What can Walt Disney Animation Studios do to save itself? Ditch digital

I’m going to apologize in advance for today's column because I'm sure that it's going to make a lot of people angry. I have a plan that some might call radical. But it’s a plan that I’m afraid we need. Tough times demand tough decisions, and here’s one to consider:

Get rid of digital animation at Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Yep. I said it. I think that WDAS should stop producing CG animated features and should instead concentrate on reviving hand-drawn animation.

Now, lest you think this is some kind of impassioned plea about the “purity” of hand-drawn animation -- think again. This is not some geeky, fan boy rant about which is the better cartoon medium. Far from it. This is pure business stuff. Corporate strategy, some might call it. Tough things that you gotta do when running a business during tough times.

Animation has been going through a fair amount of turmoil over the past few years. Some “business geniuses” had the bright idea that animation was going through a paradigm shift. This was all because a new tool had been invented. A tool that gave us the ability to move objects in a computer. According to these suits, this brilliant new tool was what would move animation moving to the next level. Hand-drawn animation had reached its limit, they said. Digital animation was the new paradigm. Hand-drawn was dead, and rightly so.

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Fatkat Animation Studios fined for software piracy

Fatkat Animation Studios in Miramichi, N.B., has been fined $36,000 for software piracy.

The commercial animation and graphics studio was among five companies fined under the Canadian Copyright Act after an investigation by the Business Software Alliance.

The alliance conducts investigations into alleged under-licensing of software. That's a form of copyright infringement, which sees a single copy of software used to install a program on multiple computers without proper authorization.

Internal audits revealed Fatkat ran unlicensed copies of Microsoft and Autodesk programs.

Fatkat Animation's founder Gene Fowler said the infringement by his company was due to an oversight.

"Somebody that wasn’t very experienced was perhaps purchasing or installing the software, and they got themselves in the position where they weren’t licensed properly. It does happen," Fowler said Wednesday.

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Learning avenue for animation in city

THE capital city has become an abode for animation training in recent times. Leading names have opened up branches in Bhubaneswar owing to the interest shown by students here towards visual effects courses. Adding to the names like Arena, MAAC and many others, MIDDS Mumbai which has already had success in placements and in getting animation projects for both Bollywood and the TV world, opened up a branch in Jayadev Vihar here recently and this course seems to offer little more than just software.

Satyam Bansal, MD MIDDS says students need to be prepared for the practical use of software and hence their course has included value additions. ‘‘Our focus is not only on the software but on the other important skills that an animator should have,’’ he said.

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Maharashtra emerges as major hub for animation industry

Mumbai, May 30 : Maharashtra is now the new hub for the animation and gaming industry.

In less than a year, the town of Pune has emerged as a serious gaming and animation industry hub with about 30 companies and studios dealing in special effects and animation.

Pune has already earned fame through animation studios that have made several 2D and 3D animations.

This place is ideal for every type of industry be it automobile, IT, gaming or animation.

People working here have made a name for themselves in Hollywood also. There is ample talent available for animation companies here.

In fact, several of the gaming and animation studios have decided to either move from other cities to Pune or to set up expansion projects here.

After IT and auto, it is probably time for the animation and gaming industry to grow several times over in Pune.

According to industry experts, what the IT industry achieved in eleven years in Pune - five billion dollar business per year - the animation and gaming industry is expected to achieve it in six years.

"Several companies are coming to Pune on a talent scout. There are several computer institutes and art colleges. So, the companies get easy access to talent from these colleges and institutes. Talent in other places like Mumbai and Hyderabad is saturated, but here in Pune, talent is fresh and ready to be absorbed. There are experienced people to be found here," said Hrishikesh Patil, Managing Director, Trimurti studios.

"One more advantage is that it is close to Mumbai life in metros can stay here in peace. The weather also complements the place. Traffic is a headache, but one can tackle that. This place is cheap too as compared to other places. So, these are some points that are favourable to the animation industry coming here," added Patil.

According to Anand Khandekar, Chairman, Animation and Gaming Committee, Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (M CCIA), Pune has all the right ingredients because of its history and culture, and this combined with IT strengths makes the city an ideal destination for the gaming and animation industry.

"MCCIA took the initiative in 1996. At that time, there was virtually no IT in Pune. Within 12 years, the IT industry has grown from 30 million to five billion dollars. Thanks to the right ingredients and right government and infrastructure support from private as well as government agencies. We had support from educational institutions for the right manpower and very strong support from Maratha Chambers to co-ordinate all this and to provide business development support. All these four pillars have moved the IT industry to where it is now. I am absolutely confident that we will apply the same four pillars to uplift the animation and gaming industry in Pune," said Anand.

At present, at least three studios in Pune are working on independent animated films. For the gaming industry too, there are several outsourced projects in the city.

Animation films in India are still in the nascent stages. 'Ghatothkach-Master of Magic' will be the first non-mythological to be released in the country. This will be the second animation film from the stable of Shemaroo. Their first film that tasted success at the box office was 'Bal Ganesha'.

India is a cheaper destination to make animated films. For example, in the US it costs around 9,367 US Dollars to make a 30-minutes animated film, while in India the cost comes down to 1,405 US Dollars. (ANI)

Source : http://www.topnews.in/