Spirit to set up US office

HYDERABAD: Betting high on the outsourcing opportunity in the field of animation, Hyderabad-based Spirit Media has decided to set up its sales and marketing office in the US in the next couple of months. Besides targeting Western markets, the company is also eyeing projects in India.






Claiming to be the first such studio with the ability of taking a film from the concept stage to the screen, Spirit MD Rana Daggubati said, "Animation is a niche area and is immensely used in films - be it short length or full-length. Specially, the usage of special effects in the entertainment industry has come of age."





He further explained, "While animated films are broken down in to pre-production, production, and post-production stages, it's the second stage where Indian animation studios are now offering their services. This is where we intend to bridge the gap. We are optimistic about the project and will overcome hurdles should there be any."





Spirit, as Daggubati emphasized, does not only take up projects for full-length animated films but also equally focus on television series, documentaries, or providing special effects for general category films. He added, "US is the primary market for animation projects and hence to promote our facilities and services, we have decided to set up our sales and marketing office in the US. We don't intend to be restricted to the US markets alone and over a period of time we hope to make our presence outside as well." However, he declined to comment on the investments being made on the studio and the proposed office set up in the US.





Presently, the studio that boasts of the Advance Digital postproduction technology, DI, FX and animation support center, has around 15 skilled animators besides 30 freelance animators who are roped in while handling multiple projects. Talking about projects in the pipeline, Daggubati said, "We have just opened our facility. Presently, we don't have any projects, but we are hoping to bag a sizeable number of projects from the international market."