Increased content consumption has nurtured a media and entertainment industry that has thrived more than ever in 2024. Software serves as a major pillar for making what the industry has to offer possible by providing artists with a canvas to bring their creative ideas to life.
An important role is played by companies that distribute these software and tools in various countries. One such company, Tech Data (also called Tec D), offers studios and artists a range of products and services from leading technology vendors like Autodesk, AMD, Intel, Lenovo, and many more.
The company was seen showcasing Autodesk’s M&E tools at Kre8tif! 2024 – an initiative by Malaysia’s leading digital content festival MYDCF. As one of the authorised distributors of Autodesk, Tec D has played a key role in distributing the former’s software like 3ds Max, Maya, Arnold, Flame, and more in the Southeast Asian regions. Tec D’s senior technical consultant Thomas Lawatanu spoke to AnimationXpress about how his company has made Autodesk tools more accessible for countries like Malaysia and Indonesia among others.
“As a distributor in these countries, Tech D calls end-user solutions,” explained Lawatanu. Having worked in the M&E sector for around 10 years, he emphasised the importance of Autodesk tools in creating transformative and genre-defying content for major studios and independent artists in animation, VFX, and gaming.
While software for animation has always been in demand, the gaming industry is on a rise in Southeast Asia. And as the sole distributor of Autodesk in Malaysia, Tec D aims to leverage this opportunity to grow. “Apart from animation, Kre8tif! now heavily focuses on the gaming industry which is growing year-on-year.”
Popular gaming franchises like Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us, Santa Monica Studio’s God of War, Activision’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series, and Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XV have used Maya extensively for their production pipeline. Maya and other Autodesk software have proved to be cornerstones of production in the M&E industry, driving innovation and creativity.
On a closing note, he shed light on how collaborations help M&E companies sustain. “We all need partners to engage. Hence, I’m grateful to MDEC (Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation, under which MYDCF’s events are organised) for collaborating with us. In the future, we too can organise interactive events like this for the M&E and the gaming industry.”