auditorium it included personalities like Kireet Khurana from 2NZ Animation, Sheshaprasad from R& H; Jai Natrajan & Tony Singh from MEL and the topics presented included ‘Need for specialization‘ ‘New technologies and advancement in CG‘, ‘Careers in animation‘.
Rhythm and Hues‘ Digital Production Manager A. R. Seshaprasad shared, “The initiative taken by MAAC is an excellent step towards students‘ growth. It‘s always a nice feeling to meet and share with the students who are going to be a part our industry. I believe that exposure is one of the critical aspects for students in their formative years & we should be committed in providing that for the sake of the growth of the industry as a whole.”
Last but not the least the students were treated to an ‘Acting Workshop for Animation‘ by Theater Actor and Director Pawan Kumar. CG Tantra‘s Chand added, “The basic purpose of this workshop was to make the students realize the importance of acting in the field of animation and its usage to animate the characters.”
Tanmay Das, student, MAAC, Kolkata, shared his views, “I am into character animation and I want to be an animator. National Student Meet organized by MAAC was really helpful for me and the exposure I got by visiting various studios and by attending various seminars helped me to enhance my career in a better way”
Says Prakash Patel, MAAC student, Surat, “Though I am new to Animation industry and learning the several aspects of animation; visiting several renowned studios like Rhythm & Hues and Pixion has made me much keen to work in industry and not only it gave me an opportunity to see the new things but also to explore the animation industry in an elite manner.”