If you're a gamer, there's no better time than now!The animation industry in India is set to grow at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 27 per cent to touch $1,163 million by 2012, according to a Nasscom report. The industry is expected to end this year at $460 million. Custom content development is the largest segment as of today, with an estimated industry size of $187.5 million, followed by animation entertainment at $120 million. Multimedia and web design contributes another $100 million, while education is pegged at $53 million. The animation industry in India is set to grow at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 27 per cent to touch $1,163 million by 2012, according to a Nasscom report. The industry is expected to end this year at $460 million. Custom content development is the largest segment as of today, with an estimated industry size of $187.5 million, followed by animation entertainment at $120 million. Multimedia and web design contributes another $100 million, while education is pegged at $53 million. The share of education segment is expected to increase from 11.5 per cent to 17.5 per cent from 2008 to 2012. There is immense demand among students to enroll in long-term, skill development courses to pursue a career in animation. Also, as new technologies keep emerging, there is a constant need for skills upgradation courses. The industry expected to go through consolidation with smaller players being acquired by the bigger companies. There are a total of 85 domestic animation movies that have been announced over the last year and 28 are in different stages of production. Over the next two years, 15 animation movies are expected to be released. Animation companies have also started focusing on building original IP, which they can leverage in terms of merchandising and TV broadcast revenues. The report suggests that the production budget for animated movie will increase from $2 million-$2.5 million to $5 million-$7.5 million. The average realisations for a good animation movie will increase between $7.5 million to $12.5 million. Nasscom expects the gaming industry to grow at a CAGR of 50 per cent to touch $1060 million by 2012. The sector will end this year at $212 million. Mobile companies will undergo structural changes to address production slippages, falling revenues and the higher revenue shares retained by telecom operators (up to 65 per cent). Better quality mobile games and enhanced skill sets will result in a rise in mobile game outsourcing deals. Higher revenue shares, third-party contracts and end-to-end development of mobile games will lead to better revenue realization for mobile game developers. The release of locally developed games with international appeal will open up new target markets for Indian mobile gaming companies. Development of domestic localised PC games is expected to pick up. Due to stringent antipiracy measures and a reduction in the affordability gap, the sale of legitimate PC games is expected to increase. Outsourcing deals, especially in the end to end production domain, is expected to rise significantly.
Acquisition to Accelerate Autodesk’s Games Strategy; Complements Digital Entertainment and Visual Communications Offering; Lets Artists Choose their Passion.
SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Oct. 23, 2008 — Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) and Avid Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVID), announced that they have signed a definitive agreement for Autodesk to acquire substantially all of the assets of Avid’s Softimage business unit for approximately $35 million.
Softimage was founded in 1986 by Daniel Langlois and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada. Softimage develops 3D technology for the film, television and games markets. Its flagship product is SOFTIMAGEXSI, an extensible 3D animation software solution used by leading media and entertainment companies, including Digital Domain, Ubisoft, SEGA Corporation, CAPCOM, Animal Logic and The Mill. Autodesk Media & Entertainment provides animation, visual effects, editing/finishing and color grading solutions for the 3D market, including entertainment and design industries.
Upon completion of the acquisition, Autodesk intends to continue developing and selling Softimage’s core product line, while integrating certain Softimage technology into future versions of Autodesk solutions and products. Autodesk plans to acquire and continue developing the following Softimage products:
• SOFTIMAGEXSI: Including XSI Essentials, XSI Advanced, XSI Academic, XSI Mod Tool and the XSI software development kit. XSI is production-proven 3D animation software for games, film and television. It offers a complete 3D modeling, animation, rendering and development environment for visual effects and custom tools.
• SOFTIMAGEFace Robot: A complete software solution for easily rigging and animating 3D faces. Face Robot enables studios to create life-like facial animation at incredible speeds.
• SOFTIMAGECat: This advanced character animation system is a plug-in for Autodesk 3ds Max software. It is intended to be integrated into the 3ds Max product line.
• SOFTIMAGECrosswalk: This interoperability solution is intended to be integrated with Autodesk’s own interoperability technology.
For further information please visit www.autodesk.com/softimage
Autodesk, Inc. is the world leader in 2D and 3D design software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk has developed the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art digital prototyping solutions to help customers experience their ideas before they are real. Fortune 1000 companies rely on Autodesk for the tools to visualize, simulate and analyze real-world performance early in the design process to save time and money, enhance quality and foster innovation.
Few can argue against India’s potential as an Animation and Gaming hub, especially against today’s backdrop of a fast developing sector, the penetration and potential for this segment - both for cinema and television in India is very encouraging. It promises new developments in gaming and new surprises with screening in 3D and making of Hollywood VFX blockbusters.
With an objective of creating a platform to discuss, debate and preempt industry trends, NASSCOM is pleased to announce the 6th edition of its ‘Animation & Gaming India 2008’ from November 6-7, 2008 at the Hyderabad International Convention Center, Hyderabad. Over the years this event has become a premier event for this emerging sector in India, attracting the industry leaders, analysts, observers and media.
This is the opportunity for an organization to participate in one of the biggest animation events, spread over two days. Participants get a chance to interact with luminaries from the industry, listen to experts debate on topical issues and trends, witness interesting case studies and see the best of animation and gaming previews, in addition to introductions to the latest animation and gaming technologies, most of the time before it is out in the market.
The target audience for this event includes animators, producers, program directors, broadcasters, production units involved in media & entertainment, art & design schools, IT companies, investors, VC’s, government officials from Films Division/ Information and Broadcasting Departments, media etc. It will provide an ideal platform for Indian animation, gaming, electronic media, mobile and console players to participate at the event and demonstrate their competencies, strengths and capabilities.
Gone are the days of bottled mineral water. With new entrants banking on the 'Himalayan origin' factor, Bisleri has released its latest 40-seconder that positions the brand as mountain water, courtesy Prime Focus, Ambience Advertising and White Light Motion Picture. The ad escaped the normal routine of storyboard-to-post production and was treated more like a piece of art. The director's vision filled in the gaps. Reading straight out of the duo's brief to Prime Focus: "Treat water like the elixir of life. The ad must go through the stages of birth, assimilation, generation, celebration and return to source. Use graphics as a connect between traditional beliefs and today's newer value system".Only the water body by the mountain and the droplets are CG, rest of the water movements were shot and further enhanced. Prime Focus Senior Manager (Business Development), Kunaal Saigal added, "A lot of experimentation went into making this commercial as the script was open ended. There were days when we thought we have wrapped it up, but the very next day we would go back thinking no, let's add something to it."The important dance and gushing water sequences were shot at high frame rates 500 or 1000 fps. "We now have a huge library of shots of water," added Jayant, "as water in every form, droplets, bubbles, flowing was either used as the main focus or in the background."
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Autodesk® Animation Academy 2009 is an immersive, curriculum-based offering that delivers four powerful 3D applications for one affordable price. The bundle includes full versions of Autodesk® 3ds Max® 2009, Autodesk® Maya® Unlimited 2009, Autodesk® MotionBuilder® 2009 and Autodesk® Mudbox™ 2009. Students can create engaging 3D digital imagery, visualizations, scenes, and visual effects with 3ds Max or Maya and then easily animate and preview animations in real time with MotionBuilder and create detailed models with Mudbox. Introduce Autodesk Animation Academy to your classroom and watch your students reach their creative potential.
Autodesk Animation Academy includes a modular curriculum designed to help educators captivate students. Educators can expose them to the creative―and fun―aspects of animation technology while reinforcing a variety of core academic subjects. The innovative, project-focused Animation Academy curriculum encourages teamwork, planning, and thoughtful execution. Students can use the visual communication toolsets in 3ds Max, Maya, MotionBuilder and Mudbox to explore specific topics and present what they have learned. This standards-based, cross-discipline curriculum was developed specifically for secondary institutions by experienced educators and technical experts.
Autodesk Animation Academy Brochure (pdf - 119Kb)
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India's Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group and celebrated filmmaker Steven Spielberg are setting up a new studio in Los Angeles under a $1.5-billion project that will make films for global audiences, sources familiar with the negotiations said Saturday. The mega deal - which will help Spielberg break away from DreamWorks, now owned by Viacom's Paramount Pictures - will be funded by a mix of equity and debt, and also involve leading investment banker JP Morgan Chase, the sources added. As a combination, Spielberg and Snider are regarded as the most successful filmmaking duo in history. DreamWorks was formed with much fanfare in 1994. But after an uneven run, it was sold to Viacom'a Paramount in 2006 for $1.6 billion. Since then, Spielberg and his team were eager to part ways with Paramount. According to sources, the Anil Ambani group and Spielberg decided to join hands both for the financial stability of their new venture and convergence of their ideas for the world of media and entertainment. Ambani's Reliance Big Entertainment had announced in Cannes in May that it would make a major foray into Hollywood and develop projects in partnership with some best-known actors like Brad Pitt, Tom Hanks, Nicolas Cage, Jim Carrey and George Clooney. This marked the biggest foray of an Indian entity in Hollywood's motion picture industry. Thirty films are likely to emanate from Reliance's co-financing and 10 will go into production soon, company officials had said. The entertainment business of the Anil Ambani group has interests in movies, FM radio, music, sports, gaming, Internet and mobile portals, direct-to-home TV, Internet TV and Mobile TV. The group, which also has a major presence in mobile telecom, financial services and energy sectors, had acquired in 2005 Adlabs Films Ltd, one of India's the largest entertainment companies with interests in film processing, production, exhibition and digital cinema. The group recently acquired 250 screens in US and 51 screens in Malaysia. Paramount, meanwhile, said it will not delay matters for Spielberg and his team, including DreamWorks partner David Geffen and chief executive Snider, in forging the pact with the Indian group.
To begin with, Indian artists did an in-depth study of the European complexion. We found that white skin reflects more light and has less shadow when compared to dark skin and is translucent in some areas. Therefore a simple color correction of the hero's skin would not achieve the desired effect. For the shoot a London based young white lady with a fresh complexion and flushed cheeks was chosen and with the help of Cinematographer Mr. K.V.Anand every single shot of the hero was repeated with her because lighting conditions change in every shot. After the final edit all the 630 hero shots and 630 girl shots were scanned in 4K resolution. Each of the 9000 scanned frames where Rotoscoped to separate the body parts (face, hands, legs etc.). The white lady's skin was mapped onto the Super Star's image using Eyeon "Digital Fusion" software. Thus the Super Star got his glowing white complexion. The technique behind Super Star Rajini's European complexion in the film. A White lady's skin was mapped onto the Super Star's image using Eyeon “Digital Fusion” software.
"Birds Nest" Stadium Visualizations, Olympic Mascots and TV Content All Shaped with Autodesk Software (August 22, 2008) Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) entertainment and design software was used to create cutting-edge content for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Leading digital content creators relied on Autodesk technology to deliver Olympic projects as diverse as stadium visualizations and mascot design, to broadcast graphics and commercials for global brands. China Central Television (CCTV) CCTV is China's largest national television network. CCTV created its Olympics One Dream, One World and Olympics Age packaging and promotions with the Autodesk Smoke finishing system. As well, the broadcaster is using Smoke daily for content production during the Olympic Games. Crystal CG Crystal CG is the official graphic design supplier for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Using Autodesk 3ds Max software, Crystal CG created architectural visualizations of the Beijing "Bird's Nest" Olympic stadium and related facilities. 3ds Max and Autodesk Maya software were also used on TV commercials and promotions, and an educational sports program. In addition, Crystal CG produced the five "Fuwa" Olympic mascot cartoons with Maya. Psyop/Stink Psyop/Stink used Autodesk Maya animation software to create three TV commercials for Adidas' "Together in 2008, Impossible is Nothing" Olympic Games campaign: Together, Zheng Zhi and Hu Jia. The spots include computer-generated crowds with a pencil-sketch look. "Almost every shot in these Adidas spots involved creating assets in Autodesk Maya, and compositing them with live-action footage," said Tony Barbieri, technical director at Psyop. "Using Maya, we quickly populated scenes with hundreds of varied cheering fans. There were about thirty variations of fans, all modeled and rigged in Maya. By using just one rig for each gender, we were able to capture motion and create custom animation cycles to populate the entire crowd." Psyop provides 3D animation, visual effects and digital content for the advertising market. Seven Network The in-house team at Australia's Seven Network used Smoke to deliver Olympics promotional materials for Channel Seven. "Smoke is the only system capable of handling the phenomenal amount of work accomplished at Seven. As our day-to-day, get-it-out system, Smoke is absolutely invaluable," said Suzique Doughty, senior editor, Channel Seven. suedlich-t Visual effects and animation studio suedlich-t relied on Maya and Autodesk Combustion software to shape Olympic trailers for the ARD and ZDF German public broadcasting networks. The trailers feature live-action footage of athletes morphing into 3D ink-strokes and ink-drops. Combustion was used for compositing and visual effects. suedlich-t used the Maya software's fluid and particle systems extensively for transitions between athletes and ink. About Autodesk Autodesk, Inc., is the world leader in 2D and 3D design software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk has developed the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art Digital Prototyping solutions to help customers experience their ideas before they are real. Fortune 1000 companies rely on Autodesk for the tools to visualize, simulate and analyze real-world performance early in the design process to save time and money, enhance quality and foster innovation. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.
P9 Design, the film publicity design vertical of Percept Holdings Group’s international film-marketing company P9 Integrated, has created publicity design for C-Kkompany. The designing company has done posters, stills and billboards for the Balaji Motion Pictures upcoming film, releasing on 29 August. P9 claims that it has designed the publicity campaign for C-Kkompany by keeping the unique theme, subject and genre of the film in mind. The USP of the film was kept in mind while designing the posters and stills and a major thrust was giving to the onscreen chemistry that the characters share. All the creative have backdrop and images of middle class settings in Mumbai connoting the theme of the film. P9 recently has also embarked in providing website designing and promo designing services.
P9's film chronicles include Shaurya, Summer 2007, Hastey Hastey, Dus Kahaniyan, Dhol, Bombay To Bangkok, Return Of Hanuman, Mumbai Salsa and Loins Of Punjab. Their upcoming films include Rubaru, Right Yaa Wrong, Rang Rasiya, Aashayein, Firaaq, Pankh, Manikantan, Kanchivaram, Tasveer 8x 10 among others, said a company release.
Autodesk® HumanIK® animation middleware is a run-time solution that enables dynamic in-game character animation. Integrated within the game engine, animators and game designers can now alter animations on the fly, letting characters interact dynamically and realistically with their environments. Optimized for next-generation platforms, HumanIK consists of a run-time full-body inverse kinematics (IK) solver, as well as a run-time retargeting engine for characters of differing size, proportions and skeletal hierarchy. By providing integration with Autodesk® Maya® and Autodesk® MotionBuilder™ software, HumanIK delivers full-fidelity playback of content authored with the Autodesk 3D solutions. HumanIK enables truly compelling in-game animation, unlocking the potential for truly innovative next-generation gameplay. HumanIK is a highly modular, multi-threaded library, optimized for PlayStation® 3, Xbox® 360™, PowerPC®, PC, PlayStation® 2, and Xbox® platforms. HumanIK offers developers a modular component for the development of their animation tool-chain and run-time game engine.
Video search specialists Blinkx will roll out a web search tool today that aggregates all the British TV shows legally available free online. Blinkx Remote indexes all the current shows from the broadband catch-up services including the BBC iPlayer, Channel 4's 4OD, ITV.com and Demand Five, allowing users to sort by genre and title or through a search field.
Suranga Chandratillake, the Blinkx chief executive, said the service was plugging a gap between universal search and the rapid growth of web TV services.
"We constantly monitor video on the web to see what content people are finding and indexing, and what content people are looking for on a daily basis," Chandratillake said.
"One trend we spotted in both the UK and US is the growth of free online, full-length TV shows - in the UK that is driven by the iPlayer and in the US by Hulu.
"With normal search the results would be mixed up with clips, or videos people had made about shows and put on YouTube," he added.
Chandratillake said that Blinkx wanted to keep its Remote search tool as simple as possible to use and so it will only index streamed content rather than downloads or subscription services with complex sign-up procedures.
Blinkx does not have partnerships deals with broadcasters to operate the service, but uses publicly available programme data in the same way Google News indexes information from news sites.
The service indexes around 1,000 UK shows and between 300 and 400 from the US, although some US broadcasters, including CBS, allow their programmes to be viewed online in the UK. "There is only going to be more and more TV on the web, but people don't often know what it out there," Chandratillake said. He added that he would not rule out introducing a second tier of paid-for services at a later stage, adding that Blinkx wanted to introduce a widget version of Remote so that users can customise listings around their favourite programmes and embed listings on their own site or social network profile.
Chandamama was conceptualised by legendary filmmakers B. Nagi Reddi and his friend Chakrapani. Their reason for launching Chandamama was to familiarise the post-Independence generation with Indian tradition, folklore, mythology and history in the form of stories.
Chandamama has recently been acquired by the Mumbay-based Geodesic. Incorporated in 1999, Geodesic is a publicly traded company with offices in the US , UK , Sweden and Hong Kong . The company has developed the popular universal instant messaging system Mundu (http://www.mundu.com/). Recently the company was awarded the Red Herring Small Cap 100 award – the only Indian company to be included in the Red Herring Small Cap 100 list.
Apart from a highly successful print edition and a rapidly developing online portal (http://www.chandamama.com/), Chandamama is also foraying into films and video production with its bank of over 15,000 exclusive stories. Interactive books and CDs are also part of Chandamama's efforts to reach out, educate and entertain today's young minds. Readers of Chandamama Tamil, Telugu and Hindi can now find their favourite stories in their language at www.chandamama.com/tamil, www.chandamama.com/telugu and www.chandamama.com/hindi. The sites contain a mix of popular Chandamama stories from mythology, historical, comical to contemporary. This takes the number of languages on the website to four including English.
Chandamama.com has also put a part of its 60 year archive online. Currently early editions of Hindi, English, Tamil and Telugu can be found on the site. The other languages, as well as all 60 years back issues will go live soon.
Nearly 40 years after the virtual world started, companies and individuals will be able to apply for any address on the Internet and not be limited to just the 21 suffixes like .com (accounting for 80 per cent), .net and .info or country-specific appendages like .in for India. Top-level domain names till date were restricted by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) -- an international not-for-profit body that oversees the structure of the Internet. Its board, according to Paul Twomey, president and CEO of ICANN, has now given the go-ahead for total freedom on domain name and the final version is expected to be published in early-2009. Companies and netizens can thus have unlimited choices such as .indian, .mumbai, .delhi, .bangalore, .chennai, . paris, .timbuctoo, .dilipkumar, .amitabhbachhan or .whateveryouwant. Like all desired things, these would come for a price: Rs 40 lakh to Rs 2 crore. Indian corporate houses like the Tatas, Birlas or Reliance [Get Quote], for instance, could apply for .tata, .birla or .reliance and the fee will not dent their balance sheet. If they get the domain name, they could, in turn, give each employee a .tata or .birla or .reliance email identity. The move is also expected to prompt many registrars, both Indian and foreign, to apply for registry status and form joint ventures with foreign companies. It's a lucrative business and requires low investments since the basic infrastructure is in place. ICANN appoints registries, such as Verisign for .com, to sells domain names. The registries pay ICANN only 25 cents (around Rs 10) per domain name. What remains after deducting costs is their profit. Registrars, in turn, buy domain names from registries and pay them $6 (about Rs 245) for each domain name in addition to the Rs 10 to be paid to ICANN. Net 4, an Indian domain name registrar, has already firmed up plans to apply for registry status, according to its CEO, Jasjit Sawhney. Meanwhile, ICANN said that trademark and intellectual property owners will get priority. Applicants also have to show "business plan and technical capacity". Disputed domains will be auctioned to the highest bidder. ICANN also reserves the right to reject a domain on "morality or public order" grounds, and the matter may go to an international arbitration committee. Critics however say the instances of domain squatting (buying names and selling them at higher prices) could increase. Currently, there are over 76 million .com names, while .biz -- the 10th-most popular -- has 2 million. There are 5 million .info names with around 650,000 added every year, and around 440,000 .in (India) registrations. An increase in clutter might make the .com stand out even more. "The .in domain did not take off, so the new TLDs will not affect the internet and .com will always rule," said Vijay Mukhi, an Internet expert.
Courtesy - Business Today
The Rs 65-crore film is also concentrating on a wider release in non-southern markets, with about 60 prints being released. This is perhaps the largest release a regional film has witnessed. In fact, Sivaji, which released with about 40 prints for the non-Southern markets, was only released with 12 prints in its first week and was then gradually increased with an additional 28 prints in the second week.Dasavatharam will be the first South Indian film to be screened in the New Jersey and New York areas, with three Tamil and two Telugu prints. The producer of the movie Oscar Productions is into promoting the movie and spent almost 15 million rupees for just audio launch and now is trying to make even US president to watch his movie.As per latest buzz, talks are on with the help of the producers US counterparts with Whitehouse officials to arrange for the screening. Dasavatharam story begins with an episode set in the 12th century, and then looks at coincidences. In this, Kamal plays Nambi, a staunch Vaishnavite priest. Other characters are an American, a Chinese man, a CBI officer from Andhra Pradesh, an old lady, a leader from Afghanistan, a Scheduled Tribes’ leader, George Bush, a Punjabi and one character, who looks like Kamal normally does.Dashaavtaram one of the challeging movie for kamal hassan after Indian. Kamal plays 10 characters in this film. The movie a tsunami set have been erected in Mutukadu.a 100 ft wall have been used for it at 50,000 sq ft to make it look real in film.The movie has a set designed like the White House.
Dasavatharam, directed by noted director, K. S. Ravikumar. It stars Kamal Haasan, who plays ten different roles, Asin Thottumkal , who plays two different roles, Mallika sheravat and Jayaprada in the lead roles with Napolean, Nagesh, Santhana Bharathi and Ravikumar himself in other pivotal roles.
In Dashaavtaram Kamal hassan plays 10 roles are likely to be a brahmin priest, a dwarf, a scientist, a fighter, a black man, a tourist guide, an old woman, a beggar, a young lady and an emperor
In Dashaavtaram Currently confirmed roles of Kamal hassan in the film are a 130 year old man, an old spiritual woman, a beautiful young lady and a rural tourist guide named Udhar Mani.he also plays the role of acting like a 7feet tall man which was filmed using modern technology
Mallika Sherawat appearing in Dasavatharam is old news. But her role seems to be very interesting. Reliable source revealed that the sultry actress has donned on the role of a CIA agent.
Official website of Dashaavtaram
ComicBookDB.com is the fastest-growing comic database on the web. The first goal of this project is to catalog every comic, graphic novel, manga, creator, character and anything else that could possibly relate to the field of comics.But that is only the beginning. The second goal of ComicBookDB.com is to make this wealth of information as useful as possible. This means making as many connections as possible from one issue, one creator, one character to everything else in the site.Best of all, ComicBookDB.com is built by anyone and everyone who wants to help. Fans, creators, publishers, anyone who has information that is useful is welcome to register a free account and start contributing.So feel free to jump in, we hope you enjoy yourself!Firefox Users: Give the ComicBookDB.com toolbar a try!
Mypopkorn.com, launched by Essel Group’s Digital Media Convergence Ltd, hosts webisodes (encapsulated TV episodes) of television programmes drawn from leading TV channels. Impressed by the novel concept channels like Zee, Sony, Star, Eros entertainment, Subhash Gai and others have joined hands with DMCL to present webisodes, each one being a three minute version of a 30-minute episode, related to drama, romance, comedy, fiction, or soap, reality, lifestyle, movie clips, soap operas, sports, and news. By tracking the visitor’s surfing pattern, mypopkorn.com can help customise content and features that are best suited to an individual. He or she can also interact with people with similar preferences, integrate on all devices and post their opinion on the webisodes. Another great feature of this website is MyStage — a platform provided for users to showcase their talent. Instant fame is just a click away if you aspire to become a singer, actor, reporter, spiritual guru, or a DJ. All you need to do is to upload your videos to the site. You can get even paid for it, and this would depend on the number of times the video gets viewed. A recent success story at MyStage is that of Ms Indira Naik whose upload helped her to launch her music video, successfully. According to Alexa Ranking mypopkorn.com, launched barely two months ago, is ranked among the top 12,000 websites and its viewership is around two lakhs, a day.
Adobe Media Player software provides viewers with control and flexibility to watch what they want, when they want — whether online or offline. Users can download and subscribe to their favorite Internet TV content and manage their personal video library for viewing at their convenience. With a broad catalog of videos and shows from the leading media companies and networks, you have endless choices. Pick the episodes you love to watch, and Adobe® Media Player software will track new episodes and download them so you can watch whenever you want.
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The success of movies like Hanuman and Bal Ganesha has made production houses realise the potential of the domestic market. The Indian animation industry is moving away from being just a back office for Hollywood studios and other international production houses. It is now creating original content for the local market. With the success of animated movies like Hanuman and Bal Ganesha, production houses and studios are realising the potential of the domestic market. Apart from animated movies, animation series on television with original content have also been garnering huge TRP ratings such as J Bole To Jadu on Nickelodeon, MAD on Pogo among others.The entertainment segment of the Indian animation industry is worth Rs 1,300 crore, says a Ficci-PwC report on the media and entertainment industry. Over the next four years the growth in domestic demand for TV/Broadcast animated content is projected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 49.5 per cent. It is forcast the domestic market will be worth Rs 150 crore in 2008 and will touch Rs 300 crore by 2010. The launch of new channels almost everyday and the resultant desire to provide diversified and original content has made media houses look for original and localised content. The Turner Group is one such instance. Cartoon Network and Pogo — the group’s two kids’ channel — are growing at a rate of 25 per cent annually and to keep up the momentum the channel decided to acquire local content, early on. “We started acquiring local animated content in 2001. So far we have acquired 20 properties. When we launched Pogo, we felt there was a void in terms of animated content,” Monica Tata, vice-president, Advertisement Sales and Networks, Indian and South Asia, Turner International India said. The latest acquisition by the group is Chota Bheem— produced by Hyderabad-based Green Gold studios — which will be aired this summer. On the localisation strategy, Tata says: “We started by dubbing the programmes that we had in Hindi. The next level came with the introduction of Tamil and Telegu languages and then we started looking for content that would add value to the channel.” Graphiti is another firm that is bullish on the local market. Rather, it is one of the only firms which has been intent on creating original content. Agrees AK Madhavan, CEO, Crest Animation, who, having created some popular animation work in the international market, is now working on series for domestic market. Madhavan’s company is also focused on creating animated films.
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Pritish Nandy Communications Ltd (PNC) has struck a Rs 1800 crore ($45 million) deal with DQ Entertainment (DQE), one of the world's leading animation and gaming production companies, to co-develop and co-produce six animation movies over the next three to four years. Announcing the deal Wednesday in DQE's Hyderabad office, PNC chairman Pritish Nandy said that both the companies would later jointly work out the budget of each of these six movies. "The movies will be in animation and live action. Each project will be announced separately and all of them shall be released globally," Nandy told IANS on phone. Last May, PNC had also signed a five-movie deal with Motion Pixel Corporation (MPC), a Florida-based animation company that has its animation studios, Estudio Flex, in Costa Rica. The PNC-MPC deal envisaged that all the five movies would be 3-D animated full-length Bollywood variety of movies with Indian and international actors. Nandy had earlier said that the first of these movies was now in the final stages of production. "DQE is a world leader in the high-end animation and film content space. The range and quality of its work has impressed us. We are delighted to associate with its talented team of 3,000 professionals," said Nandy. PNC is also exploring gaming extensions for all platforms to be co-developed with DQE, including comic book spin-offs. DQE has already collaborated with production houses in other parts of Asia, Europe and North America for 'Long Form Animation' for TV, home video and feature-length movies. Animation content produced at DQE Hyderabad facilities have been used by channels like BBC, Nickelodeon, Discovery, Cartoon Network and Disney.
For the first time in India, Chandigarh-based Compact Disc India Ltd (CDIL), an integrated media and entertainment company, will animate a true love story titled Eternal Love in English which will revolve around the Taj Mahal. The company has secured an animation outsourcing contract worth $15.70 million from a Los Angeles-based firm through its arm Mediaone Ventures Ltd for the film which is slated to be released in December 2009. Internationally acclaimed celebrities will be involved in this ambitious film project. The company acquired a Russian mobile gaming company — Mobsoft — for $7 million in April this year and very soon the firm will float a new company in Chandigarh. Recently, Department of Information and Technology, Madhya Pradesh, allotted five acres of industrial land to the company for setting up an animation studio at the IT Park in Bhopal. The estimated investment by the studio is Rs 57.20 crore. It has also entered into an agreement with the Rajasthan State Industrial Corporation Ltd for setting up a studio at Kath Kalwar in Jaipur. The agreement was signed at the recently-conducted Resurgent Rajasthan — Partnership Summit at Jaipur, organised by the Rajasthan government in collaboration with FICCI. The Company is hopeful of achieving a sales turnover of over Rs 103 crore this fiscal year.
Six years in the making, Emeryille's Pixar Animations Studios was rewarded for its patience and determination Sunday night when "Ratatouille" came away with the Oscar as the best animated film of the year.Scripted and directed by Brad Bird, who won two Oscars for Pixar's "The Incredibles," the film is the tale of a rodent named Remy, with delicate taste buds, who by chance is let loose on a classy Parisian restaurant and succeeds in winning over the city's top food critic. In his acceptance speech, Bird backhandedly thanked his junior-high guidance counselor, whose questioning of his career choice as a filmmaker prepared him for the grilling down by Hollywood producers. But, according to many critics, the night should have been a much larger triumph for the film. Although it landed five Oscar nominations and was ranked by many critics as one of the year's best, it was never a serious contender for best picture. And its other nominations across three different disciplines -- best original screenplay, best score, best sound mixing and best sound editing -- suggested the kind of broad consensus that often results in bigger awards. Its five nominations rank as the most ever for a computer animated film, and rate second among all animated films, only surpassed by the six received by Disney's "Beauty and the Beast." That picture, done in the traditional Disney style in 1991, stands as the only animated film to ever be nominated for best picture. If not for the best animated feature category, it's safe to say "Ratatouille" would have been strongly considered for best picture. Lewis, the film's producer, is quick to point out that he has no sour grapes with the academy -- and that he's ecstatic about the five widespread nominations.
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The animation and gaming industry in India wants income-tax breaks on a par with software companies to produce cheaper films and compete in the Asian market. Software companies housed in software technology parks enjoy tax breaks on their export profits. Though the benefit ends in March 2009, it might be extended for 10 years, considering that the surge in the rupee has impacted their bottom lines. The animation and gaming industry is lobbying for similar tax benefits. “We have given a formal proposal to the information and broadcasting ministry seeking a tax holiday on export profits under Section 10 A of the Income-Tax Act. The finance ministry has also been kept in the loop,” said Ficci animation and gaming forum chairman and DQ Entertainment CEO Tapas Chakravarti. The industry also wants government-sponsored animation institutions, with IIT stature. “We have also asked the I&B ministry to amend the TV Broadcast Bill to promote local content on Indian television channels. This has been done in countries such as France, Japan, China, South Korea and Canada where more than 50% of TV channels’ animation broadcast consists of local content,” Mr Chakravarti said. According to a Nasscomsponsored study, Animation India 2007, India will need over 3,00,000 professionals in the content development and animation segment by 2008 to cope with the growing demand. At present, there are only 12,000 domain experts in this industry. Nasscom had also made out a case for the government to hand-hold the animation and gaming industry by providing assistance in manpower development and infrastructure. The animation market in India is estimated at $285 million and is expected to grow to around $1 billion by 2010. India is turning out to be a hub for outsourcing post production work, thanks to the growing market and lower overhead costs. According to a CII-AT Kearney study, the cost of making a full length movie in India is around $15-25 million compared to $100-125 million in the US. The industry apprehends that India may lose this advantage if it does not build a vast talent pool. ( courtesy ET)
Zapak has some serious plans for the upcoming budget. It will launch Zapak Budget 2.0 - a microsite - in association with Reliance Capital, which will have various features. There will be an analysis of budget across categories by corporate honchos and celebrities, along with video bytes on people’s budget expectations, across various categories. The visitors to ‘Zapak Budget 2.0’ will also be able to upload content on various categories. Daily winners will be announced for the best entries.A special game called ‘Game for Money’ would be featured on this site, to help visitors de-stress. In the game, players can invest his money in various options. Once done, he moves ahead with the intent of earning more money by rolling a dice. The player moves across the blocks, depending on the number which appears on the dice, each of which has a different message – e.g.- ‘Cash Theft of 10,000’, after which the player’s total worth and value of insurance is scored. The Goal is to increase the player’s net worth. And like real life, it’s Game Over when the player goes bankrupt.Simple indicators on the micro site such as What’s Hot & What’s Not, What’s expensive & what’s cheaper and Policy Changes that will impact the common man will make sure that the visitors get the information useful to them. Visitors will also be able to calculate the tax payable and even chat with a financial specialist to put their anxieties to rest and solve their queries.
DotAsia Organisation has launched the Celebrity Pioneer Program, offering Indian celebrities the priority to register their domain name with .asia before the registrations are opened for public later this month on 20 February 2008. Early adopters of the programme include Indian cricketer Kapil Dev, pop singer Shibani Kashyap, a TV star Rakshanda Khan, 'Indian Idol' fame Rahul Vaidya, and pop singer and 'VJ' Anoushka, amidst many others.
According to Edmon Chung, CEO, DotAsia Organisation Limited, "There are more than 450 million online customers in Asia, and the .asia domain name is a gateway to reach this largest Internet market in the world. While .com ignited the ecommerce boom in the US, .eu was created for Europe. .asia is the first global top-level-domain that is headquartered in Asia and will be the platform for growth of the region. The Pioneer Domains Program focusses on building positive usage of the .asia domain which in turn drives adoption and development for the Internet community across Asia."
Shibani Kashyap added, "I own ShibaniKashyap.com but I still opted to register ShibaniKashyap.asia and Shibani.asia to secure my cyber identity and to reach out to my fans in Asia with a domain that conveys even better relevance to the region. I intend on making previews of my songs and videos available on my shibani.asia website. I really think that artists should be proactive and book their .asia domain name before anyone else grabs it."
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The director talks about his animation film Kamlu with Shilpa Jamkhandikar
After almost four years, one of India’s most acclaimed film-makers is back, but don’t expect another Ardh Satya or a Dhrohkaal from firebrand director Govind Nihalani. This time round, his focus of attention is Kamlu, a baby camel, the protagonist of his new animation film.
“I have always wanted to do animation, but earlier the budgets and the technology were a constraint. Now, however, we have so many facilities at our calling that this was the time for me to jump into animation,” Nihalani says.
Kamlu, which is about a baby camel who gets lost in the desert and finds new friends in the process, is currently being given shape in an animation studio in Chennai. Nihalani says the process has been a learning experience for him. “After my 2004 release Dev, I took a break, and worked on my animation project, because I knew it would take a lot of time. I do have a few actors in mind for the films, but everything is still in its primary stages,” he adds. Things, he says have changed considerably in the last three years. (Courtsy DNAIndia)
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Rajnikanth will be seen adorning the character of a charming Hero in Sultan which is going to be an out and out action flick set up in an ancient background with a gripping storyline. The duration of the second trailer released is 1 min 43 sec. It unveils the look of Rajnikanth in the movie, the set up of the period depicted and stylization used and shows the fight sequence between Sultan and his enemies.
The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is a HUGE collection of movie information. They catalog every pertinent detail about a movie, from who was in it, to who made it, to trivia about it, to filming locations, and even where you can find reviews and fan sites on the web. The IMDb people present this information in a manner that is easy to search and access.
The IMDb started as a hobby project by an international group of movie fans(history of IMDb), essentially something by movie fans for movie fans.
IMDb creators say "We are some of our site's most hardcore users. Our managing director claims to have seen over seven thousand movies. Most of our people could write or win a movie trivia game show. One of our proposed slogans was "we just love movies." As big and intimidating as we may seem because of our millions of monthly visitors, we're just a bunch of hardcore movie fans who still can't get over the fact that we're getting paid to keep improving this tool we use so much for our own pleasure."
