Deep Web Point

You may be a well established business looking for some improvements to your website, a sole trader just setting out on their business venture or you may be an entrepreneur in the making. Whatever your aspirations or goals are you realise that the internet is a fundamental factor in helping you achieve your goals.

I’ll get straight to the point.

There are web sites and then there sloppy web spaces masquerading as websites. Both are completely different. Just because you slapped some words on a pre-installed template and bagged yourself some cheap hosting doesn’t mean you have an effective online web presence.

What do you want to get from your website? What do you want it to be? Having a business website is not mandatory; you shouldn’t have a website just because it looks good on your business card. Having an effective online business presence is a vital part of your businesses image, it is by far the best sales person you can have - it does not take lunch breaks, toilet breaks, get sick or come into work hung over - it works constantly, connecting with people locally, nationally and internationally. How your website looks, works and the message it portrays is even more important when you consider that your website will be in most cases the first point of contact with future clients and customers.

Would you give your child some crayons and let them design you a new advertisement campaign. Of course not, it’s absurd. But it would save you money? Would this have a positive or negative impact on your business?

Unfortunately so many businesses approach web site design with a narrowed outlook, if they approached office planning the same way, you would find office workers sat on cardboard boxes in an unheated concrete slab with no natural light.

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Delhi-based Picasso Digital Media Pvt Ltd, a two-year-old company promoted by the Maharishi Group, is all set to launch “International Animation College in Hyderabad” in collaboration with Canada-based Centennial College. The formal launch was set to July 4 2007.

The total investments envisaged in the project in the first five years is about $9 million (approximately Rs 36 crore) and the company expects to reach a turnover of $15 million by the the end of 2010. The company would primarily focus on animation education and production.

The campus will have a capacity to house 200 students per year. Picasso currently has one animation college campus in Delhi with an intake of 250 students per year.

Disclosing this at a press conference here on Monday, ABRP Reddy, managing director and chief executive of Picasso Digital, said “Philip Edward Alexy from Canada will be academic advisor for Picasso Animation College. The two animation campuses of Picasso together will have facilities to churn out 1000 animators yearly by the end of 2008. The colleges will have hi-end Intel and Apple workstations, 3D projectors and lot more for ensuring a high-end learning environment in a creative background.”

If we take a look at the recent releases, there is no major movie based on 2D animation. Is 2D animation worn out, or just not commercial enough? Even if those classic animations are always a pleasure to watch, you have to admit that the modern animation is more attractive. They are more real, and people seem to love that. If we take a look at the box office, we see 2 animation movies in top 10 (Shrek 2 and Finding Nemo) with 1,7 billion dollars revenue. That is amazing. And for both movies CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery) was used.

So, why do studios use CGI, and why do we like it so much? I tend to say, that from the film fan’s point of view, it’s the story that makes the movie so attractive, because, anytime I would like to see a movie like Shrek, with real actors, scenes, and other real stuff. But it’s the story that does all the trick. From the creators’ point of view, it is cheaper. Because, with today’s special effects, anything is possible with real actors, and they can’t deny that. But, like I said, it’s cheaper than physical methods, such as constructing elaborate miniatures for effects shots or hiring a great deal of extras for crowd scenes, and because it allows the creation of images that would not be feasible using any other method. It can also allow a single artist to produce content without the use of actors or other contributors to the project.

The first studio to release a fully computer-generated feature film was Pixar, with their Toy Story. The movie was a major box office hit, generating $360,000,000. Pixar is also “responsible” with other successful animation movies, such as Finding Nemo, A Bug’s Life or The Incredibles. The other real competitor for Pixar is DreamWorks SKG, with Shrek, Shrek 2(this is the animation that generated the largest income for an animation movie, over 880 million dollars), Antz or Chicken Run.

These days, it is not uncommon to see Indian children talking about mythological stories of Indian culture like Ramayana, Mahabharata and the legendary characters such as Lord Hanuman, Lord Ganesha and many more. This reintroduction to the fast-fading Indian culture can be attributed to the fascinating animated movies that have recapitulated the good old Indian epics for our young generation. And who can forget the ever-so-famous characters of Tom & Jerry, Mowgli, Stuart Little, Popeye, and many others that were brought to life by animation. In the endearing world of animation, lifeless images are brought to life through different tools and techniques.

With the expanding world of media, the demand of animators is also on the rise. Be it movies, television, cartoon film making, advertising, media or gaming, good animators rule the roost. In the world of animation, reality meets imagination and impossible becomes possible. Unthinkable graphics, special effects and evolved technologies come together to create a world that sweeps you off your feet. This upcoming industry has opened new doors to opportunities. A lot of creative people are choosing multimedia and animation as full-time careers and making good money out of it.

Multimedia means combining text, graphics, animation, video, sound, interactivity and conveying a message in an appealing manner. Therefore, just being creative is not enough. One has to be technically sound too. Although one has to have a good drawing hand to become a good multimedia expert. Thus, if you are blessed with immense creativity and imagination, there is no dearth of job opportunities. One can find a good full-time or freelancing job in the fields of television, cinema, video production, advertising agencies, publishing, web design, preparation of CD ROMs, fashion designing, textile designing, interior design, etc.

When it comes to training, there are numerous computer-training centres that offer training in multimedia and animation. It is good to check out the facilities and faculty at the institute before joining any institute. One can enroll in a Visual Communication and Design course straight after 12th standard. However, if one is already a graduate in fine arts with an aptitude for drawing, one can join production houses or studios as a trainee. National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad offers a course in Animation Film Design. In private institutes, Arena Multimedia offers basic as well as advanced courses. Even NIIT has developed a special programme called Maxi media to help learners build the skills needed for this market. Then, there is Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics that offers advanced courses in multimedia and animation.