Nearly ten years ago, the Indian animation industry was just a small dot on the global animation market. But many experts back then were extremely keen to promote the “Brand India” slogan, a sales pitch that in the coming years would guarantee a high standard in terms of quality and expertise. However, these days nearly all the International animation studios in the world make use of Indian personnel and facilities or have some kind of presence in the Indian subcontinent.
As compared to the rest of the world, the Indian animation industry was initially what most critics would call a “late starter”. In India, for a very long period of time, the animation scene was considered to be a very expensive proposition, and something that would not draw the Indian audience. Furthermore, with the ever-evolving Indian film industry taking the front seat with regards to issues like piracy and quality control, the animation industry took a back seat. It isn’t that animation was non-existent; it did exist but was rather primitive. Satyajit Ray, was perhaps the first Indian film maker to experiment with animation.
Currently pegged at over 15 billion rupees, the animation and visual FX segments in India have experienced a tremendous upsurge over the past three years. Taking into consideration the speed at which this industry is growing within the country, our nation will probably need more than 25,000 professionals in the coming year to take care of the industry. Today however, the industry has a little over 15,000 professionals working in this ‘techno-creative’ field.
But this is no cause for alarm. There are hundreds of established institutions and budding institutes that are springing up all over the country that are providing animation education, and today, there are more than a 100,000 students who are enrolled in these animation, gaming and VFX programs.
Predictions and Suggestions
Today, the Indian animation industry stands somewhere around 15 billion rupees, and is expected to grow to more than 42 billion rupees by 2009. The animation industry in the country is currently riding on three major factors, namely – low cost of production, good studios and a large base of skilled labor. Although the industry is steadily gaining in recognition and prominence, certain factors like the government’s role in providing support for the industry, producing original and good content locally, and the importance of educating and training the workforce, will propel the industry to even greater heights.
This brings us to the question – can India come at par or outperform all the other advanced animation creating countries?
Surveys have shown that the global animation industry is expected to reach at least 80 billion Dollars by the end of 2010, while the same estimates have shown that the Indian animation industry will probably touch 900 million Dollars by the end of 2010, out of which, exports will account for more than 70 percent of the overall revenues.
Amongst the Asian countries, Japan and Korea are the leaders in the animation industry, while China, Hong Kong and Taiwan come in second place, and India and the Philippines are slowly emerging as the next in line.
As far as animation is concerned, a new outsourcing fever has the whole country in its grip. International giants like Sony, Walt Disney and Imax have been outsourcing a large number of cartoon characters and special effects projects to India. Other big companies have also started outsourcing computer games and commercials.
Being in its adolescent stage, the Indian animation industry was considered to be unstable. But, this is no reason to draw away. Over the last three years, India has managed to step into the next stage of development and although countries like China and South Korea are far more advanced in this field, India still has the potential to emerge as one of the leading animation hubs, if such problematic factors like funds, educational facilities, and infrastructure are dealt with.
As compared to the international market, 2D and 3D product modeling in India is still in its early stages but the scope for growth is tremendous. A good way to improve on this area is to produce original animation productions made by domestic broadcasters. And, providing relevant infrastructure and funding for animation product development.
Other major deterrents to India’s success as a leading animation hub are: lack of adequate financial backing, lack of support and backing from the government, and international exposure being limited only to non-creative businesses.
On the other hand, there are a number of encouraging factors that India has, which include a large English speaking population, and low production costs. But, the animation industry needs to be looked upon as a serious business and not just child’s play.
Animation movies are all about creating magic and in order to create a global brand, the content in the movie has to have universal appeal. The creative workforce in India must first start recognizing the art of story telling, which is the only way they can ensure being recognized as a quality animation producer.
To create an animation movie that is a success, it has to have a story that’s told from the heart, and it has to be driven by inexhaustible passion.
Conclusion
India definitely has potential when it comes to the animation industry. Investing heavily in the industry, proper training and providing original and appealing content are critical factors to its growth. The good news is that while most of the work coming into the country is outsourced work, the Indian animation industry has indeed moved up the ladder and into the next level, what with a number of co-production assignments also coming our way – slowly but steadily.
Only time will tell where the Indian animation industry will go from here. But with an industry that is estimated to stand at 15 billion rupees, there can be no doubt that the Indian animation industry is here to stay, and perhaps rub shoulders with some of the industry’s bigwigs.
