Innovation
the best model
for a
successful business...
An
exclusive interview
with Somil Gupta,
the brain behind
Trine Animation;
where he expresses
his views on
the animation
and gaming industry.
Trine Entertainment
Ltd. has a single-minded
focus on creating
high quality
imagery, while
upholding the
highest production
standards. The
company is into
development
of interactive
entertainment
for small to
big screens.
Catering for
all aspects
of cutting-edge
computer animation
and game production,
Trine provides
a total in-house
service from
conceptual design
to the final
product.
Can
you give a background
of directors
and how you
conceived this
concept?
After graduating
from Fullsail
with the degree
of computer
animation and
game design,
both brothers
started working
as a consultant
for animation
and gaming industry.
At the same
time they were
networking with
game programmers
and CG artists
keeping in mind
that one day
when they build
their set-up,
they'll require
experienced
Game programmers
and CG artists
to train the
man power in
India. With
this passion,
Somil adds,
“ last
year in March,
2006 both of
us came back
to India and
incorporated
Trine Animation
in April 2006”.
Later they invited
six of their
American associates
to come to India
to work for
Trine; they
also imparted
training to
programmers,
animation artists
etc. The Idea
was to use comparatively
cheaper work
force available
in India, to
produce/develop
games and animation
movies in India
at low cost
and generate
higher revenues
by selling their
content in the
global market.
Education background
of your brother
and you.
Myself, Somil
Gupta: am Bachelor
of Engineering
in Computer
Science from
Pune University.
I am also an
Associate of
Science in Computer
Animation from
Fullsail, Orlando,
USA. My brother
Sangam Gupta
is a Bachelor
of Science in
Game Design
from Fullsail,
Orlando, USA.
We believe that
in business,
one must profess
domain expertise
themselves so
as to understand
the finer aspects
and to have
a competitive
edge.
What
is the scope
of animation
business in
international
market and India?
There is a stupendous
scope for the
industry which
can be gauged
from the following
indicators-
• Indian
Animation industry
currently worth
about $900 million.
• India
currently accounts
a little over
2% only of global
animation industry
which is currently
assessed at
over $55 billion.
• Bollywood
- World's biggest
movie industry
is starting
to invest heavily
into VFX (Visual
effects) and
other CG animation
to match the
international
quality standards.
• Hollywood
- Large studios
such as Paramount,
Dreamworks have
started outsourcing
part of their
animation production
to India to
minimize their
development
costs.
• Ad films
- Budget for
ad films in
India and abroad
has increased
by over 80%
as CG oriented
film is proven
to be much cost
effective then
real life film.
• Visual
effects are
rapidly becoming
a criteria foretelling
the impact and
success of a
production and
increasingly
becoming a requirement
for the final
finish of a
movie.
• More
than 2/3rd of
Animation Companies
in the world
have annual
turnover of
over US$ 100
million.
• India
with its pool
of skilled manpower
and low wage
structure offers
cost advantages
up to 50% of
the costs. Projects,
which would
cost a bomb
in the U.S.,
are now a viable
possibility.
• India
being the largest
producer of
movies in the
world, producing
more than 700
movies annually
and with new
television channels
coming up in
a big way, our
domestic market
itself has a
very huge potential
market and is
rapidly increasing
consumption
of visual effects.
• Animation
accounts for
US$5 billion
out of the US$6
billion gaming
industry.
• Lack
of available
CG content is
obstructing
the growth of
the animation
market segment
in India.
Are
there enough
skill sets available
within India?
What is the
scope for this
type of training?
Yes, there is
enough skill
sets available
in India, but
a high streamline
of animation
work is currently
ready to be
outsourced to
India, and no
studios are
willing to take
it up due to
prior commitment
engagements.
India needs
more skilled
work force to
fulfill the
industry needs.
This has resulted
in higher salaries
since the demand
is high and
supply is just
not enough.
Every studio
is running after
best of the
industry. Not
many studios
believe on investing
for advanced
technology and
regular trainings
to their artists
and employees.
However, several
training franchises
like Maya Academy,
Arena Multimedia
etc. are opening
new facilities
to train more
manpower. Even
some universities
and private
institutions
have introduced
Animation and
Gaming as a
Bachelors Degree.
This will definitely
help in generation
of highly skilled
work force for
Animation and
Game Development
at even more
cheaper cost.
What
is the receptivity
in overseas
market?
India has always
been considered
as the favorite
land for outsourcing.
Companies in
India are capable
of providing
international
quality results
at much cheaper
cost. It is
the confidence
of foreign companies
towards India,
which reflects
through the
rising economy
of India. More
and more foreign
investors have
found huge potential
on this soil
and the reason
why they are
investing big
time here.
How
do you give
a western tinge
to your Indian
characters and
what is the
effect you think
it is going
to generate?
Indian audience
is very attracted
towards western
themes. Youngsters
of this generation
always follow
the western
fashion. Even
Indian Cinema
has adapted
a lot of western
tinge in their
movies like
hip-hop songs,
outfits, stories
etc. We believe
youth of today's
India will not
go and watch
any movie or
play a game
just because
it is made in
India. They
want to see
same effects,
actions, sound
etc. in local
content. So
we thought of
developing the
characters and
other assets,
which might
look Indian,
but they come
with the western
flavor. The
quality of our
games and animations
can be compared
with any BIG
production house
in the west.
To achieve this,
Trine has employees
from different
parts of the
world like Romania,
Italy, America,
UK, Trinidad
etc in the Production.
Every production
starts with
an idea, at
this stage we
involve all
our team and
take every individual's
view on the
concept upon
how the character/
environment
should look
like, what would
be its characteristics,
the way it will
interact and
react etc. Using
these notes
then we prepare
a document called
“Design
Doc”,
which is then
followed during
the entire production.
We also do some
pre-development
public research
just to get
an idea on what
people want.
When
you say you
want to make
films for foreign
markets, what
is the type
of infrastructure
you think will
be required?
Only a few studios
in India have
good provision
for next-gen
equipment. The
rest rely on
these few studios
for their rendering
and development
needs, thus
limiting their
capabilities.
To produce International
quality movies
we should have
enough budgets
to invest in
latest technology
by upgrading
our hardware,
software, infrastructure,
skill sets by
providing regular
trainings to
the employees.
We would like
to invite experienced
talent from
abroad as we
have done in
past. Studio
should have
separate departments
for research,
pre-production,
production and
post-production,
sound and dubbing
stage. An in-house
motion capture
and training
facility. To
develop an international
quality movie
for foreign
market, work
force of around
400-500 artists
and programmers
is required.
For preview
purpose studio
should also
have a mini
theater. I feel
setting a resource
base is a long
term investment
which will fetch
rich dividends
in terms of
enhanced business.
Innovation
as the best
business model,
can you briefly
take this in
the light of
your game "Streets
of Mumbai"
and others?
Trine has picked
most popular
games from the
west and is
working on localizing
them. For instance,
street racing
games are very
popular among
Indian youth
so we decided
to develop “Streets
of Mumbai”,
a racing game
where you can
experience night
racing on Mumbai
streets. The
game will have
similar features
and quality
like any quality
game from west.
You can connect
with your friends
online to race
together. Another
genre is online
FPS games; these
games are very
popular among
cyber cafes
and Local Area
Networks. We
are currently
working on pre-production
of LOC (Line
of Control)
disturbance
across border.
LOC will have
much advanced
features that
no one has ever
experienced
even in the
games available
from west.
Cricket A very
popular sports
game in countries
like UK, Australia,
New Zealand,
West Indies,
South Africa,
India and their
sub continents.
In India cricket
is followed
like any other
religion, so
we thought of
developing a
cricket game
which will be
fun to play
at the same
time it'll showcase
the most realistic
game play and
graphics compared
to any other
cricket game
available in
the global market.
As a
young entrepreneur,
what were the
obstacles you
have been facing
in the business
world and how
have you tried
to overcome
them?
Finance to support
business at
early stage
has always been
a big hurdle
to grow faster
for any young
entrepreneur.
We know how
to produce quality
animations and
games. Any quality
game or an animation
move takes 12+
months to complete.
The investor
looks for returns
from day one
else they ask
for unrealistic
equity. We agree
that outsourcing
means low risk
but then it
gives low returns,
while working
on our own IP
might be a bigger
risk but then
we are looking
at much higher
returns as well.
We do a lot
of research
on how we can
make quality
games at lesser
cost before
we start working
on the production.
We took some
bank loans to
build our current
infrastructure
and diluted
some equity
through private
placements.
Another issue
was to hunt
for right talent.
For animation,
there was ready
talent available
but for games,
there was no
talent available.
To overcome
this obstacle
we invited experienced
game professionals
from America
and other European
countries to
lead the projects
and give regular
training on
game production
and new technologies
and techniques
to local programmers
and artists.
How
do think you
can take the
company in the
next 5-6 years?
We believe that
Trine will be
the biggest
game producer
from Indian
continent in
next 5 years.
At the same
time, Trine
will also setup
its workshops
in China, USA
and UK to present
these animation
movies and games
into the global
market.
Any
other information
you would like
to share with
the media in
bringing up
this interview?
We are proud
to declare that
today we have
following salient
advantages in
our business
infrastructure-
• 140+
vastly talented
CG artists/Game
developers working
full-time.
• In-house
Studio capacity
to enroll over
160 artists/developers
for complex
projects.
• Secured
Powerful state
of the art central
storage server
system with
over 9TB of
storage space
for greater
security.
• In-house
motion capture
facility for
minimizing project
costs and schedules..
• Experienced
developers with
previous experience
by working at
top leading
studios such
EA, Microsoft,
and Sierra.
• Multi-national
staff from various
countries working
fulltime at
the Mumbai,
India office.
• Established
relationships
with local publishers,
content providers
and top third-party
developers.
• In-house
game engine
framework written
in DirectX 9.0
API for rapid
prototyping
of titles.
• Expertise
in working with
several International
acclaimed middle-ware
solutions for
game development.
• Ability
to innovate
and rapidly
commercialize
product.
All we need
is the trigger
and we can soar
great heights
through our
combined endeavors
and we have
had a good start,
so things have
to move faster
in our business
development
front. Innovation
is the mantra,
for us it is
a business model
and we shall
steer it towards
greater success!
