Remember those majestic dragons from the show, Game of Thrones? What if we tell you, they were designed and animated here in India? Thanks to India’s growing dexterity in VFX and complex animation, such high budget projects are increasingly being executed back home. The dragons were created by the Mumbai offshoot of Prana Studios – a leading global animation and visual effects company.
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The Indian animation and visual effects industry has made long strides in the past decade, owing to a variety of factors – growing interest and awareness, video development evolution in line with global innovation, increased outsourcing and knowledge sharing and higher demand for locally produced content for new media including OTT Platforms. It should not come as a surprise then that the Indian animation and VFX industry was valued at approximately INR 95 billion with projections of growth up to INR 156 billion by 2022! (Source: Market Size of Indian Animation Industry, Statista, 2020)
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A common perception of animation is that it’s meant for children and not adults. However, the fact states otherwise, with adults forming a major chunk of the audience. Thanks to the proliferation of easy-to-use video tools and in-built video filters, a growing number of YouTubers, social media content creators, and short filmmakers show an affinity towards animated and VFX-styled content. This has extended to music videos, advertisements, and other short formats of storytelling making formats like Anime and Stop Motion popular across the globe. Furthermore, besides the media and entertainment industry, animation has found its place in real-estate (VR tours), healthcare (animated tutorials), automotive (3D-rendered models), and so on. The potential and possibilities are endless, as long as the talent and skill are moulded to fit the industry.
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The animation industry is fast evolving to become more immersive, interactive, and intelligent. From the AR launch of products to the life-like CGI in movies, from interactive shows to a more complete visual and aural VR experience, the industry is surely heading towards a paradigm transformation, changing the traditional arc of storytelling. So, what are the in-demand skills one should be looking to acquire? Any skill that can make the content more engaging, gives the audience an immersive experience and can integrate with other formats. The four-year UG course in Animation and VFX at Pearl Academy has been meticulously designed to incorporate such future facing skills. The program’s core focuses on teaching the technical tools required to build engaging characters and environments to explore the fundamentals of storytelling and entertainment. This offers students the knowledge to create and control a virtual environment, a pre-requisite for any immersive and interactive content one would make.
Students also gain an in-depth understanding of the concepts of 2D and 3D graphics complete with their usage to create scenarios (AR is created using 2D images), modeling and simulation to understand the dynamics of different elements interacting with each other and their surroundings, innovative formats of storytelling, and the operations of animation companies. Ace animators and veteran leaders mentor students to explore their highest potential, experiment, fail, learn, and have a thirst to upskill and lead. Moreover, advanced labs and the latest tools enable students to put their theoretical knowledge into practical action.
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The future of animation and VFX is, without any doubt, exciting and promising. It has now become an indispensable tool in storytelling, and with more high quality and high budget content being churned regularly, the industry is poised to grow tremendously. Moreover, the rapid pace of the global digital domain has introduced Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence to the toolkit, making processes much simpler, smoother, and effective.
We may not remember the story of Avatar or 2001: A Space Odyssey, and perhaps neither the director nor the visual lead, but we sure do remember the grand visual style that took the world by storm and propelled the industry to greater heights! We do remember the surreal visual (and aural) experience we had, and we revisit them today, even after a decade and more. This is the power of visual storytelling. If you want to delight the audience with an extraordinary visual style, want to push the envelope, and be remembered for your visual prowess, head over to our UG course in Animation and VFX and take the first step! The world of scary dragons and amiable extra-terrestrial beings awaits you!
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To know more about our UG course in Animation and VFX, click here
