MUMBAI: Nipuna Services Ltd, the BPO subsidiary of IT major Satyam Computer Services, has bagged a $25 million animation outsourcing deal. The company is also in negotiations to work on a $10 million contract for another TV series animation project.
Earlier in the year, Nipuna signed a $9 million deal to provide services for a movie called First Fear which is set for release by June 2007. "We are expecting to bag a fresh contract for around $10 million. The German company will take a call based on the TV episodes that we come up with. We have already signed with this company for $25 million to produce TV series and a movie," Nipuna chief financial officer M Satyanarayana tells Indiantelevision.com.
Nipuna will engage UK-based 4K Animation Ltd for the execution and delivery of these projects along with its own battery of 120 professionals over a period of 18 months. The two 'iconic' European animation projects include the third season of "Marvi Hemmer Presents National Geographic World," an award-winning, 52- episode TV series, and a movie, also featuring Marvi Hammer.
"We will pay a fee to 4K for their services as they will be sending technical professionals from all over the world to work in India and help us in the project. The exact amount will be finalised when we know how many people and working hours we would need from them," says Satyanarayana.
For First Fear, Nipuna had paid 4K around $3.25 million. By partnering with 4K, Nipuna is able to source talent from across the world to execute the projects.
The delivery period for the TV series will start from now and is expected to finish within nine months. The work for the movie will start from April and stretch over 12 months, according to Satyanarayana.
The series and movie feature a combination of live action and animation. They include actual studio sets used as animation backgrounds, a furry computer graphics creature and 2D-animated characters. Hamburg-based YOUA Edutainment, National Geographic, and German broadcaster ZDF will co-produce the series and movie.
Nipuna will provide VFX, CGI, 3D and 2D animation services, including pre-production, production, and post-production, from its studio in Chennai. Other animation artists will also collaborate from Hamburg and Berlin for this project delivery.
Says Nipuna CEO Venkatesh Roddam, "This partnership reflects a growing trend toward 'corporatization' in the animation industry, which is leading to increasingly significant opportunities. Long-term contracts such as this one show that companies recognize Nipuna's capabilities in an industry where 'human resources' are integral to quality, and thereby responsible for the success of creative ventures."
Nipuna has built significant VFX, CGI, and 3D animation skills by producing numerous global and domestic films. Among the more than 40 Indian films for which it has handled animation projects are Sainikudu, Stalin, Pokhiri, and Belly Full of Dreams. Nipuna also provides artwork and visualization services involving 2D and/or 3D animation techniques and processes to customers in the engineering, architectural, and medical industries.
Nipuna expects to close this fiscal with a turnover of $40 million, out of which
