Hyderabad-based Arena Dilsukhnagar has surpassed 10 years in the field of Animation Education and to mark the occasion, the institute recently organized VFX ‘08 at Saroornagar Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad on July 20, 2008 with around 4300 people in attendance.
Speaking on the occasion, chief guest R Damodar Reddy, Minister for Information Technology and Communications, Youth Services and Sports, Government of Andhra Pradesh commented, “I am proud to say that with the establishment of Animation City, Andhra Pradesh would storm into reckoning for the biggest employment generation in the world. The credit must go to our state government for its tireless efforts in developing the IT sector in general and animation in particular. It is my sincere wish and hope that students will make the most of this opportunity to seek this line and make rewarding careers for themselves.”
Malreddy Ranga Reddy, MLA from Malakpet, who also graced the event said, “The field of animation is set for a grand future in the coming years. So it is my fervent appeal to all parents that they should encourage their children to take up careers in animation and lay a golden path to their future.”
In his inaugural address, Arena Dilsukhnagar Centre Head B Raja Sekhar announced that the institute had achieved the elusive ‘Autodesk Authorized Training Center‘ status in the run-up to its 10th anniversary. “Arena Dilsukhnagar now becomes the first and only institute in Andhra Pradesh, and one of the very few institutes in India to claim ‘Authorized Training Center‘ status for Adobe as well as Autodesk (in the Media & Entertainment sector),” he said.
In keeping with the significance of the decennial, VFX ‘08 drew a panel of highly eminent speakers and presenters from animation and allied fields.
The first presentation of the day was delivered by Crest Animation Studios COO P Rajasekhar on the trends and imperatives of Human Resources in the fast growing animation industry. He also presented a demo-reel of Crest Animation‘s finest works.
Another doyen of the Indian Animation industry, R&H Digital Production Manager AR Sesha Prasad, engaged the audience next with ‘Behind the Scenes‘ of the blockbuster The Golden Compass which won the 2008 BAFTA Award for Special Visual Effects and an Academy Award for Best VFX.
Snapshots of Arena Dilsukhnagar‘s VFX ‘08
Green Gold Animation Founder and MD Rajiv Chilakalapudi took centre stage elaborating upon the fast growing popularity of Indian mythological content on television as well as the big screen. Sharing the secrets of producing Indian content, Rajiv made a presentation on the making of the 2D animated series Chhota Bheem including model sheets of the characters and background art.
Among the other distinguished speakers gracing the morning session were Inforlinx Solutions CEO Nagaraj Kumar B, who highlighted the growing career opportunities in Web Designing and Development and defined ten vital aspects of making great web pages while talking about interface designing and Vivekanand Bagwe of Animation Dimensions (I) who emphasized a knowledge of acting, especially expressions and lip movement as being vital to one‘s development as a good animator.
The evening session kicked off with an exciting Animation Quiz Program conducted in characteristic style by AnimationXpress.com Co Founder, CEO and Managing Editor Anand Gurnani.
Stand-up comic and popular Tollywood comedian, Shiva Reddy and the famous Telugu music director Chakri concluded the event by entertaining the audience.