ANIMATION OUTSOURCING TO INDIA

Animation outsourcing is happening because studios are coming up in developing markets that offer world-class infrastructure and quality processes to produce animation work that’s delivered on time and within estimated cost.
Procedure : The usual procedure is for preproduction (preparing the script, storyboard, and exposure sheets) to be done in the United States or other headquarter countries, after which, the package is sent to Asia for production (drawing cels, colouring by hand, inking, painting, and camera work). The work is sent back to the U.S. or other headquarter country for post-production (film editing, colour timing, and sound).
India’s animation sector is witnessing a major boom. Indian studios are popping up alongside software firms and call centres that do work for firms in the West. In films, television shows and electronic games, latecomer India has started to gain favour over more established animation centres such as Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and the Philippines. And cities in India like Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Trivandrum have emerged as the country’s major animation hubs. The total animation production by Indian companies is expected to rise from $ 600 million in 2001 to $1.5 billion by 2005, while the total global animation production would touch $51.7 billion.Overseas entertainment giants like Walt Disney, Imax and Sony are increasingly outsourcing cartoon characters and special effects to India. The animation market in India today is characterised by the presence of multiple players including Crest Communications, UTV Toons, Pentamedia Graphics, Padmalaya Telefilms, Moving Pictures and Toonz Animation, Crest Communications and Jadooworks.
Set up with an investment of $7 million in 1999, Toonz Animation has emerged as one of the leading players in the nascent Indian animation market. Besides focusing on developing its own cartoon animation, skits, serials and full-length feature films for the export market, Toonz also has a co-production deal with Britain-based Tree House Production for a fun animation series. A full-fledged feature film called Tommy and Oscar is in the final stages of production at the Toonz Animation Studio, Technopark, Kerala. A team of artists and technicians is working frenetically to complete the film for the Italian producer Rainbow Productions.
Applied Gravity, a New Zealand-based company, has outsourced nearly 90 per cent of it animation work to Nipuna Services, the business process outsourcing subsidiary of Satyam Computer Servcies. An animatronics dog for Animal Planet (Discovery channel) for a popular episode called K9 to11 and animatronics models for New Zealand theme parks were some of the best-known creations of Applied Gravity in India.
The Walt Disney Company has outsourced some of its major animation projects to various studios across India. Cartoon Network is buying animation films made in India. MTV has added India to its outsourcing hub along with the Philippines and South Korea.
A recent US$14 million deal between Italy’s Mondo TV, Europe’s No 2 cartoon producer and distributor, and India’s Padmalaya Telefilms, is the latest boost to India’s creative reputation. Padmalaya will make 104 cartoon episodes for US$14 million and distribute Mondo’s library for US$15 million in cash and stock. Padmalaya, a unit of India’s largest listed media firm, Zee Telefilms, will also set up a 3D animation studio in Bombay to make cartoons for US$7,000 a minute - a third of costs in Europe.
India has become an outsourcing hub for animation films because:
India has a vast base of English speaking workforce: Animation, which requires familiarity with the English language, benefits when the work is outsourced to India. A number of animation companies in the country are also creating skilled manpower for the animation market through various training programmes.
Presence of good studios: India has the second largest entertainment industry in the world, after Hollywood. Animation studios in the country provide a large supply of low-cost, high-quality software engineers. A number of Indian animation companies have set up hi-tech studios (equipped with state-of-the-art hardware and software) to execute overseas projects.
A track record in meeting Western companies’ technology needs.
Low cost of animation services: The main reason why foreign entertainment firms are flocking to India is the cost advantage the country offers. For instance, in the US, animators can cost about $125 an hour; in India, they cost $25 an hour. The total cost for making a full-length animated film in America is estimated to be $100 million to $175 million. In India, it can be made for $15 million to $25 million. The rates for production of a half-hour television animation programme would be around $ 2,50,000-4,00,000 in the USA and Canada, it is in the region of $ 60,000 in India, the report says. Toonz Animation offers animation at 25 per cent to 40 per cent lower rates than other Asian studios and much lower than those of American studios.
India is, however, up against substantial competition from countries within the Asia Pacific region such as the Philippines, Taiwan and South Korea that have been active in the animation production market for a longer period.