Toon Boom: Brand India animation coming of age

It was a decade ago, when IT industry was beginning to position itself as an Indian brand of offshore outsourcing to the western world. It was also the same time that indian animation sector was taking its first faltering steps by bagging little contract work in labor intensive cell animation.

Ten years later, today, Indian IT industry is a standard brand in rest of the world. Every major software house in the world has either a presence or a large partner in India. Not many people in IT industry however are aware that nearly all the major animation studios in the world also have some kind of Indian presence or make use of Indian facilities and personnel in most of their productions.

Thomson and DreamWorks invested in Bangalore-based Paprikaas Animation; Disney signed up with Yash Raj Films to make three animated films; and UTV is committed to build a full-scale animation "pipeline."

I have a feeling that all parameters of a boom in the animation sector are lining up.

1. Lessons learned and Maturity of indian IT industry
2. Young Indian generation has growing interest in non-traditional jobs.
3. Huge English speaking talent pool.
4. Growing animation entertainment market both at home and abroad
5. High level corporate tie-ups

Animation sector doesn't have "industry status" when the rest of the film sector achieved in 2000. But Indian toon companies are more aggressive in the global hunt for projects and more predatory at the corporate level. Having a background in IT offshore outsourcing and produced an animation short film, I can definitely compare these two businesses not much different from each other in terms of processes and need for organized methods.