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Vision India – Animation leaders speak

Vision India

nullAnimation leaders speak

FRAMES 2006

A few simple points before the report on this session.

Is it true that there is a lot of CG work, worth Billions of Dollars that international studios need to outsource because it works well for their business models? Yes it is true.

Since these studios want to outsource as it makes business sense, they are going to outsource wherever they get the best quality and timely delivery at a competitive rate? True

Are Indian studios looking to play this game? Are they looking to build a business around the cost advantage?

If yes, Then it is going to be difficult in the long term and profit margins are going to lower every year.

If no, Then they need to go up the value chain?

What kind of value proposition can be offered?
High Production Quality. More of hi end work. Involvement in pre production. Co Production. Co Finance. Better Post Production.

Over the past two years Indian studios across the country have delivered on time, the quality of production has been really good and there have been a lot of co productions. But at the same time there haven’t been many instances of studios doing the pre production, there haven’t been many co financing deals and post production of animation hasn’t really happened here.

To become an animation hub, Indian studios need to work real serious on developing pre production skills, need to co finance with the big brands which would carry less risk and enhance their post production capabilities. And since there is a ready demand for all these services there is no reason why Indian studios would not evolve to the required level and take the business that’s waiting to be grabbed.

Another big reason for Indian studios to develop pre production, post production and financing of IP is the local market which today is so small that its only going to grow. Besides there have been some positive developments recently which might just speed up the growth of the local market.

So is India there? Is it the emerging global animation hub that it is made out to be? Well not yet but the scenario looks positive and there are high chances that it will be.

The panel discussion ‘Vision India: Animation leaders speak’ had the heads of some of the biggest Indian animation studios as well as animation directors and International animation investors discussing issues like ‘Is India an animation hub or not?’ The discussions also included topics such as Training, Going up the value chain and Government Involvement.

Speakers included UTV CEO Ronnie Screwvala, DQE CEO Tapas Chakravarti, Crest CEO A K Madhavan, Cinnamon’s Anthony Bouchier and Animation Director Vincent Edwards. The session was moderated by Anirights CEO Ashish Kulkarni.

FRAMES has been increasing its thrust in animation every passing year and this year the number of seats were nearly doubled at the Animation Track, yet there was a larger draw and the standing crowd was a direct indication of the growth of the industry and the amount of interest it is generating.

Making a strong case for the need for Government Support and stressing that it was high time that the government played a role in helping grow the Industry, DQE CEO Tapas Chakravarti stated,” The government should play a major role in creating institutions for training in animation”

“We have to work out our needs. To grow the industry the government has to participate. We do not want legislation and things like that but at least there should be some equity participation” he added.

UTV’s Ronnie Screwvala was of the view that,” It will be foolhardy of us to expect government support. The government is pretty much out of this” “Besides” he added,” The Government will not be able to drive things the way private enterprise and business acumen can”

“If it ain’t working, don’t expect the government to fix it” quipped Cinnamon’s Anthony Bouchier. Bouchier felt that the India story was a long way in animation. Emphasising on the need for better legal systems he added,”Lobby hard for proper legal provisions which protect creative people. Everyone knows that it is a difficult thing getting Indian people to stick to their contracts”

Referring to the Indo UK co production treaty which has been long in the process of being signed, he added”There are co production treaties that India has taken four years to work at and they still remains to be signed. I must tell you that Television Animation is not included in that co pro treaty and you should go all out to ensure that Television animation is included in it”

Crest’s Madhavan who was extremely bullish and vocal about India’s prospects in animation said that,”Government support or participation is always welcome, but wether it comes or not, we are going to make it” While most of the panelists were talking about India being still a long way from being a hub, Madhavan opined that it was going to happen sooner than imagined,”I beg to differ with my fellow panelists out here. I am extremely bullish about Indian animation and I feel it will expand in geometric proportions in the next few years”

“We (Indian studios) have been winning Annies, Baftas, Emmies.. We have been working on Hi def, Direct to DVDs, Long Form, Mobile Gaming etc. The shows we are working on are being watched the world over. All that’s a proof of the quality levels achieved. India is getting there, we are getting there” he added.

“Does Indian animation need to go up the value chain?” asked moderator Ashish Kulkarni. “There is no choice, we all have to” remarked Ronnie Screwvala.

“We are going in that direction and in two years time we are going to go right up the value chain” commented DQE’s Tapas Chakravarti adding,”If one is talking about creating original content for a global audience then it will take around 6-7 years for the industry to really evolve to that level”

Cinnamon’s Anthony Bouchier observed,”The reason why we are all here is that we are on the threshold of something big. What drives all of this is product and work”

“We have to remember that this business, like any other business is all about money. Back in the US, IDT just entered this space and invested a Billion Dollars. There are many companies in India that can do that and that’s the kind of financial commitments and investments needed to grow this industry here. It is all about using your economic clout” continued Bouchier.

Putting forth his thoughts on the subject of training, Ronnie Screwvala shared,”India is not a low cost base. I dont think that’s the way in which we want to gain a competitive edge There is a need to invest heavily in training. We are already an IT literate country. Let’s push the envelope. International studios definitely see a business sense in working with India, any studio that’s serious about India, ought to take fifty artists from here and train them for a year in Burbank or Glendale. On returning those fifty could train another three hundred”

Making an observation on the topic of creating globally relevant content Chakravarti remarked,”While we talk about creating globally relevant content locally, we have to remember that most of the International Exposure that studios have is restricted to the Business and Top level management. In such a scenario how do we expect the creative people, the artists to grasp and portray International humor and sensibilities”

Vincent Edwards shared,”India needs to have creative directors flown in from the west. There are great artists in India, comparable to the rest of the world. But on the whole there is a need for the artists to know more and to be directed creatively. The BPO model ios good for getting the people trained with teh basic skills, but the intangibles like characterisation and story telling are a much different ball game and need a different approach”

The session which lasted for about 80 minutes could have continued for double the time and as it came to an end, the spectrum of viewpoints put forth by the panel indicated that a lot of evolutionary development in Indian animation was on the anvil. There was also a clear hint from the panel that the India story was there but it would take some time and some good serious effort to realise the ‘potential’.

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