Silvertoon, Pentafour and RM-USL are three companies that have all made serious inroads in the 2D and 3D marketplace. They are all supported by strong financial backing and have demonstrated a willingness to invest in the future of the animation industry in India. The only thing lacking is the experience that comes with time. With patience and a continued commitment of resources, that experience will be gained.

Will 3D Follow 2D?
The world of digital media is alive and growing in Asia, as it is everywhere else. Technology is technology is technology. Asian artists working with Alias|Wavefront's Maya, SoftImage, Nichimen Graphics or Prism software, have the same creative tools available to them as artists in Los Angeles, London or Toronto. How creatively these tools are used is the real question.

Will 3D/CGI animation flow to Asia as 2D animation did twenty years ago? In time, probably yes. If technology, is technology, is technology, then business, is business, is business. If there is any flaw in the economic model, it involves the question of how well western producers can learn to package their 3D/CGI work to travel offshore.

Remember when 2D animation was first sent to Asia for production? The methods and techniques used to make television animation were well established and not highly experimental. If anything, television animation called for a simplification of traditional animation. No one was in the dark or confused about how it should be done. What was needed was a large number of artists, to work at a greatly reduced cost, who could follow highly detailed instructions on an exposure sheet. Client control was achieved by preparing a thorough and comprehensive package of pre-production materials for the offshore studio to follow. When more comfort was needed, the client would send one person to the subcontracting studio to oversee the production and help local artists understand what was desired and approve their work.

Unlike 2D television animation, the production techniques used to produce 3D/CGI animation are still constantly being upgraded and evolving as technology improves. This reality makes it difficult to establish a system of preparing the work for offshore production. Once clients figure out how to efficiently communicate their creative vision to an offshore studio, and can see it reasonably accomplished, you can look for simple economics to drive the deals that send the work overseas.

Many people I've talked to feel that this day is close at hand.

Contrarily, I believe high-budget commercials and feature film 3D/CGI projects will stay at home, for the same reason high-end 2D animation has stayed put. This type of work is budgeted for maximum quality and maximum control; requirements that do not fit the high volume, quick turnaround methods of production found in offshore studios.

How much 3D animation will go overseas depends on the popularity of the medium and forces within the market. If 3D/CGI animation becomes a staple fare for Saturday morning, look for everyone to try to find out how to send a major portion of the production offshore. The technology is there already, now it is just a matter of figuring out how to use it to deliver an acceptable product, at a reduced cost, on schedule.

Milt Vallas is an independent producer and consultant, specializing in the production, development and financing of animated television and film projects. His company, Media Vision serves a wide range of industry clients. Currently he is producing the overseas animation for a feature film slated to be released late this summer by Columbia-TriStar.