Hasta La Motion!

Technological advancements have been facilitating education in a variety of ways. Recently TimesPro and Moody’s Analytics recently launched an exclusively designed, advanced Post Graduate Diploma in Wealth Management (PGDWM) which will be available for students on a dedicated application/website.

Learning has become easy with the advent of technology and its applications. Targeted at graduates and postgraduates, successful completion of the program will earn candidates the globally recognized Certified International Wealth Manager (CIWM) designation in addition to the PGDWM.

The CIWM is accredited by the National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM), an educational initiative of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), as an equivalency to NISM-Series-X-A: Investment Adviser (Level 1) and NISM-Series-X-B: Investment Adviser (Level 2) Certification Examinations towards registration as a SEBI Registered Investment Advisor.

The world-class program curriculum is designed by Moody’s Analytics and facilitated by TimesPro through a blended learning methodology. Based on a global competency grid and customized for the Indian market, the curriculum covers a broad range of topics ranging from financial planning and investment management to sales and relationship management.

TimesPro President Anish Srikrishna said, “India is extensively focused on re-skilling. This requires myriad options in academia in all disciplines possible, accommodating all age groups at all stages of learning. Today, wealth management services are well sought after by a growing number of High Net Worth Individuals (HNIs) and Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNIs). However, not everybody who aspires for a career in wealth management may have the requisite skillset. This is where TimesPro stands tall. With the PGD in Wealth Management and stand-alone CIWM, TimesPro will be the learning partner for Moody’s Analytics. The PGDWM is ideal for grads and post-grads, while ease of access and the option to learn while still on the job make the stand-alone CIWM a unique and attractive option for working professionals.”

As well as being part of the Post Graduate Diploma program, the CIWM will be offered as a stand-alone e-Learning program comprising around 140 hours of learning for busy professionals who are looking to progress their financial industry careers.  Supplementing the eLearning will be live, instructor-led online “pop-up” sessions which will provide academic support to students.

Speaking about the association, Moody’s Analytics executive director Ari Lehavi said, “Managing the wealth of affluent clients requires a distinctive skillset. Through our collaboration with TimesPro, we aim to help equip the next generation of India’s wealth professionals with the specialized knowledge they need to address their clients’ evolving needs, in both a local and global context.”

What’s interesting is that program’s 300 hours of instruction are delivered via online and classroom learning that includes soft skills training. Moreover, with TimesPro’s countrywide network of industry affiliations across banks, Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), Asset Management Companies (AMCs), Portfolio Management Services providers etc., candidates can get internship opportunity and placement guidance.

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DC Comics has released the official trailer for the Harley Quinn original series. In the trailer, Quinn and the Joker get into it while she’s beating up a bunch of goons.

DC Universe animated series called Harley Quinn debuts 29 November. Quinn initially began her life as a foil and love interest for the Joker on Batman: The Animated Series. Harley Quinn will be telling her side of the Joker romance story in the upcoming live-action movie Birds of Prey, set to release on 7 February 2020.

In the new trailer that debuted on Tuesday, Harley Quinn (voiced by The Big Bang Theory’s Kaley Cuoco) realises the Joker (Alan Tudyk) never loved her, so she breaks up with him and tries to make it on her own as Gotham City’s criminal Queenpin.

She teams up with Poison Ivy to create the ultimate group of bad guys to compete with the Joker, and causes her usual brand of chaos. The new trailer also implies that Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and a few other notable DC Comics superheroes will make an appearance.

The voice cast of Harley Quinn also includes Lake Bell (Wet Hot American Summer) as Poison Ivy; Rahul Kohli (iZombie) as Scarecrow; Sanaa Lathan (The Twilight Zone) as Catwoman; Diedrich Bader (Veep) as Batman; Tony Hale (Arrested Development, Veep) as Doctor Psycho; and Chris Meloni (Happy) as Commissioner Gordon.

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IndiaJoy Festival www.indiajoy.in has become one of the most important platforms in the world for Digital, Media and Entertainment Corporations to collaborate and to innovate.

With more than 10,000 visitors, the four-day conclave Indiajoy 2019, being held at HICC from 20-23rd November, is expected to serve as a springboard for Indian media and entertainment companies on the world stage.

The spotlight for this year will be on the Indian Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry which is poised to touch INR1,631 billion according to a recent market report on the back of rapid growth in digital user base and consumption combined with growing regional demand and monetization.

The IndiaJoy festival, now in its 2nd edition, is supported by Government of Telangana. The festival has a power-packed line-up of 9 world-class events that include IGDC (India Game Developer Conference), Desi Toons, VFX Summit, Indywood film Market, InfluencerCon, Investor-Publisher Connect NODWIN E-Sports arena, Facebook, OTT Pulse and the Indiajoy Music Fest.

The 400+ International delegation from 50+ countries expected to attend the event will boost Hyderabad’s visibility in the global VFX, Toons, Gaming and Entertainment industry, while exploring the huge India market as well as markets in Southeast Asia and other emerging markets.

The government is keen to help the Visual Effect, Gaming and Animation Industry so it is gearing up to show up Hyderabad and Indiajoy Festival to demonstrate the local talent creativity and soft power.

Speaking about the growth of AVCG Industry in Telangana, Government of Telangana IT Minister  KT Ramarao said, “ Government of Telangana has been supporting a variety of economic and industrial activities by initiating specially designed policies to promote growth. While Telangana has been a leader in the area of IT/ITeS, a push to the Film, Content, Digital, Animation, VFX, Gaming & Comics industry supported by a futuristic policy will ensure exponential growth of this industry and attract investments from related stakeholders into Telangana. This will establish Telangana as a truly creative industry hub. by organising a mega event like IndiaJoy makes lot of strategic sense for the government.”

Speaking to media about the event Government of Telangana Jayesh Ranjan Principal Secretary said, “The IndiaJoy festival is a window for the world to witness and to engage with the finest minds in gaming, VFX, and animation industries in India. The Government of Telangana is committed to make this a global scale platform. We are pleased to note that in its second year itself event is becoming bigger, with global participation from investors, publishers and gamers who are all excited to attend IndiaJoy.”

PurpleTalk co-founder Sridhar Muppidi, highlighted the tremendous learning and collaboration opportunities IndiaJoy offers to delegates, and added: “I am excited about this year’s IndiaJoy edition, which is bringing together 250 sessions on 20 different topics, 8 top events, 4 days of expo, and a large esports arena with 5 different game stages”

Sharing his insights about VFX summit, Rotomaker VFX  founder and General secretary of TVAGA Madhav Reddy Yatham (Mike) said, “We are pleased with the tremendous response from the global fraternity expressing their interest to be a part of this event,”

Amid panel discussions, VFX showreels, breakdowns, and illuminating discussions, the event is poised to bring under one marquee, top industry veterans, artists and VFX technicians of the most notable VFX projects including techie-talks from Unity, Auto Desk and so on.

Speaking about Desi Toons at IndiaJoy Festival, Rajiv Chilaka said “The Indian animation industry is at a very interesting and crucial juncture. In the last couple of decades, India has proven its caliber in creating shows and IPs which are forces to reckon with globally. Of course, the journey has just begun for all of us. With endless possibilities, the future will be demanding but very fruitful. With Desi Toons we hope to provide the stage to better understand where we stand and where we are headed.”

Stalwarts of animation production and media industry with the likes of Turner International, Viacom18, Sony Pictures Networks, Discovery Communications, Shemaroo, VOOT, DQ Entertainment, Green Gold Animation, Reliance Big Animation and Hi-Tech Animation among others as Executive panelists and speakers will share their perspectives on the growth, scope and future of the Indian Animation industry.

The OTT Pulse being held on 20 November will have multiple panels and keynotes spread over the day which will include representation from the leading digital platforms. Taking the stage will be panelists from leading OTT platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Viu, VOOT and ZEE5 among others.

The flagship event of IndiaJoy, Indian Game developer Conference(IGDC) on to its 11th edition has emerged as the most productive platform for investors, publishers and gaming companies to engage and learn from each other. IGDC 2019 has seen a record 100% growth in the number of global and local investors and start-ups. IGDC will also an expo for gaming companies across India including their popular IGDC Awards ceremony in 7 categories.

Additionally, over 1000 attendees are expected to attend InfluencerCon to attend 30+ speaker sessions, workshops, informal interactive sessions, and more. The event will host B2B and B2C Expo Stalls in addition to top brands and influencer platforms.

Overall, this year’s IndiaJoy has something for everyone—students, start-ups, game developers, game publishers, and film media and entertainment professionals.

This Year for the first time IndiaJoy will also have Global Youth Program in partnership with GlobalOpz. This program has already received 1200+ applicants from over 112 countries and more than 60 youngsters from 52+ countries were given a chance to be a part of the program.

The post IT Minister KT Ramarao to flagoff India’s biggest festival Indiajoy for Gaming, Animation, VFX Media and Entertainment in Hyderabad appeared first on AnimationXpress.

The year 2019 has witnessed a heart-warming phase for all the Indian cricket fans and stars. Be it the Worldcup 2019 or IPL 2019, Indian cricket industry has captured the audience’s imagination, enthusiasm and interests in cricket throughout. With the rise of the Indian fantasy sports, the interest of the cricket fans has surpassed all records of engagement.

A report published by KPMG and the Indian Federation of Sports Gaming (IFSG) estimates that the user base of fantasy gaming platforms crossed 70 million Indians in 2018. Participants in the nascent sport spent around $1.73 billion (Rs 11,880 crore) last year.

Capitalising on the opportunity of India’s love for cricket, the fantasy cricket brands have up-scaled their fantasy sports business in the 2019 cricket season with the incorporation of brand ambassadors and new campaigns to set newer benchmarks.

The appointed brand ambassadors have predominantly been fan-favourites and continue to be a huge part of the Indian cricket team. The reasons for incorporating them as the face of the brands are many.

Firstly with that, the brand wants to target the audience of all age-groups with the popular names from the Indian cricket team. For example, many Indian cricket fans believe Sourav Ganguly was the best Indian Captain ever and we can’t deny the fact under M.S Dhoni’s captaincy India won the Cricket Worldcup 2011 as well as Virat Kohli who is the current captain of the team across all formats has amazing youth fan-following.

Gauging the market for Indian fans, fantasy cricket brands strategically choose the face of the brand after analysing the targeted age-group.

Secondly the brands deploy various promotional strategies to galvanise their fan-base. For example: the lucky user of the fantasy sports app are given a chance to meet the face of the brand or get a chance to team up and create a dream team with the face of the brand. Now the catch is Indian cricket fans are emotional and enthusiastic for Indian cricket and the players as well. So when such promotional deals come to pass, the cricket fans lap up the opportunity like bees to honey.

Thirdly, considering the face of the brand, the audience retention increases on the fantasy cricket app. When the brands claim that the audiences’ favourite cricket star is playing online with the fans, more cricket fans spend more hours online which results in fantasy cricket business to go bullish and earning more profit.

Understanding the business plan for the incorporation of brand ambassadors from the cricket community during the cricket season, we have picked a few brands to reveals what they aimed for after announcing the face of the brand:

Dream11 which earlier launched with the face of MS Dhoni  for 2019  IPL season they have signed up seven cricket stars and have partnered with seven IPL franchise teams as part of their multi-channel marketing campaign during IPL. For in-stadium fan engagement in every IPL match, Dream11 has created an in-match quiz for fans called the Dream11 Game Changing Quiz. The winner along with a friend gets to enjoy the IPL Hospitality experience as an upgrade and in addition to this, the winner also will be handing over the trophy and cheque in the post-match presentation ceremony to the player who has been selected as the Dream11 GameChanger of the Match.

Talking about the tie-ups and fan engagement, Dream11 chief marketing officer, said that , “they have come out with a holistic approach to our marketing campaign that comprises of brand advertising films along with product led content on several platforms. The newly signed cricket stars along with our deals with the IPL franchise teams means that we are bringing alive the IPL experience in a unique way for Dream11 fans.”

The seven IPL teams are Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab. In addition to MS Dhoni who is Dream11’s brand ambassador, the seven new cricketers signed up are Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, AB de Villiers, Rashid Khan, Ajinkya Rahane and R Ashwin.

My 11 circle has appointed Sourav Ganguly as the brand ambassador for My11Circle a fantasy cricket platform from Play Games 24×7 umbrella. According to the fantasy cricket platform, this introduction will bound to capture the attention of the millions of Indians, to whom cricket is a religion.

Sourav Ganguly one of the great legends of the game with over 11,000 ODI runs to his merit and is till date one of the most successful Indian cricket captains.

Play Games24x7 brand head Avik Das Kanungo quotes “We are very lucky to have Sourav as part of the My11Circle family. This game is about cricketing knowledge, passion and decision making. The app is looking at scaling up their presence with Sourav Ganguly who took Indian cricket to new heights. Every player on our app is like a cricket captain and picks his / her own cricket team and everyone knows that Sourav is the best when it comes to this. I am confident that our players will also look forward to this exciting journey with Sourav on My11Circle”
During that time My11Circle was hosting international and domestic cricket matches to select from on their contest page.

HalaPlay Technologies, the online daily fantasy sports platform in India, during the cricket season announced their brand ambassadors, Krunal and Hardik Pandya. The all-rounder brothers were officially representing the Daily Fantasy Sports platform going forward.

HalaPlay co-founder, Prateek Anand says “In a cricket loving nation like India, fantasy sports have become a way of life, which is where we see our exponential growth. Having the Pandya brothers on board is the right fit. Their all-rounded talent and fresh energy resonates with the essence of HalaPlay, as we are a young company with a lot to offer. It is important for our audience to know that they can invest their time and money in a place where they will get legitimate results. That is why we have recently changed our product from a fixed fee to a zero platform fee model. Now HalaPlay users don’t have to pay any platform fee and this will give our gamers the winnings they deserve with the thrill of game play.”

In addition to that HalaPlay was offering winnings up to Rs100 crore on their fantasy sports platform during the cricket season. Where players had the opportunity to win prize money, make their game potential and even more exciting.

Fantain Sports, has announced the appointment of Indian cricketer Suresh Raina as its brand ambassador. The left-handed batsman became the face of the company across all its brand communication campaigns from March 2019, ahead of the IPL 2019  and ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

Fantain co-founder and CEO Anand Ramachandran said “Suresh Raina is a legend in his own right and we are delighted to be associated with him. His sheer talent, teamwork and energy have won several matches for India and CSK.  He always plays the game with a straight bat and this partnership is a perfect fit for us, as we build a platform based on trust and transparency. We wish Suresh the best of luck for this IPL and beyond.”

With that Fantain planned to unveil its marketing campaign #GameHaathMein which is a call to every fan to become an active one by following his/her favourite sport on their mobiles. In addition the campaign will also target the vast customer base of BookMyShow, with a host of exciting free giveaways

Mobile Premier League (MPL), India’s mobile esports platform, has signed Indian skipper Virat Kohli as their brand ambassador.  It was founded in 2018 by Sai Srinivas Kiran Garimella and Shubham Malhotra under Galactus Funware Technology. Towards the end of 2018, MPL received funding of 36.5 crores from venture capital company, Sequoia Capital. The company planned to make him part of the series of multi-channel marketing and promotional activities for the brand.

Mobile Premier League CEO & co-founder Sai Srinivas Kiran,said “Virat is an inspiration to many Indians- young and old. His focus and dedication to developing his skills as a sportsperson and the never-say-die attitude he brings to everything that he does, has resonated well with fans around the world and with our brand. MPL believes that everyone can be a winner like Virat, and through our association with him, we hope to make mobile esports more accessible to people across the country.”

With  that MPL too ensures that there is always something exciting for users to look forward to, with new games being added every week. The games are designed in such a way that anyone can compete and win.

Credible brand ambassadors are able to offer many benefits, with the most important being the ability to give the brand a boost on social media, spread positive messages and influence consumer sales. In addition to that, it becomes most effective when they are able to provide customer service and act as spokespeople for the brand. As Indian fantasy sports brands have roped in cricketers as brand ambassadors during the cricket season we hope it has surpassed all records in terms of profit, traffic, engagement as well.

The post Why fantasy sports brands in India is roping in cricket celebrities as brand ambassadors? appeared first on AnimationXpress.

Big news in the material creation world. Megascans is now free for Unreal Engine 4 users, Substance announces updates to Painter and Alchemist, and more.

There have been quite a few large announcements in the 3D world lately. Let’s take a glimpse at what is going on in the industry.

Epic Games and Quixel Join Forces

Quixel, makers of Megascans, have announced that they have joined forces with Epic Games. Not only does this create amazing opportunities for Quixel, it makes immediate changes to Megascans users.

Megascans is now free for use with Unreal Engine

The entire Megascans library is now completely free for use with Unreal Engine. UE4 users have free unlimited access to all Megascans through Bridge and Mixer.

If you are already using Megascans with UE4, Quixel will refund all of your subscriptions for 2019.

Megascans subscription prices lowered

Megascans pricing has been cut in half, regardless of DCC, engine, or renderer you use.

Bridge and Mixer 2020 will be 100% free

The upcoming 2020 versions of Bridge and Mixer will be 100% free for everyone, with no subscription required and both fully featured.

Bridge 2020 introduces an improved browsing experience, nearly a hundred new collections, improve search, and powerful filtering.

Quixel has also implemented an AI search feature that finds all the assets in any image you feed it, essentially making environment planning much easier, whether you have real-world references or concept art.

Mixer 2020 introduces 3D Painting, Real-time 3D Curvature, Smart Materials and more. The update also introduces 3D Blur, Grouping, Map-specific Blending, Advanced AO Mixing, Box Projection, Material ID Masking, 3D Position Gradients and 3D Normals to name a few, as another step on the path to making Mixer the ultimate, and now free, texturing app.

The new free Mixer and Bridge 2020 will be released later this year.

Adobe Max 2019

At the annual Adobe Max conference in LA, Adobe announced many of their big updates for Creative Cloud and Substance.

Substance 2019 Updates

Substance has it’s own time to shine at Adobe Max during the Substance Day presentations. Here’s what we learned about new features and tools coming to Substance.

Project Captis

Image via Adobe/HP.

HP and Adobe will deliver Project Captis to partners across various industries, including game development, ecommerce, architecture and fashion, among others. Project Captis kicks off at Adobe MAX and will run through 2020.

“HP is at the forefront of bridging digital and physical worlds by providing a comprehensive ecosystem of tools and solutions to the creative community, and we will continue to progress as the landscape and needs of creators evolve,” said Alex Cho, president, Personal Systems, HP Inc. “Today, with Adobe and Project Captis, we are raising the bar for how creative pros manage their digital workflows and evolve their craft.”

Image via HP.

“At Adobe we’re passionate about building tools and services empowering digital artists,” said Sebastien Deguy, VP of 3D & Immersive, Adobe. “Our collaboration with HP through Project Captis takes us one step closer to the fastest and most efficient way for creatives to digitalize materials and use them in their 3D design process.” – HP

Substance Painter

New in Substance Painter, users can now import their favorite Photoshop brushes.

Image via Adobe/Substance.

Starting with the next Substance Painter release, you’ll be able to import and use .ABR brushes in your favorite 3D texturing app. We also announced opacity blending and pressure sensitivity improvements, bringing the painting experience closer than ever to Photoshop’s.

Substance Alchemist

Substance Alchemist is officially out of Beta. It features an improved layer stack, the ability to share projects with other users, and an improved delighter.

The team is also working on a new fully automatic tiling filter, born from the collaboration between Adobe Research and the Substance Alchemist team. Ever used the Content-Aware fill in Photoshop? We now use the same technology to remove seams on the edges of your input image automatically, and soon a full material at once! This new algorithm is faster, doesn’t require any tweaking, and often produce better results than the previous methods.

Image via Adobe/Substance.

Sketchfab will also be integrated into Substance. More than 220,000 free models from Sketchfab will be available to download in Substance Painter and Adobe Dimension. There will also be 35 new free characters on Mixamo.

Image via Adobe/Substance.

After Effects Updates

For After Effects users, Adobe updated the app for better performance speed. 9 to 5 Mac reports,

You can now expect smooth, fluid playback of cached video previews. A new version of Cinema 4D, bundled with After Effects, can be opened as a standalone application. Caps and bevel tools have been added.

Check out this overview from the team at School of Motion.

In other Creative Cloud news, Adobe Photoshop will now be available on iPads, with Illustrator for iPads coming soon behind it in 2020.

Greyscalegorilla Plus

After a successful VIP launch, Greyscalegorilla Plus is now available to everyone. The subscription platform gives members instant access to the renowned professional training guides as well as new exclusive training series for Cinema 4D, Houdini, and much more.

Before the end of the year, Arnold training will be available to members, as well as additional Quick Tips, and training on concepts like animation and the ACES color workflow.

Want a preview of Greyscalegorilla Plus? Stream example lessons and explore the membership overview.

Also included with membership is complete access to the entire Greyscalegorilla Material Collection library.

Everyday Material Collection

Plus members get instance access to the Everyday Material Collection, Modern Surface Material Collection, and Texture Kit Pro. That’s over 600 drag-and-drop materials for Cinema 4D included with a membership.

Interested in joining? Learn more about Greyscalegorilla Plus.

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