India has well and truly arrived on the International animation Map, the challenge now is staying there.
Maintaining the good reputation that it has painstakingly earned as a destination for high quality animation, and growing upwards from thereon was the topic around which the Power Panel on TV animation broadly focused at NASSCOM Animation India 2006.
The panel comprised of Crest CEO Madhavan, DQE MD Tapas Chakravarti, Toonz Animation India CEO Jayakumar, MEL CEO Rajesh Turakhia, Color Chips MD Sudhish Rambhotla and UTVToons GM Jyotirmoy Saha.
Quality Benchmarks & Mantaining Reputation
Commenting on the high quality level of animation shows being worked on in India, Crest CEO Madhavan commented,” Today Indian studios are raising the bar in the quality of the shows and also in effeciency and delivery. We are winning Baftas, Emmys, Annies. Wether it is techniques like squash & stretch or hair and dynamics, the quality envelope is being pushed tremendously”
Urging the audience to discard notions that TV animation was easy, MEL CEO Rajesh Turakhia remarked, “TV is no longer easy, the usage of HD Format for a lot of TV content has reduced the gap between TV and feature quality. Most of the stuff is being done in 2K resolutions today”
Turakhia then spoke about the current challenge, “We have arrived, what we need is to stay there. The implications of being on the map is that we are being scanned under a magnifying glass. We cannot falter and are as good as the last show delivered”
“We need to display solidarity and unity, and need to understand that any reckless commitments from Indian studios at this stage will spoil the game for all” he added.
Echoing his sentiments, UTVToons Moy commented,”Some of the Indian studios have done a great job and have put India on the map. The need now is to go slow and steady, we have to be careful. We need to know our strenghts and weaknesses”
Government Support
Government support and lobbying is a default topic for discussion at any Indian animation gathering. Barring Color Chips CEO Sudhish Rambhotla who demanded anti dumping measures, the panelists were mostly of the opinion that all support was welcome but that the industry definitely needed to gain a larger critical mass before it could expect much from the powers that be.
Rambhotla stated,”We should propose Anti dumping measures for animation in Broadcast. There should be a small duty of $ 500 per internationally created episode to help create a co production fund for Indian studios”
UTV’s Moy had a different view point, “There is no government help in Japan and US yet they are doing splendidly in animation. Comapnies in countries without support have learnt to walk without holding hands and they have more strength. All of us in india have learnt how to walk without our hands being held, let the industry grow and then we can talk about lobbying and trade boundaries”
DQE’s Tapas Chakravarti too agreed with Moy,’We all welcome government help, but we definitely support an open market” he said.
The panel however agreed that while support in form of broadcasting caps and trade boundaries would take a while, the need for support in training and HRD infrastructure was urgent and critical.
Local Content & The domestic market
In the past two years, Indian animation studios have delivered a number of high quality animation shows. Obviously the same studios can create some amazing Indian animation content. Some of the panelists like Toonz’ Jayakumar and Color Chips Rambhotla made a strong case for the need for locally created animation.
Jayakumar stated, “TV animation will continue to be bread and butter for most Indian animation studios and to a large extent future will be based on a studio’s long format strategy.We need to generate a momentum on creating original IP, It is very important to know what the market place wants. The impetus has to be on better storytelling”
“We are lagging behind countries like Korea, Japan, & China due to paucity of original content. A minimum domestic market is needed for any industry to be succesful” added Rambhotla.
Attracting Investments & Scaling Up
DQE MD Tapas Chakravarti made a crisp presentation on what it takes to attract investment and to scale up. Some points included
Ingredients for investment
-Conviction
-Think Big, but feet on ground
-Transparency
-Potential for growth
– Investors invest in Individuals first
Investments always come in small packages, a cup of tea fed in spoons
Many rounds of investment required for success in animation
While beginning should be humble, the scaling up has to be upwards and rapid
Infrastructure to support production
Man power in place
Investment in show reels
Investment in training
No compromise on quality and delivery
Setting up of a healthy communication channel
Ability to adapt to changing market cycle