A business-focused audience listened intently as an array of Indian and foreign speakers kicked off the Karnataka Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics organized by The Association of Bangalore Animation Industry (ABAI), in collaboration with the Government of Karnataka.
The inauguration by Shri S R Patil, Honorable Minister for IT, BT and S&T Government of Karnataka, set the tone for the day which involved Karnataka as the host but with a global focus to script the future of the industry. Also present were Mr I S N Prasad, Principal Secretary, Department of IT, BT and S&T, Government of Karnataka, and CEOs and MDs of several well known companies in this sector like Rajesh Rao of Dhruva Interactive.
Biren Ghose, President, ABAI and Country Head, Technicolor India, said, “The 2013 edition of the ABAI Karnataka AVGC Summit is meant to provide new direction to professionals and companies highlighting growth and opportunity areas. It showcases our engagement with the academia, government and industry and highlight the policy execution we have enabled as well as the roadmap for the next year.”
The second “ABAI LEADERSHIP EXCELLENCE AWARD” Award was given to Rajiv Chilaka, the creative and business force behind the Indian animated phenomenon “ChhotaBheem”, India’s first bona fide television success in this genre. Rajiv in his keynote address detailed the long journey by his company Green Gold Animation to create and sustain a genuine Indian IP success story including its recent success in merchandising and licensing.
From the multinational side, Damian Froberville, Country Head of Dreamworks, described the progress of the Indian unit of Dreamworks and also gave some insight into the Asian scenario for global services.
ISN Prasad, Principal Secretary to Government Department of IT,BT and S&T, Government of Karnataka ISN Prasad, Principal Secretary IT BT and S&T said: “Karnataka will continue to lead the animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) growth in India. We have partnered with a cross section of the digital content industries through ABAI.”
Through the day, the event picked up steam with a variety of panels attended by senior executives of some of the best known companies in the industry. The panels included subjects like Visual Effects, Animation and Digital Content.
An international flavor came from a session on Canada which is one of the world’s largest producers of animation. This provided many insights about how to develop the sector through a combination of private, state and international support.
Panelist Sean Feeney of Prime Focus World London, said “With constant demand for full CG content from Hollywood and the TV studios, with a mass of experienced artists, Indian studios if properly managed and directed are perfectly placed to access this work. So I am very excited to talk at ABAI Summit in Bangalore on this subject, and to meet the people who are at the core of the business.”
Attendees and speakers geared up for a packed Day 2 which offers further content on technology and business of AVGC and also several specialized clinics for people to pursue focused interactions.
