Career & Jobs Prospects In Animation Industry
Fascinated by animation? Animation industry is growing at a rate of more than 30 per cent in India. Gautam Mengle lays out the facts and figures of the booming animation industry
The animation industry worldwide is on a rapid rise, and is growing at a rate of more than 30 per cent in India. The Indian animation industry is currently at US $500 million and is expected to reach US $1.5 billion by the year 2009. And yet, statistics reveal not even half of the manpower requirement in the animation industry as being fulfilled in India.
Opportunites
Animation can simply be defined as conceiving action using inanimate objects or figures. It can be either two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D).
On the employment front, opportunities are huge. Cartoon animation, film animation, digital post-production, advertising, gaming, special effects are only some of the myriad avenues that open up before aspirants once they complete a formal training. Money-wise, a good animator ought to earn anything from 10 to 15,000 at the outset.
Cartoon shows are gaining increasing popularity. Earlier, there were only 2D animated shows like Tom and Jerry and Popeye the sailor. Now, besides exclusive cartoon channels like Cartoon Network and Animax, we have cartoon shows on many other channels too, many of which make use of 3D animation. Naturally, there is a huge scope for professional animators.
Besides, animated feature films too offer considerable employment prospects. One animated film alone requires several hundred animators to work on it. Pentamedia’sThe Legend Of Buddha, for example, was worked upon by more than 400 animators.
Interestingly,Ghost In The Shelland its sequelGhost In The Shell 2: Innocencewere given PG-13 ratings. Also, the animated versions of some Pritish Nandy Communications films likeKaanteandChameli, due for release next year, will be targeted at an adult audience. This just shows that animated films are no longer only targeted at children, but have gained adult audiences too. And the wider the audience, the greater the scope!
Digital post-production, in simple words, means adding special effects to movies. Once the entire movie is shot on camera, digital techniques are used to add a feel of reality to stunts, chase sequences and any other scenes that might require some touching up. All the mind-blowing battle scenes and gravity-defying stunts in theMatrixTrilogy were a result of brilliant digital post-production, and were only possible due to advanced animation. Closer to home, examples can be cited of movies such asKoi Mil GayaandKrishh.
Animation is also used to add animated characters to otherwise unanimated movies.Space Jam, for example, had Michael Jordan interacting with Looney Toons characters like Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, whileStuart Littlehad a mouse who walked, talked and acted like a human. The Hrithik-Kareena-Abhishek starrerMain Prem Ki Deewani Hoonalso had an animated parrot and dog characters.
Related industries
Advertising too makes use of animation to add special effects, like the animated Fido in 7-Up commercials. Indeed, some advertisements are completely animated, such as the Mortein advertisement featuring Louie the Mosquito or the Fanta Advertisement featuring Zayed Khan.
The gaming industry too is on the rise in India. Here too, there is a tremendous requirement for animators. Gaming companies need animators for various jobs, from character modeling, to working on the game environment and graphics.
“Once you get into the industry, there are lots and lots of opportunities,” says Dhruv, who learnt animation from Arena Multimedia and is now a Gaming Project Manager withThe Porting Factory.“You get to identify your areas of interest and choose your department accordingly.”
Scope
Website designing, CD-Rom production, graphics designing and three-dimensional product modeling are some other fields where animators can gain employment.Freelancing is equally beneficial. You can start off as a freelancer till you get noticed and are offered employment. Conversely, you can begin as an employee, and then go on to establish your own studio. Any way you choose, there are opportunities galore. Moreover, many foreign companies are now realising the potential in India and are outsourcing their animation tasks to Indian animation companies.
The scope is huge, the opportunities endless. Hence, if you are fascinated by the idea of making inanimate objects move; it’s time to jump aboard the animation bandwagon.
Indicative Listing of Animation Institutes:
Maya Academy Of Advanced Cinematics (MAAC)
Arena Multimedia
Zee Institute Of Creative Arts (ZICA)
National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT)
The Toonz-Webel Academy
Whistling Woods International
Escotoonz Animation
Hearts Animation Academy
The JJ School Of Arts
The animation industry worldwide is on a rapid rise, and is growing at a rate of more than 30 per cent in India. The Indian animation industry is currently at US $500 million and is expected to reach US $1.5 billion by the year 2009. And yet, statistics reveal not even half of the manpower requirement in the animation industry as being fulfilled in India.
Opportunites
Animation can simply be defined as conceiving action using inanimate objects or figures. It can be either two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D).
On the employment front, opportunities are huge. Cartoon animation, film animation, digital post-production, advertising, gaming, special effects are only some of the myriad avenues that open up before aspirants once they complete a formal training. Money-wise, a good animator ought to earn anything from 10 to 15,000 at the outset.
Cartoon shows are gaining increasing popularity. Earlier, there were only 2D animated shows like Tom and Jerry and Popeye the sailor. Now, besides exclusive cartoon channels like Cartoon Network and Animax, we have cartoon shows on many other channels too, many of which make use of 3D animation. Naturally, there is a huge scope for professional animators.
Besides, animated feature films too offer considerable employment prospects. One animated film alone requires several hundred animators to work on it. Pentamedia’sThe Legend Of Buddha, for example, was worked upon by more than 400 animators.
Interestingly,Ghost In The Shelland its sequelGhost In The Shell 2: Innocencewere given PG-13 ratings. Also, the animated versions of some Pritish Nandy Communications films likeKaanteandChameli, due for release next year, will be targeted at an adult audience. This just shows that animated films are no longer only targeted at children, but have gained adult audiences too. And the wider the audience, the greater the scope!
Digital post-production, in simple words, means adding special effects to movies. Once the entire movie is shot on camera, digital techniques are used to add a feel of reality to stunts, chase sequences and any other scenes that might require some touching up. All the mind-blowing battle scenes and gravity-defying stunts in theMatrixTrilogy were a result of brilliant digital post-production, and were only possible due to advanced animation. Closer to home, examples can be cited of movies such asKoi Mil GayaandKrishh.
Animation is also used to add animated characters to otherwise unanimated movies.Space Jam, for example, had Michael Jordan interacting with Looney Toons characters like Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, whileStuart Littlehad a mouse who walked, talked and acted like a human. The Hrithik-Kareena-Abhishek starrerMain Prem Ki Deewani Hoonalso had an animated parrot and dog characters.
Related industries
Advertising too makes use of animation to add special effects, like the animated Fido in 7-Up commercials. Indeed, some advertisements are completely animated, such as the Mortein advertisement featuring Louie the Mosquito or the Fanta Advertisement featuring Zayed Khan.
The gaming industry too is on the rise in India. Here too, there is a tremendous requirement for animators. Gaming companies need animators for various jobs, from character modeling, to working on the game environment and graphics.
“Once you get into the industry, there are lots and lots of opportunities,” says Dhruv, who learnt animation from Arena Multimedia and is now a Gaming Project Manager withThe Porting Factory.“You get to identify your areas of interest and choose your department accordingly.”
Scope
Website designing, CD-Rom production, graphics designing and three-dimensional product modeling are some other fields where animators can gain employment.Freelancing is equally beneficial. You can start off as a freelancer till you get noticed and are offered employment. Conversely, you can begin as an employee, and then go on to establish your own studio. Any way you choose, there are opportunities galore. Moreover, many foreign companies are now realising the potential in India and are outsourcing their animation tasks to Indian animation companies.
The scope is huge, the opportunities endless. Hence, if you are fascinated by the idea of making inanimate objects move; it’s time to jump aboard the animation bandwagon.
Indicative Listing of Animation Institutes:
Maya Academy Of Advanced Cinematics (MAAC)
Arena Multimedia
Zee Institute Of Creative Arts (ZICA)
National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT)
The Toonz-Webel Academy
Whistling Woods International
Escotoonz Animation
Hearts Animation Academy
The JJ School Of Arts