Bangalore, January 21, 2018:   A new Centre of Excellence that will serve the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics industry is to come up in the Karnataka state capital -- a joint effort of the state's Ministry of IT and BT with the Association of Bangalore Animation Industry.
The AVGC industry is a fast growing sector in India, with many new games, animations and cartoons, comics, being produced in India for local and international consumption. The industry has transformed - from being a simple back-office for outsourcing, to creating its own intellectual property, and its own unique look and feel.
Bangalore is already home to the annual ComiCon convention which sees international studios, designers and creators, and fans interacting with each other  and this week hosts the India Gaming Show (South).
Says   Priyank Kharge, Karnataka's  minister of IT, BT, S&T:   “Some of the most ardent fans for design, development, animation, comics, and video games, are in the city. This is the logical next step for us. We would like to see Karnataka in general, and Bangalore in particular, be the world leaders for great content and high tech. This Centre of Excellence will be a great boost for the Animation and allied industries.”
The Centre of Excellence will feature a digital post-production lab with technologies such as motion capture, 2D and 3D animation and high speed rendering Performance capture, AR/VR Lab, VFX camera systems and Imaging and DI color correction, a High speed camera, Mastering station and a Render farm. The centre will also provide services such as film scanner, restoration and more. Further, an AVGC Finishing School will be set up that will train the next generation of talent for the industry. The Government of Karnataka, will set up the Centre of Excellence and AVGC Finishing school, and will support its activities for a 3 year period. The industry body ABAI, and mentors, talent, and professionals from the industry will support the centre with their technical expertise, real-time projects and work, and mentorship. The centre is expected to become self-sustaining in 3 years time, and is expected to be a great revenue earner for the state of Karnataka, and be a huge employment source for its citizens.
The finishing school will offer a number of courses and programmes, and will be supported by the industry members and academia in mentorship, networking, and more. Adds Kharge:  “This is the highlight of the Centre. It is not enough to just have the physical infrastructure. We need the minds and the hands to use it effectively. The finishing school will create world leaders, and offer employment to our many talented individuals.” The Finishing School will offer rigorous apprenticeship programs ranging from 3 to 12 months depending on the discipline. It will be industry-driven in terms of curriculum, course material design and pedagogy. The training and mentoring will be provided by a pool of senior / lead level professionals from the studios. The curriculum will be designed with emphasis on hands-on exercises; the participants will be assigned test shots with increasing complexity; they will receive critique and will have to turn around iterations simulating real-world production. The program will look at the all-round development of the participants by laying emphasis on tool proficiency, workflow as well as nuances of communication and collaboration.
This move is intended to give a shot in the arm to the animation sector. The fully equipped post production lab will help create original IP content and bridge the gap between the animators and content aggregators like Amazon Prime or Netflix. The finishing school will help groom local talent and also invite talent from rest of the nation in the AVGC sector, considered a sunrise industry. Animation has seen a lot of interest from entrepreneurs who are content rich and are looking for broadcasters for a platform.
Indian Gaming Market statistics here