The panel for Animation Studios standing on their two feet included Sumedha Saraogi, Sr VP DQ Entertainment, Rajashekhar, Chief Operating Officer, Crest Animation and Prithi Amarnath, Technicolor India.
Overall, the panel conveyed that things were finally moving ahead in the Indian animation landscape, but at the same time a lot more needed to be done.
Taking first guard was DQE‘s Sumedha Saraogi, “Why does Hanuman need to get into the league of Spiderman and Batman – he‘s quite in a league of his own!! And that is the crux of the matter.” shared Sumedha Saraogi. “We really need to stop obsessing with our mythological characters and trying to get them to come to our rescue and perform magic.”
Standing on our two feet is not necessarily about pushing our content down
somebody else‘s throat. It means being self reliant, it means being commercially
viable, it means being able to understand the industry trends and consumer demands – whether local or international
“Honestly we have been threatening to become a Billion dollar industry for quite
some time now.. So what is stopping us? Achieving proficiency in hardware and
software and obtaining the requisite infrastructure and skill sets is only the primer or the base for what could be a very pretty picture. For the real colours to emerge on the canvas of Indian animation , we need to create value from creating Intellectual Property. The actual strength and credibility will come from creating our own IP. So the real focus has to be on creation of IP. The giants that have emerged on the global horizon have done so on the strength of IP and IP alone.” She said.
Sponge Bob earned 8 billion dollars in merchandising revenue alone for Nickelodeon. Possessing IP is like having a cash cow in your backyard. The Simpsons is in its 22nd season – they are almost getting to be immortal! Creation of IP‘s such as Simpsons, Garfield and Peanuts have given Film Roman the strength to leverage their IP‘s to become one of the largest independent studios in the United States.
Indian animation can reach the billion $ mark, but this clearly is not going to happen by just working harder and faster. We need to provide our artists a platform to create. The potential is immense. The Indian animation companies need that little push to make them competitive. Organisations like Nasscom and Ficci have to do more to engage the GOI in a constructive and result oriented dialogue.
Why is content from CANADA and FRANCE flooding world markets? Look at the tax incentives and support they receive from their governments.
Crest animation has produced Alpha and Omega and recorded $35 M in box office collections. THAT is crossing boundaries. THAT is standing on your two feet. DQ‘s Jungle Book has pre sold in 180 countries and started airing to top ratings on TF1 france in the first week of broadcast – THAT should be the aim of the Indian animation studios. Whether big or small.
Sumedha showcased a trailer of The new Adventures of Peter Pan, a 52 episode TV series being produced by Indian artists at DQE with DQ entertainment as the lead producers.
Next up was Rajasekhar, VP, Crest. He narrated his point of view in an oratory style with a written speech that articulated all that he had to say. As you are all by now, aware that Crest became the 1st studio outside of the North American Continent to have produced and delivered a full length 3D stereoscopy film across 2600 screens only in the United States of America.
A feat that would undoubtedly go down the annals of Indian Animation History as its Turning Point. Other studios across the country have also done their part to show case the capability and capacities of Indian Animation Studios in the global CGI market.
From Annie Nominations, to BAFTA Awards to Golden Cursor Awards we have had our fair share of recognition and rewards in and from the global CGI market.
Yet, the journey so far has been only “so good” and I am of the belief that the topic – India‘s Animation Studio Stands on its two feet is: A Paradox – Consider this
? In the last 7-8 years Indian Animation Studios have progressed from being just work for hire studios to co-producers and co-owners of IP‘s and yet not a single “Indian Character brand” with a global appeal
? The big word is “Indian Animation” and the action is restricted to a few screens in couple of metro‘s – While we know for a fact India lives in the rural areas
? The Co-production & Co-ownership model, especially in the Television space, seems to be a camouflage driven more by financial considerations rather than propelling the growth of Indian Animation
? Parents are increasingly complaining about their children‘s addiction to “cartoons” yet studios in India are wondering if there is a market?
? On one hand, we have experts claiming that the Indian Animation Industry would do billions of dollar worth of business in the next couple of years, employment being generated for multitudes of skilled and talented personnel‘s, while the market is abuzz with more people being laid off than being hired.
? Every year thousands of vivacious aspiring artists show the courage to weave their dreams and color their desired future at TASI & ASIFA‘s only to find no patrons
? Our concept of brand seems to be limited to our association with a “Branded Hollywood Major”
? Industry reports are loud in their proclamation of the potential and opportunities yet everyone seems to be worried about where the next dollar is going to come from
? All available data establishes that CGI products are the most profitable genre of entertainment product, yet availability of capital from financial institution is an uphill task
? Everyone knows, Technology and Technological innovations are Key Success Factors, yet there aren‘t many innovation happening, focus on proprietary tools is a secondary consideration
? We are thinking of an alternative to Superman no one is thinking of an alternative to “Render Man”
? We are so blinded by the visual illusion of Hollywood that we have apprehension‘s on our own vision
? While the need is to strengthen our roots, we run the risk of getting uprooted
Time has come for us to move away from basking in reflected glory and finding our place in the sun
Need of the Hour – A Paradigm Shift Manufacturing Creativity vs. Nurturing Creativity
More often than not, industry ends up focusing its energies on the demand side at the cost of ignoring the supply side. This is where Institutions across the country has to bring in a paradigm shift in the way they provide for and compliment the Industry.
? Institutions need to move from “Manufacturing Creativity” to “Nurturing Creativity”
? Animation is not skill based – It is talent Intensive & It is definitely not for anyone and everyone who can pay
? The wannabe artist, can pay and get a seat in the institution, however if the end product lacks quality, a producer even if he pays cannot get the audience to be seated in the auditorium – Ask RGV (Phoonk)
? One can be trained on skills however talent has to be Identified & Nurtured
? Prepare the students to meet the future with respect to technological innovations vis-?-vis molding them to gag the current lacunae
? Creative competence needs to be complimented with a very strong technical competence
? Extreme prudence needs to be practiced in the selection of Trainers and the Trainees – Remember the age old “GIGO”
? Aspiring artists needs to understand that
” “Content Development” is not the same as being Content with your development so far
” Ability to See is Not Equal to Ability to Visualize
” To create a global “Character Brand” one has to question and work on one‘s own character
” 90 minutes of fun may require you to go through 90 months of labor
” HNI = CNI; To be a High Net worth Individual focus on Creation, Narration and Innovation
Cost Vs. Value Creation
Cost arbitrage – Another misnomer – One constantly hears about Indian Studios Ability to leverage on the cost arbitrage. A cursory glance through the available reports on the cost of production would establish that the production cost across studios, has gone up substantially. Be it because of the increasing cost of resources (human and technology included), the cost of borrowing capital, lack of government subsidies, the fact is, if corrective measures are not undertaken, very soon India would have to give up on beating the drums on its ability to leverage on cost arbitrage.
Indian Animation Studios would have to get its act together if we are really keen on standing on our two feet. The Creative & the Commercial would have to train their minds to desire what the situation demands. Indian Animation Studios would necessarily have to change their perspective from Curtailing Cost to Creating Value for its Customers, Investors & Stake Holders.
While Curtailing cost is a constant necessity for business to survive, Creating Value is an inevitability for it to be successful. On one hand we pride ourselves for our creative & technical ingenuity and on the other we position ourselves as Cheap.
To stand on our two feet we got to believe we are priceless, go beyond our mythological limits and explore our limitlessness
Even as the session had gone overtime, the third speaker of the session Prithi Amarnath, Producer, Technicolor India conveyed her thoughts to the audience.
From Technicolor India‘s perspective we believe that managing multiple stakeholders is the key to successful execution in our business. The challenge increases when there are creators & producers from international world interacting with and supervising the work at the studio and particularly when the original development needs to be taken from a 2D/ Traditional art form into the world of CG animation. We have successfully built the bridge between those very paradigms. This is the key success factor.
Every studio only evolves through its own practices. Technicolor India has built strong practices in the areas of Talent Engagement/ Development and Retention; Pipeline & Process Development vis-?-vis specific genres and most importantly not only meeting but exceeding expectations from our clients.