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Throw in a bit of innovative art teamed with some whacky ideas and some serious technical knowledge and you have a dynamic cocktail called animation,” says Japheth Alberto Bautista, Philippine-born creative director, as he trots in at Frameboxx Animation and Visual Effects, Sector 34, to give the students a short briefing about the play of visuals that now is a “$200 million market and is rearing to grow at 30 per cent despite the economic slowdown”. “With the present workforce of 50,000, the industry would need about three lakh animators in the next three years,” says Bautista, who is fondly addressed as Jap.
The demand, he tells us, is from diversified industries. “Architects use animation to make walk-throughs, engineers in design and the gaming and movie industry need it for added effects,” smiles Jap, who has a total industry experience of 17 years and has worked in various studios including Moving Images, Colour Chips, Fil Cartoons, Pasi, One shot Studio, Kennedy Cartoons, Pixel Toons, Dream Production, Rainbow Animation and Toon City (Disney Manila). “But movie making still is the largest market,” says Jap says. Probably that’s the reason that over the years, different countries have made their own trade designs in this industry. “Japanese animation movies can be distinguished by the big eyes of characters, Disney is known for its smooth movements while the Warner Bros have created a niche with best of gags like Bugs Bunny and Looney Tunes. Though most of the Indian animation has been categorized under the mythological segment, the Indian animators still have a long way to go,” feels Jap, who has been the creative director on different shows including ‘The Legend of Buddha’, ‘Street Sharks’, ‘Hurricane’ and ‘Lion King’. “My experience tells me that to be a good animator you need complete knowledge of 2D before you progress to learning 3D and experimenting with 4D. Besides, practice of freehand drawing, simulating human expressions, and acting out the special characteristics juxtaposed with a strong script are mandatory for a winning animated production,” he wraps up his notes for the day.
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