Lack of coordination between industry and trainers

There is miniscule to negligible coordination between companies running training schemes and the animation industry. As a result courses fall dismally short of industry requirements. Repeated attempts by industry representatives for involvement with institutes have produced poor results. This is largely due to the reluctance of these institutes to reimburse trainers as per industry standards as well as wanting to use names purely to attract potential students. The tendency of industry representatives to suggest improvements that call for system overhauls are also not very welcome.

Poor design and implementation of courses

It has been found that people with very little experience of the industry and its norms design animation courses. This results in material that caters to bookish knowledge only. Importance is not given to the production environment and its demands. Students have to re-learn almost all of what they have been taught once they come into the industry. Moreover courses are conducted in a haphazard manner with little emphasis on a structured approach. In most cases, fundamental principles of animation do not even figure in the basic level courses.

On the other hand sometimes industry experts are called upon to help in the design of the courses but implementation and teaching is pretty much left to inexperienced staff.

Little credibility of courses among animation companies

Animation companies in India have very little faith in the caliber of students being produced by these institutes. In most cases the solution is to employ raw talent, as it is far easier to train a fresh mind than to retrain a confused one. Too much emphasis is paid on computer animation courses without a base of fundamental animation theory. Further, subjects such as cinema, direction, acting, staging, set design, use of camera, lenses, perspectives, film and video technology, sound design for animation etc. are not found in most courses. Animation companies have resigned themselves to the harsh reality that they will have to impart basic training to fresh employees in order to make them useful to the bottom lines.

Inadequate and poorly trained faculty

The objectives of most training institutes are business oriented therefore very little emphasis is paid towards recruiting industry professionals who charge relatively heavy fees for their time and knowledge. Very often the best students are offered faculty jobs by these institutes to train the next fresh batch.

This results in a step down phenomenon. With every trainer retaining only ~80% of what he is taught, with every passing batch the relevant knowledge of the faculty approaches dangerously low levels. This ultimately leads to a poorly delivered course which no doubt has a direct bearing on the quality of students being produced. It would be worthwhile to find out how many institutes send their faculty into the industry to gain first hand experience.

Overcrowding

A general survey of training courses will reveal a density of over 2 students per computer system. The size of each training batch varies between 15-20 students, taught by an average of 2 instructors. In such cases personalised training is impossible. Project work is undertaken in batches of 5 students per assignment. Not only does this prevent growth of individual creativity, it also does not allow a prospective employee to fairly judge the true ability of an applicant.

Overcrowding is also visible in the structure of most courses. Institutes try to outdo their competition by offering everything under the sun. It is impossible to teach animation theory in the duration that they cover a complete course.

Absence of standards

The government has still not recognised this field as a major factor in vocational training and with the absence of a single regulatory body it is no surprise that there is a complete absence of standards. This is one of the few vocations where a student can be gainfully employed based on the knowledge he gains during the course of his training. Taking advantage of this situation many sub-standard and downright poor animation 'institutes' are prevalent in the market.

What would help is an initiative from the industry that is supported by the Central/State Governments to institute a national level body comprising of people from the industry who may be called upon and given the responsibility to keep institutes and courses in check. This alone can ensure that we safeguard the interests of the industry and students as well.

Concurrently incentives may be provided to the industry and existing training outfits to take manpower development seriously. An analogy may be drawn from the manner in which the Canadian Government is encouraging their industry. Heavy incentives are available for those productions that qualify through the stringent criteria of the Producer and Key Creative being Canadians and 75% of production and post-production costs have to be paid to Canadians.

The Indian Government may qualify educational institutes and animation companies for incentives if they are found to be actively contributing towards manpower development in a disciplined manner by setting and maintaining high standards.

Absence of courses for industry seniors

Training courses are designed only for aspiring animators and still fall dismally short of industry requirements. It is no surprise then that there is a complete absence of courses for senior animators working in the industry who would wish to upgrade their skills or acquire newer ones to further their careers.

End of Part 9

Part 10 of the series entitled 'CHOICES FOR INDIAN INDUSTRY' shall appear in the next issue of Animation 'xpress.

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Read Part 7

Read Part 8