| MUMBAI:
The biggest 40 hits in cinema all over the world of all time have been those with
special visual effects or animation and, therefore, this is an industry that has
a very bright future. This
was the general consensus during a panel on ‘Visual Effects: A Global Perspective’
at the ongoing FIicci Frames 2010, where participants who were mostly from the
United States said they were open to collaboration with Indian entrepreneurs since
this country had a vast trained resource. Tim
McGovern who is Co-chairman of the Visual Effects Society in the US listed some
of the top hits of all time including ‘Titanic’ and ‘Avatar’
and said all these were visual effects-driven. But
he admitted that VFX was no use without a good story or good actors, which was
why the films by James Cameroon had succeeded. Noting
that VFX techniques had proved that nothing was impossible in this field, he also
said some of the films that had succeeded in 2009 had used a mix of technologies
including animation and VFX. Speaking
about the Society, he said it was an educational forum with chapters in many countries.
He said any country which could put up 50 or more members could open a chapter. He
said the VFX industry was growing and needed a lot of trained people, and so Hollywood
was coming to India in search of talent. Bruno
Sargeant who is Film and TV Industry Manager (Media and Entertainment) in Autodesk
Inc. said there was a huge market for VFX in India and the country was no longer
just an outsourcing model. He said there had been a lot of consolidation in this
industry and Indians were investing in US companies and vice versa. He also spoke
of increasing convergence of games, films and TV. Kerner
CEO Eric Edmeades said the US was open to working with Indian partners in the
field of VFX and animation. EyeQube
Creative Director and CEO Charles Darby who moderated the discussion agreed and
said there was a huge market in this field. | 
