Bring it to life | Career Bazaar

"Men can FLY!", exclaimed the elderly grandmother enjoying a scene from Superman Returns. The grandson shook his head saying "That is animation granny, animation!"

Despite lauding it and marveling at the magnificent feats animation has achieved, few have considered it as a serious profession. Many trainees at various computer institutes have only been taking the animation course as a hobby rather than taking it profesionally. The scope of animation professionals has grown almost exponentially in today's information age and for a creative and diligent professional, it can prove to be a more than lucrative undertaking.

Globally, the animation industry will be worth at least 75 billion dollars by 2009. In India alone, the industry will be generating around 9.5 billion dollars. According to Indra Lal Balami, the only Adobe certified professional of Nepal, "In Nepal alone, starting rates for many animators begin at Rs. 2000/second meaning for a 30 second video alone, one can earn Rs. 60,000, much skilled and established animators go for rates as high as Rs. 10000/second." Despite the enormous capital involved, there is not enough skilled human resources being produced to rise up to the creative demands of the employers.

Many institutes have been providing both minor and major courses on animation softwares like 3DS Max and Maya. "The trouble with most of these courses is that they limit the student into being a mere application user or a software technician rather than a real animator," says Umesh Raj Malla, marketing manager of Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics (MAAC), "A course in animation should be able to empower the student into unleashing their creativity from their minds into the computer screen, it must also be able to impart enough knowledge and adaptability into the student so that he or she can survive and excel in the ever changing market of technology."

MAAC is a branch of the highly successful Indian animation academy founded by Ketan Mehta, director of Mangal Pandey: The Rising.

RISHI AMATYA

KIRAT GURUNG
Currently teaching 70 students, MAAC offers a two year course priced at Rs. 1,25,000 which includes the required materials for the course. "We have intended the course to be from an entirely professional perspective. We have included production techniques like storyboarding and also classes on production of one's portfolio and building a strong presentation," stated Malla. Other popular names in the animation institutes are Pentasoft and Arena Multimedia.

"We have courses on both 2D and 3D animation. Most of the courses are priced at around Rs. 50,000 and are of 15 months in length," said Chiran Dhakal of Arena Multimedia, "Currently 700 students are studying animation in our center and most of them are in their mid-teens or early twenties."

With an almost obscene amount of institutes mushrooming around the market, how can a student choose the center best suited for him? According to Kirat Gurung, one of the team leaders of the animation staff of The Rising, "One must check the credibility of the instructors. One can easily cite examples of Shrek, Spider-man and Final Fantasy but if the instructors can truly put their theories into the computer screen then only the student can actually learn." Kirat Gurung and Indra Lal Balami also stressed on the fact that, "A course should not limit the student into being only a software technician".

INDRA LAL BALAMI
Today, the scope of animation has expanded from the traditional video gaming, television and advertising into fields like medical science, engineering and product designing. A creative individual can truly earn a living for himself by devoting into this field of pixels and textures. With both national and international appeal for animation growing by the minute, it is more than obvious that opportunities will increase as the days pass by. Thanks to the internet, people can take up international

projects and still work at the comfort of their homes. MAAC has also expressed its interest in outsourcing Nepali animators into the international studios, but the lack of animators has been acting as a roadblock to the process.

"If you see the music videos and television programs today, you can easily see the subtle and sometimes extensive uses of animation in their part," said Balami, "For an individual to succeed in this field he must be able to think creatively and be persistent". Kirat Gurung adds, "A strong base in English is essential as the software we use is in the language. One must first be sure of his dedication towards animation. If one feels passionately about the field then it is only a matter of time before lady luck favors them."