Every forum discusses the problems faced by the Indian animation industry in terms of quality human resources. It is openly acknowledged as well that the root of the problem lies in our animation education system. Yet, there is no conclusive action taken and studios and institutes keep pointing fingers at one another.
There is light at the end of the tunnel though. Whistling Woods International Institute for Film, Television and Media Arts seems to have got its fundamentals right with wise planning and a large investment. We caught up with Chaitanya Chinchlikar, Marketing Manager, WWI, and asked him to elaborate on the points that he had brought up during the panel discussion on human resources at the NASSCOM Animation & Gaming Summit.
“A lot of planning has gone into the making of Whistling Woods International. The curriculum has been devised by forward thinking industry experts, keeping in mind the industry’s needs. Education is not something that can be done on a part-time basis. Our students spend all day learning at the institute, from 7:30 in the morning till 8:30 in the night, so they accomplish in two years what others in accredited foreign universities do in three.
All aspects of film-making need to be taught as part of animation education. We need studios to come together and set guidelines. They have to take a stand that they will hire students only if the institutes that train them adhere to given guidelines. There has to be some sort of a benchmark.”
Whistling Woods International Institute for Film, Television and Media Arts, it appears, is giving its students the best to ensure that they become the best. Keeping in mind that sharing their experience will be beneficial to the industry as a whole, Chaitanya listed seven key points:
1. Investment:
Institutes must invest in technology and infrastructure. Education is not a business where you are constantly looking at returns on investment. The ROI for any institute has to be successful students. Whistling Woods International was set up with an initial investment of 65 crores. We have ensured that we have state of the art technology for every department, including animation, so that our students get hands on experience using the best and latest tools and equipment in an ideal environment.
2. Screening of students:
Our students have to go through a rigorous evaluation process before we enroll them. They first have to submit hand-drawn sketches and a statement of purpose. On approval, there is a personal interview session with student counsellors to understand their career goals in animation. Only if we are satisfied with their potential and integrity towards learning do we accept them. Filling up seats is the least of our concerns. Our facility has a capacity of 35 students per intake, twice a year. So far we have had 3 intakes of 12, 4 and 11 students. Ultimately, its is not about filling up seats. We turn away students if we feel they do not qualify. Our average rejection ratio is 6:1
3. Film making skills:
Each and every student begins with a 6 month film-making programme where all aspects of film-making are taught including writing, direction, editing and cinema production. The students have to make two live-action films in 6 months to gain a practical understanding of film-making and learn various skills. This helps them when visualizing for animation as well. Planning scenes, camera angles, these are as essential for animation as they are for live-action film-making.
4. Faculty:
Unlike many other training institutes, we do not hire recent graduates as faculty. To teach at WWI, one has to be a working professional for at least 2 years prior to that. If not, they have to go out and work on a live project before coming back to teach here. This ensures that our faculty is in touch with the latest trends and developments in the industry.
5. Teacher training:
Each of our teachers goes through comprehensive training. It is a rigorous programme with mock sessions, tips, instructions on how to make classes interactive, how to get students more involved students. We stress on ‘deeper knowledge’ so it stays with them longer. It is not enough to simply point to a camera and tell the student about it. The student must handle the camera, get a complete hands-on experience.
6. Specialization:
I have heard studios often complaining that the students coming out of institutes do not specialize in any particular area. At WWI, the first six months are dedicated to building a solid foundation in film-making as well as animation. The next one year is spent learning each and every aspect of animation – 2D animation on paper, 2D animation on the computer, 3D animation and compositing. In the last 6 months of the course, students learn specialized skills by working on multiple student films. They work in groups and in each film, the student gets to play a different role, thereby learning three to four different specialized skills. Based on his or her experience, the student can then decide which specialized field he would like to work in as a professional.
7. Internships:
We secure good internships for all of our students. We, as an institute, put together students’ profiles and send their portfolio to studios. Each and every students gets an internship with a reputed studio in VFX, live action or post production.
www.allaboutanimation.com thanks Chaitanya Chinchlikar and Whistling Woods International for sharing their experience and ideas with our readers.
[…] Chaitanya Chinchlikar, Marketing Manager, Whistling Woods International had a very interesting viewpoint. “It is possible to meet all these challenges. We have. With the help of 65 crores of private funding, we have invested in the best of facilities and state-of-the-art technology. We have a capacity of 35 students per intake, yet, in the 3 intakes that we have had so far, we have 12, 4 and 11 students only. It is not about filling up seats! I also think that the studios must come together, set guidelines, and put their foot down saying they will only hire if these guidelines are followed by the schools. The complete process of film making must be taught to the students.” For lack of time, he was unable to complete the 7 points that he wanted to outline. (We caught up with him later. The interview will be posted in another blog.) […]
Interview is quite interesting. WWI seems very promising professional institute.
I just checked up WWI’s web-site and found it quite interesting, though I have yet no intentions of making a film. One point really made my eyes roll, The Fee!! From 9 lacs to 12 lacs of Rupees!!! Considering the average Indian income, this is something affordable only to high-class citizens!!! This reminded me of high priced Apple’s Macs (I totally agree that they are worth it).
Any movie already released in which a student from WWI is involved? It should be great in that area, be it photography/editing/acting/etc..
The first batch of students is yet to pass out of WWI.
As for the fees, you get what you pay for. Most so-called institutes anyway charge unreasonable sums of money just to teach budding animators software like Maya and 3DS Max. Even after that, the knowledge their students gain is mostly incomplete. If one tries to go abroad to learn animation, the fees are higher.
You are right! The other institutions curriculum didn’t seem as comprehensive as WWI’s. Also, film making involves not just animation with software (which is what most software institutes do), but also fundamentals of what exactly constitutes a movie, which is what WWI’s root seems to be based on!
[…] Chaitanya Chinchlikar, Marketing Manager, Whistling Woods International had a very interesting viewpoint. “It is possible to meet all these challenges. We have. With the help of 65 crores of private funding, we have invested in the best of facilities and state-of-the-art technology. We have a capacity of 35 students per intake, yet, in the 3 intakes that we have had so far, we have 12, 4 and 11 students only. It is not about filling up seats! I also think that the studios must come together, set guidelines, and put their foot down saying they will only hire if these guidelines are followed by the schools. The complete process of film making must be taught to the students.” For lack of time, he was unable to complete the 7 points that he wanted to outline. (We caught up with him later. The interview will be posted in another blog.) […]
I’m outside the Indian animation scene and found the article by chance, but can say the Whistling Woods does seem to have the right focus. Seeing as the latest articles also speak good things about their courses, I assume WW-school does as promised.
The trackbacked Resoursing Human Resource article is interesting discussion as well. That article and this makes me curious about the state of Indian animation training scene now. Have the expectations been met? Also how do the schools compare against each other? I don’t know if there is a way to do such a comparison objectively, but if I were a starting animation student in the Indian scene, I would definitely want to know.
This was just my foreign 2 cents. Keep up the quality blog.