HYDERABAD: A dash of creativity, steely steadfastness and a treasure house of imagination. Indian animators seemed to have imbibed all these qualities at one stroke, but quantity of skilled animators is what seems to be the vanguard for the upcoming animation BPO blitz.

Industry sources expect the whole of entertainment industry to exceed $ three trillion by 2005. Of this, animation industry is estimated to be $ 70 billion. If these figures appear mammoth, hold on...for, even bigger numbers are predicted. According to Forrester research the projected labor costs moving offshore in animation alone would reach $ 136.4 billion by 2015.

Despite the optimistic business outlook, reality for Indian players looks far less rosy than suggested. Given manpower shortage, and existence of few studios that deters undertaking of multiple projects, whether it might well be the next-gen BPO business model, or it may just be a whole lot of speculation needs to be unraveled.

Much smaller countries like Philippines, Singapore, Korea, and others with skilled manpower, and infrastructure are emerging as favorable destinations for animation BPO and this only comes as a disappointing trait. So should these forecasts of outsourcing potential be taken with a grain of salt?

"Not really. Around 40 to 60 new studios were established during 2002 – 2004. It's estimated that, at least 70 studios are active in the long form TV and feature film animation at present and this will grow," said Biren Ghose, CEO, Animation Bridge that co-produced the 20-episode 'The Three Amigoes' an anti-HIV public service series extensively aired in Africa and Canada and is slated for a global broadcast in 2005.

Rajesh Turakhia, CEO, Maya Entertainment Ltd., said, "Well, countries like Philippines, Singapore are either good at 2-D or 3-D, whereas in India we understand the expressions and language of 2D and 3D equally, hence the scope is much wider. Besides, we are known for the quality and productivity of the content."

With companies wedding the business model to outsourcing opportunities, the total revenues of the animation production services sector in India is expected to continue to grow at 20 per cent. Turakhia estimates, "As of December 2004, there are around 20 to 30 TV programmes under negotiation, each with a value of $ three to $ 3.5 million, among the major Indian animation studios."

Efforts by certain players to take up higher value projects, and co-production would add to the total revenues. Players such as Toonz Animation, JadooWorks, Color Chips and others are working on this model and equally concentrating on original content production to emerge as a serious contender on the global scene.

"Brand India in Animation BPO has just begun. Because of manpower gaps, we are crippled to take up projects simultaneously. Just about in the last four months, we could not take up a 13-episode European project," said Sudhish S Rambhotla, CMD, Color Chips.

In an attempt to avoid further manpower shortage, the company has employed 90 foreigners, a majority coming from Philippines and is paying higher salaries than the Indian counterpart. "While we pay $ 500 a month for an Indian animator in the middle-level, we are offering $ 1,500 for the foreigner in the same level, besides taking care of his accommodation," added Rambhotla.

JadooWorks strongly believes that there's tremendous talent in rural areas and the company has gone to places like Mahabalipuram, Tanjore scouting for grid sculptors, painters and other art forms. Having convinced them to take up animation as their career, they provided training to these rural folks numbering around 70 to 80 for six months. "With an intensive training programme they are all now transformed from traditional to digital platforms and producing interesting stuff for the industry," explained Ashish Kulkarni, CEO, JadooWorks.

"While its true that one cannot take more than what they can offer, it's the proper timing of the projects that needs to be maintained," said P JayaKumar, CEO, Toonz Animation Ltd. All said and done, possessing quality resources, and with creativity and innovation, animation BPO for Indian players will not be a tightrope balancing walk.