Get animated about DIMENSION
Salil Desai

Each one of us lives with a million pictures in our minds, and often we wish we could show them to the world in the same way, but they are often lost or distorted. It is estimated that 70 per cent of the ideas and visual imageries die before they are translated into concrete forms. But the scene is fast changing and animation is the key to the explosive powers of expression. Animation is envisaged as a tool for bringing about a cultural, social and technological revolution. Movies like Hanuman, Krishna and Cars etc. more than prove the point. Given all these facts, a career in animation is a dream come true for our generation of creative geniuses.

Prospects galore

This positions Indian animators in a very promising way in the international scenario. However, there are many other facts that encourage a student to look at animation as a career:

• More and more American, Canadian and European companies are beginning to outsource their work to Indian animation companies.

• Globally, all eyes have turned towards India for animation outsourcing. The Indian animation industry, which is projected to reach USD 869 million by 2010, representing a CAGR of 25 per cent over 2006-2010, is facing a severe shortage of workforce today, especially skilled hands.

• In India alone, the animation industry needs over 30,000 persons, while the demand met is a mere 10 per cent of the requirement.

• According to the latest NASSCOM report on the animation and gaming industry, the global animation market (demand perspective), which was estimated at USD 59 billion in 2006, is projected to reach USD 80 billion by 2010; The global market for animated content and related services (developer’s perspective) is estimated at USD 25-26 billion and forecast to cross USD 34 billion by 2010.

• In addition, Indian animators are considered to deliver world-class quality, creativity and artistry, technological proficiency, productivity and also have a good command over English.

Significant cornerstones

Teaching of a technology as multifaceted and complex as animation needs an in-depth understanding of the dynamics of technology, as well as the mind set and challenges faced by the students.

All these factors should ideally make the corner stone of the curriculum offered by the multimedia institutes. The institutes focus should be to make its programmes an exact and relevant match with the animation industry’s demands.

In sync with the evolving industry requirements, many institutes have introduced comprehensive programmes in 2D and 3D animation training.

While selecting an institute, these are the checkpoints one should look for:

• A curriculum designed with the objective of making the student a complete animation professional.

• Curriculum covering every aspect of animation, including both 2D and 3D.

• Equal emphasis on both 2D and 3D animation.

• Pre and post-production techniques.

• Skill development from ideation to execution.

• Creation of demo reels (Project)

Though 3D animation is fast becoming popular and a successful medium for filmmaking, the importance of 2D hand-drawn animation should not be underestimated and enough attention should be paid to it before moving to 3D.

Future scenario

At times without the knowledge of 2D, 3D animation creation can appear lifeless or rigid. Beginning with basic drawing skills, the programme should emphasise on teaching the students how to integrate both 2D as well as 3D animation.

The multimedia industry has long recognised the fact that education is not solely about acquiring technical skills but also the acquisition of a variety of personality traits that help students transfer their academic learning seamlessly into their jobs/careers, thereby making them more employable.

Global Head, Arena Multimedia, R. Krishnan, is of the view that “employability is the capability of the students to move self-sufficiently within the job market and realise their potential through sustainable employment. The crux of employability is the level of knowledge, skills and attitudes of students, the way in which they use these assets and eventually present them to the prospective employers.”

Hence, there should be an inclusion of activities and initiatives to empower the students with professional skills in addition to the de facto technical skills, thereby making them more employable.