Early this month, Arena Animation Malleswaram Bangalore was awarded with the Brands Academy Education Excellence Award for the Best Animation Training Centre in Bangalore at a ceremony that was conducted at Hotel Radisson Blu, Dwarka at New Delhi, and award was received by B.S.Srinivas, Director of Arena Animation – Malleswaram & Rajajinagar, Bangalore, & the CEO of VedAtma Animation Studios, a part of Arena Animation Bangalore
Based on a comprehensive market research study and opinion surveys conducted over the period of last 8 months, the awards recognized the deserving institutions across the country on various parameters and from a diverse categories, and acknowledge their contribution in the growth of the education sector.
B.S Srinivas shares his comments on the win with AnimationXpress.com by saying, “It gives us immense pleasure to have received this award after having put in more than 15 years of sincere efforts in developing the awareness in animation. It is now a new stepping stone to our institution and we aspire to win more such or even greater awards and achieve more and more in the coming days.”
And AnimationXpress gets into a much detailed conversation with B.S.Srinivas to know more about the training culture at the institute and upcoming plans.
According to you, which factors have contributed to this achievement?
I feel it’s our team work and consistent upgradation. As without an efficient team, success is not easy to come. My commendable, skilful & experienced team is the most important factor that has helped us to achieve everything so far. They have worked sincerely hard and I am proud and honored to have such an excellent team at Arena Animation Malleswaram and Rajajinagar, Bangalore. Also, changing with times and having upgraded the infrastructure and delivery module has helped us taste success over the years.
Presently, how many students are studying at your centre and what is the training culture like?
Presently, we have around 800+ students. More than 10,000 students have successfully passed out over the last 15+ years & have been placed across the globe. Environment is student friendly, the atmosphere electric and the energy hugely positive. Just right for a heady dose of world class animation & VFX education coupled with the best infrastructure and assured placements. Education patterns distinctive preparing our students for the best job profiles and our approach very simple, “Deliver the Best to Produce the Best”.
What are the latest happenings at Arena Animation – Malleswaram & Rajajinagar, Bangalore?
Well, recently we became an exclusive Adobe and Microsoft authorized certified associate testing centre. We also have launched our own in-house incubation centre to train students on industry environment thereby preparing them for the future. We are on the verge of releasing our latest quarterly newsletter MY BOX OFFICE in a magnanimous format in the form of a magazine which would be a first of its kind for the animation education industry. They say “Compete not to win, but to have a Badge of Participation”. So, surely participating in competitions in future with an urge to win as a stepping stone towards more and more achievements would be on our prime agenda.
Your comments on the Animation Education Market in India and how are you planning to add more to it?
The current Indian Animation & VFX Education & Production market is increasing rapidly. We are introducing new courses on Animation Film Design & VFX consisting of software tools being introduced for the first time ever in the country. It is an immense joy to be in this industry for more than 15 lucrative years and to have worked consistently with new technology & projects. Through our production division, VedAtma Animation Studios Pvt. Ltd., we recently did CG and VFX for a sandalwood movie “Darling” and we are in the process of doing for more movies.
Our in-house productions GARUTMAAN-a 2D series and MAHATMAAN-a 3D series are progressing rapidly. We have also completed our DVD called DAASA-The Fables, audio of which has been already released and the animation DVD is ready for release in mid April 2014. We have also done TV ads for various concepts and Edutainment series for international schools like EDIFYMATH & others. We are ambitious to do more projects in the future and to contribute as much as we can to the Animation & VFX Industry.
Please put light on the opportunities given to students once they are done with their course?
Training and placements are the backbone of any educational institution. However, placements also depend upon the field of animation at which the student is qualified at. We have the best placements in the box for our students as we ought to give the best to our students. So, in order to prepare the students for the world, we train them on the best tools, give exposure through industry visits, special workshops, incubation training, soft skills and language based training, mock interview sessions, certifications and unlimited placement opportunities.
What is the focus for 2014?
2014 is going to be THE YEAR for us as far new developments & initiatives are concerned for both training as well as production. Training divisions of Arena Animation would get new areas to provide education which includes advanced VFX tools and emerging areas of augmented reality and projection mapping to name a few. Focus would be to create better and advanced digital labs for the same which would be an example for the world to look up to. Our Production division would get a technologically advanced post production studio catering to all kinds of animation & VFX requirements. The all round focus would be to create a world class ecosystem ever witnessed in the field of animation & VFX in the country.
Anything else you would like to add?
We have launched the ‘ADOPT A SCHOOL’ initiative to promote the cause ‘For a better India, for an educated India’. Under this initiative, we identify schools in rural areas and adopt them completely right from providing basic amenities to books, stationeries and uniforms for all the students studying in the schools. We intend to spread not only animation education but basic education to the future of our country.
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