Animation in India scope

Animation in India.

The Indian animation market, fairly "static" until a few years ago, is suddenly waking up to a host of global opportunities that promise a lot of "action" for the country's leading design specialists. The demand for animation production services from international animation studios spurred in large part due to India's lower costs of animation production and technical manpower to meet 2-D and 3-D animation requirements is drawing Indian companies into the animation framework, compelling them to view this emerging market with seriousness. During the 1996-99 period, in fact, the share of the Asia Pacific region in the global computer animation production market has increased significantly, based on some of the above mentioned strengths. North American film and television program producers (that boast worldwide networks) are finding it viable to sub contract animation production activities to independent studios overseas, and thus focusing instead on areas like film distribution. Indian companies are naturally partaking of this expanding potential. The Indian domestic segment: a hot home market The Indian domestic market too is throwing up revenue generation prospects for ICT solutions providers specializing in this market. The requirement by the burgeoning Indian television segment for animation and special effects related work is also giving a fillip to this segment. Recognizing this potential, a number of Indian software players are turning their attention to animation. Animation studios now dot the country and the industry is also witnessing the arrival of training houses that are dedicated to building skilled manpower for this market. Cities in India such as Mumbai (which houses India's movie industry ), Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Trivandrum are playing host to some of the country's leading animation houses. Companies such as Crest Communications, Films Division, Maya Entertainment, Silvertoon Studio, UTV Toons, Zee Institute of Creative Arts (ZICA), 2NZ Studios, Prasad Studios, Acropetal, jadooWorks, Color Chips, Toonz Animation, Heart Animation, are just a few of the ventures that have dedicated themselves to the world of animation and special effects. Animation market: size is just right! A recent study on the animation industry by NASSCOM shows that the global animation production market is set for major growth. The study, which is based on multiple statistical projections on the market, from segments such as industry sources, Pixel Inc. and Arthur Andersen (Study on the Entertainment and Media sector) forecasts that the global animation market will generate revenues worth US$ 50-70 billion by 2005. Total Global Animation Production ($ billion) 2000 2001 2002E 2003F Estimate 1 16.0 - - 50.0 Estimate 2 31.5 38.0 45.0 - Estimate 3 - 25.0 - 70.0 Figures from Pixel Inc. show that the estimated market size of the global animation production market by the end of 2002 will be around US$ 45 billion Total Animation Production by Indian Producers ($ billion) 2000 2001 2002E 2003F Estimate 3 6.0 - - 1.3 E: Estimate F: Forecast Source: Estimate 1: Industry source 'A' , Estimate 2: Pixel, Inc.; Estimate 3: Arthur Andersen's study on the Entertainment and Media Sector Total animation production by Indian producers meanwhile is expected to touch US$1.5 billion by 2005 (Arthur Andersen's study on the Entertainment and Media sector). Global Entertainment: Demand for Animation Production Services ($ billion) 2000 2002E 2003F Estimate 1 30.0 - - Estimate 2 22.7 32.4 37.0 E: Estimate F: Forecast Source: Estimate 1: Industry source 'B' , Estimate 2: Pixel, Inc. Some of the other estimates of the NASSCOM report on animation indicate the following: The global entertainment market will generate a demand for animation production services of the order of US$ 37 billion by 2003 (forecasts by Pixel Inc.) In the non-entertainment segment the demand for animation production services will touch US$ 14.7 billion by 2005 (forecasts by industry source). Global Non-Entertainment: Demand for Animation Production Services ($ billion) 2000 2002E 2003F Estimate 1 8.8 12.6 14.7 E: Estimate F: Forecast Note: Non-entertainment comprises the industrial & commercial applications of animation. Source: Estimate 1: Pixel, Inc. The global film/TV program production market will create a US $ 17.5 billion revenue opportunity for animation production houses (forecasts by Pixel Inc.) On the gaming side, according to an ICT industry leader, the demand for animation production services was of the order of US$ 5 billion in 2000 Global Film/TV Programme Production: Demand for Animation Production Services ($ billion) 2000 2002E 2003F Global Asia India Estimate 1 30,000 24,000 30 - - Estimate 2 1,000 250-350 3-5 - - Estimate 3 10,500 - - 15.0 17.5 India: the animation hub? India is gradually positioning itself as a significant provider of animation production services. The country's strengths and edge in the market include the following: A vast base of English speaking manpower: animation, which requires a familiarity with the English language, benefits when the work is outsourced to India. Besides, a number of initiatives are underway in the country targeted at creating skill manpower for the animation market Presence of animation studios: a number of Indian cities already boast hi-tech animation studios (equipped with state-of-the-art hardware and software) which are successfully completing projects from overseas companies Low cost of animation services: India's edge in terms of pricing is stated to be unmatched. Compared to other countries, Indian animation houses charge extremely low rates India's large entertainment sector: Owing to a prolific entertainment segment, India has a ready supply of content developers The road ahead While India appears well positioned to play an important role in the global animation production market, the NASSCOM study suggests that much more needs to be done. In its recommendations to animation industry leaders and the Government, the study states that the country needs to take the following steps: increase the level of interest of audiences in the domestic market in animation enter into co-production tie-ups with countries such as Canada to develop animation content increase the range of applications for animation such as documentaries, etc. develop a "national brand identification" in animation strengthen the interface between local studios and producers have a representation in major international animation markets and festivals create assured offtake of locally produced original animation productions by domestic broadcasters provide relevant funding and infrastructure for animation product development set up animation parks on the lines of STPs take a series of strategic initiatives to build a body of manpower talent to fuel the growth of this market India has the capabilities to make it big in the global animation production market. Even though activity in this segment is currently low key, action is expected to hot up over the next few years as more and more Indian software development companies take to the market and set up facilities dedicated to animation production services. Source: NASSCOM