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| Interview
with Ram Mohan & Nandini Vaidyanathan |
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'India should become the next animation hub for the
world market'
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(Posted
on 28 June 2001)
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Ram
Mohan has been drawing cartoons ever since he was in school.
But it was a chance encounter with Clair H Weeks, veteran Disney
animator, who was in Bombay in 1956 to help the government of
India set up an animation studio, that led to a job in the cartoon
film unit where he worked for the next 12 years and paved the
way for his career in animation. There is arguably no one in
the country today who compares in terms of wealth of experience
in the field of animation.
Ram Mohan has made countless commercials, some children's films
(including the White
Elephant
for Unesco), one animated feature, the Japanese production of
The Legend
of Ramayana
(which he co-directed with Koichi Sasaki) and the Meena
and Sara
series for Unicef. He recently won the lifetime achievement
award from the Advertising Club. This is the fourth such award
he has won for his contribution to the field of animation.
Nandini Vaidyanathan joined UTV Toons as COO in December
2000 with the brief to grow the company's 2D business
in the world market. She joined UTV from Group 4 Securitas
where she was executive director - strategic development,
responsible for Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
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Indiantelevision.com's Thomas Abraham recently met Ram Mohan,
the creative inspiration behind UTV Toons, and Nandini Vaidyanathan
to get an understanding about the potential animation had for
India and where India's leading 2D animation company was headed.
You are one
of the pioneers of animation in India and an institution in
this field. What do you see is the future for animation in India?
RM: The Future of animation as we see is tremendous. It
is an industry that is yet to happen here. India should become
the next animation hub for the world market. It is not so much
cheap labour, because strictly this business does not operate
on the principles of a traditional labour market. It is more
a quality producer stamp at affordable prices that makes India
attractive.
The markets that we envisage for this business are television,
motion pictures, games, web and e-learning. The basket of services
we would offer is 2D Animation, 3-D animation, SFX, live action,
CGA (computer generated animation) and web-based training.
What are
the advantages India holds compared to other established cartoon
content providing countries in Asia?
RM: Price
is of course a major issue. Twenty years ago when western studios
discovered Korea, Taiwan and Philippines, it was largely on
account of quality animation available at affordable prices.
Affordable being relative to what western studios were forking
out back home. Today, India offers similar advantages.
Could you put
some figures on that?
NV: In India an
average cartoon episode costs between $30,000 to $40,000. Besides,
our output is as good as any in terms of quality. Similar episodic
work in the Philippines would cost between $90,000 and $100,000
while in Korea and Taiwan it would cost between $110,000 and
$120,000. There is Japan which is the most mature market in
Asia as far as animation goes but there the costs are the same
if not more than the US.
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Any other advantages?
RM: We are the largest English speaking population in
the world and American, Canadian and European studios
would find it far easier to communicate with us than with
the Chinese, Koreans, or the Filipinos. |
But aren't we coming back to the sweatshop principle? How
can you sustain quality in these conditions?
NV: We have had no problems attracting good people. We have
our training school downstairs, which offers training in all
streams of animation. The training's free, and we also have
a system whereby we absorb the best performers ourselves. We
make heavy investments in each of them. And Rs 10,000 on an
average for a fresher is a decent salary.
How has the
downturn in the market affected you?
There has been talk that you've downsized your workforce?
NV: That is not true. As part of the animation industry, we've
not been affected by the ICE meltdown. We have 452 people on
board, who work in four shifts and we expect that number to
go up to 650 by year-end. In fact, our calendar is booked till
2003 so there is certainly no dearth of work on our plate.
The competition
is slowly heating up in India. There is Toonz Animation in Thiruvananthapuram,
Pentamedia in Chennai and Crest in Mumbai that immediately come
to mind. Where do you stand?
NV: At least in the 2D segment, there is no one who can
touch us in India. And we don't see that changing for the next
few years. If there is any area where we are not that strong
it is in 3D animation though we do a lot of ad commercials.
But no one is anywhere near acquiring a portfolio as big as
ours or matching our range of services in media and entertainment.
What
are the major projects you have on hand?
NV: UTV Toons has signed up for a $68-million slate series
with Funbag International Studios to produce three series
every year for the next three years, starting July. Each
series will have 26 episodes of 23-minute duration each.
We have also signed an agreement to produce an animated
special for Street Kids International, one of the leading
international NGOs. Then there is the long-standing relationship
Mr Ram Mohan has developed with Unicef since 1992. We
are handling the complete production of the Meena
and Sara series for Unicef. Meena is the
story of the travails of a girl child born in Asia and
Sara is the story of a South African teenager addressing
issues such as teenage pregnancy and Aids. |
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How big
is the world animation market and what part of that business
is coming to India? NV: It is difficult to make a clear
estimate on that but the industry generates somewhere in the
region of $ 10 billion a year in business. Of this barely 5
per cent is coming to India so it is a market, which is still
to be properly tapped.
What sort
of revenues is UTV Toons looking at?
NV: Last
year we had revenues of Rs 15 million. This year the projected
revenues are in the region of Rs 100 million. But actual value
is much higher. About Rs 210 million because all the agreements
we are signing are part cash and part rights so there are royalties
also which have to be factored in.
What about
work in India?
NV: Most of our work in India is in advertising. But the market
is pretty dull overall so we are not doing as much work now
as before. Last year the break-up of our business was 70 per
cent in episodic work and 30 per cent in advertising. This year
we expect the breakup to be 85:15. In fact, the amount of work
coming through advertising has been steadily reducing since
June 1997 when Ram Mohan Graphics merged into UTV Toons.
We are getting business though. To the tune of two to three
orders a month.
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What are the costs of making commercials and what margins
do you get?
NV: An average 30-second spot costs anywhere between
Rs 8 to 12 lakhs (Rs 800,000 to Rs 1.2 million). And
the profit margin is roughly 35 per cent per commercial.
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Are you looking
at increasing your presence in the field of 3D animation?
We are looking at buying outright or setting up our own
studio in Mumbai. The whole thing should be finalised in the
next two months.
Speaking of
mergers, has Mr Ram Mohan increased his stake in UTV Toons above
the 40 per cent stake that he holds?
There is a general misconception on that score. UTV Toons
is a 100 per cent UTV-owned entity. Mr Ram Mohan has a profit
sharing arrangement in UTV Toons.
Major projects UTV Toons has
been associated with
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