Animation - An Accolade to Advertising

What with the recession period still going strong, all the marketing and advertising agencies across the globe are under a tremendous pressure, as media budgets are being reduced all over the world. But even so, the possibilities for spewing forth good ads are still not out of reach, what with the current budgets needing to provide us with unbeatable ROI.

Advertising agencies around the world are now being faced with a number of obstacles with regards to the production budgets of television advertisements, since other forms of low cost media are being given the first preference.

From a personal point of view, more and more companies should start looking towards adopting animation as a good alternative to television and commercial production since the budget that is required for animation is extremely cost-effective when compared to the budget for a live video production. Unlike in video production, animation doesn’t really need any additional manpower and equipment. Due to this, marketers and advertisers can now save large sums of money by not having to shell out any extra cash on equipment hiring, production teams and shoot insurance. Not to forget that there is always extra money that is saved due to time related costs.

Some of the other benefits of animation

• Everyone knows that animated characters are timeless.
• When talking about animation, there are no limitations. Animation can bring to you the best possible special effects without the stress of possibilities and logistics.
• Ideas can be brought to life at very reasonable rates with regards to production methods.
• If used effectively, animation can go a long way in demonstrating the full potential of a product.
• Animation is an extremely effective mode of communication especially when you are thinking of marketing a product that’s aimed at children. Children relate well with “cartoonistic” imagery.

Animation when used in advertising or marketing is in a league of its own. Although it has a lot of the same characteristics as many of the other communication media like video, it posses its own set of unique characteristics that no other marketing medium can match up to. So, when you think about the advantages that animation has coupled with the fact that it is cost effective, then it becomes very clear why animation is increasingly becoming a favored medium for marketing and advertising.

Cartoon Animation Outsourcing

A new outsourcing fever has taken over the whole Indian subcontinent. On the one hand, global giants in the media and entertainment space like Warner Brothers, Walt Disney, Sony and Imax have been signing up projects with many of the Indian animation companies. On the other hand, other companies have also started outsourcing commercials and computer games to India.

Indian animation studios are cropping up all over the country right along with call centers and software firms. And although they might not seem like the most obvious outsourcing candidates, cute cartoon characters and hi-fi special effects are also being outsourced to Indian studios. Off late, India has been winning many animation contracts for a number of reasons. Yes India is becoming the next biggest animation hotspot for the very same reasons that it is a big outsourcing destination for other types of industries. Low working costs, a workforce that is fluent in English and a record in meeting standards makes India a preferred cartoon animation outsourcing destination.

Specializing in different types of computer animation that range from flash animation and architectural animation to 2D and 3D animation, the number of professionals in this field continues to increase. Yes indeed cartoon animation outsourcing continues to grow and the future for India in this field promises to be bright.

Animation Outsourcing to India: Animating our way to the Top!

As compared to the rest of the world, the Indian animation industry was initially what most critics would call a “late starter”. In India, for a very long period of time, the animation scene was considered to be a very expensive proposition, and something that would not draw the Indian audience. Furthermore, with the ever-evolving Indian film industry taking the front seat with regards to issues like piracy and quality control, the animation industry took a back seat. It isn’t that animation was non-existent; it did exist but was rather primitive. But today, India has become the biggest animation outsourcing destination in the world! So whether its 3D modeling or 2D animation, take a look at what India has to offer.

Currently pegged at over 15 billion rupees, the animation and visual FX segments in India have experienced a tremendous upsurge over the past three years. Taking into consideration the speed at which this industry is growing within the country, our nation will probably need thousands and thousands of professionals in the coming year to take care of this ‘techno savvy’ field.

Yes, India’s animation sector is indeed witnessing a boom. Many of the overseas giants like Sony, Walt Disney, Pixar and Imax have been increasingly outsourcing special effects projects and cartoon characters to India. Apart from this, other companies all over the world have also been outsourcing projects to India for game development and commercials.

So what makes India so special? Why is the animation sector experiencing such drastic growth? Let’s take a look at what makes India so special!

Here are some of the reasons why India is such a hot animation outsourcing destination:

India has a vast English speaking workforce base and animation is a field that requires fluency in the English language. This is perhaps the biggest reason why animation is outsourced to India.
Many of the top-notch animation studios in the country are now creating skilled manpower for the industry through various kinds of training programs.
India has the second largest film and entertainment industry in the world today. And, many of the animation studios supply overseas companies with a large number of high quality, low cost software engineers.
Most of the Indian animation studios come replete with hi-tech setups, which are fully equipped with state-of-the-art software and hardware to execute overseas projects.
The main reason why many of the overseas entertainment companies have started outsourcing animation to India is due to the cost advantage offered by this country. For example, in the United States, animators charge about $125 per hour, while in India they charge a mere $25 per hour.
The estimated net cost for making a full-length animated movie is somewhere around $100 million to about $200 million in the US. But, in India, a movie can be made for anywhere between $15 million to $ 25 million.

Walt Disney has outsourced many of its major projects to various studios within India. Cartoon Network is in the process of buying films that are made in India. MTV has also added India to its list of hot animation outsourcing hubs, along with South Korea and the Philippines.

Cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Trivandrum have fast emerged as India’s major animation spots. A number of companies across the country have been wholly and completely involved in the outsourced world of special effects and animation. Some of these companies include, Crest Communications, Toonz Animation, UTV Toons, Maya Entertainment, and Zee Institute of Creative Animation, to name a few. All of these animation firms have large studios that are fully equipped with state-of-the-art technologies and software’s like 3D Max, SFX, SGI, and Softimage and motion capture facilities.

Slick special effects, skilled 3D modeling, cute cartoon characters and classic 2D animation services are the results of outsourcing to India. Like call centers and software firms, Indian animation studios are popping up all over the country and that are specialized in working for overseas projects. Yes, when it comes to television shows, films and even gaming, India (although she is a latecomer) has strated to gain remarkable recognition over some of her more established competitors like Taiwan, Korea, Philippines and Singapore.

After all, multimedia outsourcing and animation outsourcing is what we call the media equivalent of perhaps business process outsourcing. The dynamics are more or less the same – it is too expensive to animate in the West. So bring it on to India.