India's animation industry growing, but manpower a problem

Monday, 12 July 2004, 19:30 IST
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KOLKATA: India's animation industry is growing, promising about 5,000 animators' jobs over the next one year, but availability of skilled manpower remains a major problem. A labour-intensive sector, it takes up to 100 people working for a month to create a 20-minute two-dimensional (2D) or classical animation content. And there is no dearth of work. "But there is a huge shortage of manpower, which is holding India back from becoming one of the major outsourcing bases for the global animation industry," says Deven Shah, chief of the Academy of Animation Arts and Technology (AAAT). In a year's time, 5,000 animators and many more 'in-betweens' would be required to handle outsourced jobs. "There are companies waiting to outsource their jobs to India, but where is the manpower to do it?" asks Shah. There are only about five animation academies worth their salt across the country, but most lay stress on teaching the software as a quick passport to animation expertise. "This is grossly wrong because animation is not about software, but about working with paper and pencil, about creativity and imagination," says Shah. Shah's academy, only a year old but already having made a name for itself, strives to produce animators of quality with all-round knowledge about concept, background and software. Says Ranjini Mukherjee, the business head of AAAT: "2D or classical animation is what is used by the best animation houses such as Walt Disney. We train our students to meet their standard requirements. "We concentrate on 2D animation because one who is good in it can easily go on to work in other styles." But what does it take to be an animator? "Anyone who can draw lines and circles and with oodles of creativity and imagination can make it as an animator. He doesn't have to be an artist or a techie," says Mukherjee. Animation experts, in fact, feel a fine arts background could be a hindrance for a budding animator because it might be difficult for him to mould easily. The AAAT's one-year intensive course assures jobs for the students. "We assure 100 percent placement," says Shah. Shah is planning to launch a production house soon to capitalise on the growing animation job outsourcing market. It is interesting that though India has no dearth of artists and technical students combining creativity with technology -- something intrinsic to success in animation -- there is a severe lack of awareness among youngsters about the potential of this industry. "We carry out free workshops to build awareness about the animation industry. But we are pained to see zero initiative from school and college authorities," says Shah.
Source: IANS