Staring his career as a teacher at the ICAD Training Institute, Hormaz has an impressive resume to boost about, having worked with studios like Famous Studios, Ittina Animation Studios and Polygon Pictures Inc to name a few which many can only imagine. With an experience of over 14 years in the industry, Hormaz has now don a new role, as a Mentor at Maya Digital Studios’ In-Studio Training facility, MIST.
Sharing more on the same, Hormaz who is juggling from his duties at Maya and as a mentor at MIST spoke to Animationxpress’ Ishpreet Chandock over a cup of coffee about his role at MIST, where does he see himself in the future and more.
Meanwhile, here are the excerpts….
Can you shed some light on the concept of MIST and its need?
MIST is a first of its kind initiative by an Indian studio to provide an advanced training module for the young professionals, with an opportunity to work on live projects during the formative years of their careers. Under this initiative, there will be a dedicated training programme integrated within the studio facility, which focuses on Studio Ready Training Modules.
How do you carry out the ‘on job training’ process for students at MIST?
The animation and visual effects industry is a booming industry in India with a projected CAGR of 21% as predicted by the industry experts. 2D to stereoscopic 3D conversion has further triggered the growth of the industry by providing an additional broad-based, sustainable revenue stream to the industry.
Year on year, thousands of budding animation & visual effects professionals pass out from various training academies. The training academies thrive on the success of the industry and today there are multiple centres offering similar courses which perhaps make the candidates software ready. However, in spite of paying hefty fees for these vocational courses almost 70% of the software trained professionals do not secure a job within the first year of finishing the course. The career dreams of these thousands of budding studio professionals are shattered right at the beginning and the stories of the industry’s success become only glorified paper statistics for them.
From the studios’ perspective too this isn’t a healthy sign, as there is a serious lack of properly trained and skilled manpower. Since the industry doesn’t get the rightfully trained professionals, studios have to invest in the studio training of new joinees, thereby leading to increased production cycles and hence a reduction in production efficiency. This is a potential hindrance for a growing industry. The primary reasons for this imbalance in the industry’s harmony are:
- Disconnect in the industry requirements & course curricula at the training institutes
- Training institutes typically focus on software knowledge rather than making them production ready
- None of the faculty members are practicing industry professionals
Sensing this need for the industry and more importantly in order to impart the right studio relevant skills to the young animation, visual effects and 3D stereoscopy enthusiasts, Maya Digital Studios has strategically launched MIST. MIST will provide the right stepping stone into the studio careers of those who are passionate about this magical industry but don’t know how to approach and conquer the milestones of success. MIST strives to provide the best in industry training and live project work to the students at the very beginning of their careers, effectively positioning them, leaps ahead of their peers both in terms of training as well as experience.
What is the main objective of MIST?
The primary objective of MIST is to bridge the gap in between the theoretical teaching and actual industry needs for the animation, VFX & S3D conversion industry, through 100% on job, in studio training and work experience. It is our endeavour at MIST to generate the advance trained, studio ready future workforce that will drive this industry in India & internationally and everyone at MIST, from the mentors to the technicians to the support staff is thoroughly committed to achieve the same.
As an artist, you have worked in a number of studios in your career, According to you, how would the interns benefit from this in studio training?
I believe for any artist to have a successful career, a good kick start is very important. And MIST gives just that and in a right proportion. We indulge the interns in the production work, but slowly, giving them a perfect blend of training and studio life. The transition is so smooth that one doesn’t even realise that they have already started their career in production.
What is the role/contribution of the interns in the projects Maya is working on?
We at MIST believe in involving the interns the same way as we do with any other artist. That’s the whole essence of the program. Any current project we work on, the interns contribute and share their ideas, which is welcome and evaluated by the supervisors. The highlight of MIST as a training module is that right from the training stage; the MIST interns are involved in the live projects like all other artists in the studio. This is a big responsibility & opportunity for them and hence, the sense of ownership, the challenge of delivering the performance and the ability to get integrated within the studio environment gets inculcated in them, right from the very beginning of their careers.
As you would have noticed, our first show for the Indian markets, Motu Patlu which is currently airing multiple times on Nickelodeon India does feature the name of each and every MIST intern who has put in the hard work in the project within the respective team that he or she has worked on. MIST interns play a significant role in each of the projects that they work on.
Does this not also lead to tougher competition in the future, as many of these interns may join other studios?
Competition is what we are looking forward to create in this market. I believe this will ensure the best of the artists are working for the right jobs. Maya as a studio is a thought leader in this industry and with MIST we have started off with another such initiative. Competition is good, since it breathes a sense of progression. In an industry as creative as ours, where every day is a new learning experience, it is excellent to begin training on an advanced level. The stronger the foundation, the better it is for the industry. Today Maya has taken this pioneering initiative for the industry, tomorrow the industry will function only on advance trained workforce, eventually from a quality perspective the industry will evolve and therein lies the success of MIST. It is anyway, high time the Indian animation & VFX industry raise the quality bar.
Can you tell us more about your role as Mentor for 3D Animation at MIST?
There is always a misconception about mentoring, that they constantly have to preach and guide. No wonder we have so many Animation institutes with good mentors but not with impressive artists. I believe it’s a two way process; of course the mentors have to show the right path and nurture the artist, but the artists in turn too have a big role to play in taking his/her skills to the next level. That’s how I work and share my experience with them.
Interactivity is crucial, especially in our kind of jobs. No matter how much theory one has practised, it is impossible to amass the entire learning, which comes in only with sharing, then be it ideas, production experience or studio techniques. I firmly believe in that and hence I’m proudly sharing with you the success stories of my interns at MIST.
Do you have a selection procedure for the MIST? Are there any criteria?
Yes, we do. An artist who wishes to get into this program has to go through an aptitude test with a creative test. Only after evaluating these tests and having a one on one discussion with the artist, we decide if he/she is qualified to be a part of the training modules at MIST.
As an artist , you have worked on numerous Indian and international projects, such as Monster by Mistake, The Tales of Jack Frost, Neopets, The Darkest Faerie, World Series of Poker, TV series for Disney, besides numerous animated ad films like Hot Wheels, Cardbury, LG, Samsung, Pepsi, Tide and Nokia, amongst others. In what way would you like to share your studio experience with the interns?
You got to be honest in whatever you do. Also we got to try and adapt with constant change this industry is going through. You are as good as your last work.
Till date what are the projects that you have worked on at MIST?
Maya is presently juggling between multiple projects and MIST interns are a part of all the projects, since their training modules have been structured accordingly. Depending upon the eventual career goal for which they’ve applied and gotten selected through at MIST, they are a part of projects like Motu Patlu, Sholay 3D, Sons of Ram 3D, The Centsables.
What are the current projects?
We have been working on some exciting projects here and are on the road to develop our IP’s. Also we have got Motu Patlu, which is on Air on Nickelodeon; an outsourced TV series called The Centsables is also in production. We just completed the Stereo conversion on Sons of Ram & Sholay. And then there are a few other projects, which I wouldn’t be in a position to announce at the moment.
Tell us more about yourself Hormaz and your journey since your start in the ICAD Training Institute?
It’s been a roller coaster ride till now, the ups and downs, the slows and fasts. Nevertheless, it’s been a joy ride. To create something from scratch and see it being successful is the best feeling that one gets.
Tell us more about your experience working on Clone Wars in Japan? How different is the environment here and there in terms of work ethics and production pipeline?
My experience has been nothing less than exciting. Apart from working on one of the most prestigious project, I had a good fortune to work in the country where animation is taken very seriously. The country and the people are so very humble; they respect you to the extent where you start feeling uncomfortable in a good way. I have learnt so much about the method that they work with. As the Japanese say, “If no one can, we definitely should”.
This has been an interesting and encouraging year for the animation industry with a lot of feature films hitting the theatres. Where does the Indian animation industry stand today?
As long as we keep developing our own content with interesting stories, we will be in this game for a long time.
The quality of work has increased leaps and bounds in Indian animation; however, the amount of work is still very limited. What are your thoughts about it?
There is still a lot of apprehension from the studios around the world when they think about our animation domain. The essence of a healthy industry is consistency. We can’t afford to have only few of the studios doing good work against 100 others. We all have to be collectively responsible for the success and downfall of this. To build a strong market we have to deliver top notch work every time and on time.
Where do you see yourself 3 years down the road?
When I began my career in this industry, twelve years ago, I had set out in an industry which didn’t really exist or function as an industry in India. So in a way, I have evolved as an animation professional with the industry. Going forward would be the same. The Indian animation industry is on a fantastic growth cusp and I feel very happy that today I’m part of multiple projects, domestic and international at the same time. It is indeed a great moment that more and more Indian content is being created and appreciated, worldwide. So, going forward, I think I will continue doing the same good work that I’ve been doing, and get enriched as a professional with each day. To put a timeline, maybe three years down the line, I’d perhaps be a successful animation director as well. So let us see how it pans out.