Hasta La Motion!

POGO and Cartoon Network, channels under WarnerMedia Entertainment Networks Asia Pacific, are ramping up original India productions with three new home-grown animation comedies. POGO has commissioned both Titoo and Lambuji Tinguji, produced by Cosmos Maya, and Cartoon Network will air Bandbudh Aur Budbak, from Paperboat Studios.

Speaking about the new content, Cartoon Network and POGO  senior director and network head in South Asia Abhishek Dutta said, “Our top priority is our fans and they love characters and great stories. These quintessentially Indian shows will resonate strongly with them. We commissioned Titoo and Lambuji Tinguji and acquired Bandbudh Aur Budbak, for their clever use of comedy and humour. They all feature visual richness and robust characters, embedded in unique animated worlds and stories. The creativity and talent now seen in the Indian animation industry have developed tremendously and the commitment made to three homegrown IPs is testament to our belief in the industry to create world-class entertainment.”

As original productions, Titoo and Lambuji Tinguji offer myriad advertising opportunities including brand association and licensing partnerships. Even before the launch of these tentpole shows, brand integration and branded content production are being explored.

WarnerMedia Entertainment Networks in South Asia managing director Siddharth Jain added, “India continues to be a priority market for WarnerMedia Entertainment Networks in Asia Pacific. Investing in three new shows for POGO and Cartoon Network in 2020 further demonstrates our commitment to scaling up and sustaining the quality of our kids entertainment.”

Partners could also be a part of POGO’s nationwide promotional launch activities including mall events, digital promotions and on-air activations. These start in the months leading up to the launch and carry on during the initial airing on the channel, with additional sustaining tactics to maintain the excitement.

The post POGO and Cartoon Network announce three new homegrown comedies for 2020 appeared first on AnimationXpress.

Cyber Group Studios, the leading European animated entertainment company, is proud to announce the promotion of Caroline Audebert from head of productions to the newly created position of studios deputy director. At a time where Cyber Group Studios sees its catalog significantly growing with seven series in productions and over 11 series in development, strengthening its production’s department is a key step to follow up with theses current and upcoming projects.

Caroline Audebert

Cyber Group Studios president and CEO Pierre Sissmann said,”I am particularly pleased with this promotion. It confirms Caroline’s talent to support us in the growth of our company through an in-depth management of productions, both in terms of content and costs. At a time when our activity is developing strongly in France and internationally – especially in the USA, Russia and China – reinforcing our French studios under the joint direction of Caroline Audebert and Olivier Lelardoux ensures our sustainability and strength on the long term.”

In this new role, Audebert will coordinate and prioritise all Cyber Group Studios’ production activities worldwide, on all sites. Based in Paris, she will develop new production axes both technically and budgetarily by rationalising the resources. She will report to Cyber Group Studios senior vice-president and associate producer Olivier Lelardoux.

Lelardoux added, “For the past two years, Caroline has successfully directed our productions and consolidated its processes. With this promotion, Caroline and the teams from the Paris and Roubaix’s studios are taking a further step to improve the quality of our productions and the productivity of the processes already in place.”

Prior to joining Cyber Group Studios in 2017, Audebert was head of production on White Fang’s feature film produced by Superprod and Bidibul. She managed the creation of CGI animation by overseeing the entire process from pre-production to delivery while coordinating simultaneously with 10 different Studios. Former head of production at Gaumont Animation, she led the artistic team and supported directors and broadcasters of animation programs from first writings to delivery. Audebert also served as VFX producer at BUF Compagnie where she worked on budgets, schedules and production for major feature films such as Arthur & the invisibles 2 & 3, Speed Racer, Thor. Former production manager at Disney Channel, as well as design program manager at Cisco System, in charge of International teams’ coordination (UK, India, Israel), she has also been animation production teacher 3D/CGI at ESRA Paris (University of Audiovisual Arts European Film Academy).

The post Cyber Group Studios has promoted veteran Caroline Audebert to the newly created position of studios deputy director appeared first on AnimationXpress.

As we learn more about the next-generation Xbox and PlayStation consoles, fans are already salivating. We’re also already starting to save, as current indications are that the next generation of consoles could be the most expensive we’ve seen in a while, or ever. Looking at the revealed specs, and simple patterns of technological improvement, it’s inevitable that we’ll be seeing better graphics and larger games, but what else do gamers want? Taking a completely professional and not at all biased survey of our workmates and friends, here’s what we’ve come up with.

More Open Architecture

One of the biggest advantages of PC gaming, while admittedly a double-edged sword, comes from their open architecture. Modification of the platform and gaming experience can add a great deal to the way we play a game, and this is doubly so for those of us with health or disabilities to contend with.

Unfortunately, consoles have been historically hesitant on this front. It makes sense in many ways, as some forms of open platforming raise the possibilities for virus and corruption, but we’d still like a better way to enjoy a wider range of homebrew games, for a start.

Free Online

Speaking of homebrew games, how about the ability to engage in free online gaming? Xbox Live and PSPlus are great in their own ways, but they measure up poorly when compared to the free offerings the PC gaming world gives openly. This would be great in terms of cost, naturally, but also for those of us who hate dealing with signup systems. Many popular modern systems like online casino sites now allow users to play without registration for games like blackjack and poker, so why can’t we do the same with Halo or Dragon Ball Fighterz?

A Choice in Graphics 

This generation has been one which has been very much leaning into higher resolutions. There is little doubt that 4k images look great, and help sell games, but in terms of actual gameplay, it is framerate which is king.

Towards the end of this generation, especially on the Xbox One X and PS4 Pro versions of current systems, increasingly more games are leaning into offering a 4k cinematic 30fps option, or a 1080p 60fps performance option. Hopefully, this is a pattern which adopted even more thoroughly next-gen, as for most of us, the choice is not a difficult one.

Greater Cross-Platform Multiplayer

One of the best trends to come out of this generation is undoubtedly that of cross-platform multiplayer. Initially held back by Sony’s reticence, now most systems are combining their communities into one cohesive whole. No more having to coordinate with your friends to buy the same version is amazingly consumer-friendly and well-loved by all. Here’s hoping this is a starting concern with Sony and Microsoft as the new consoles and online infrastructure launch.

While we always look forward to the next generation of console gaming, rarely has the gaming environment proved as promising as it is today. We have high hopes for the coming consoles, and unlike previous years, many of our hopes have very real chances of coming to pass. So which of these potential aspects are the most important to you?

The post Gaming Next Gen: What do gamers really want from next-gen consoles? appeared first on AnimationXpress.

Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS), India’s first and only self-regulatory industry body for Fantasy Sports has revealed that the Game Plan 2020 has been postponed due to coronavirus outbreak a day before the event.

“GamePlan 2020 which was scheduled on 5 March 2020 at Le Meridien, Delhi. Due to the recent developments with regards to Coronavirus, Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) have decided to postpone the conference. We shall get back to you within a week with rescheduled dates for GamePlan 2020,” says the official mail.

This year’s event is themed as ‘Good for Sports, Good for India’, and is scheduled to take place at Le Meridien, New Delhi on 5 March  2020. However, the event has been postponed owing to the immediate spike in the number of coronavirus cases from five to 28.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan announced that out of 21 Italian nationals, 16 of them have been found positive for coronavirus. They have been sent to Indo-Tibetan Border Police’s (ITBP) quarantine facility in Chhawla.

Analysing the spike rate in coronavirus affected people, FIFS has decided to take the step to temporarily postponed the event as the official mail further expressed that “…we will update you on the revised date very soon.”

With over 250 attendees, GamePlan 2020 was supposed to witness the presence of several industry stalwarts, who aimed to deliberate on the impact of Fantasy Sports on real-life sports and the Indian economy.

The post Breaking: FIFS Gameplan 2020 postponed due to spike in coronavirus affected people appeared first on AnimationXpress.

Hotstar, which has 60 per cent of India’s OTT market share, has launched a 360-degree marketing campaign – “Hotstar ka vaada, free entertainment sabse zyada”, reaching out to millions of viewers in Hindi-speaking markets.

As the OTT platform mentioned, it is aiming to bridge the accessibility gap for viewers through the campaign, spreading the word about its vast library of popular free content. Through this campaign, Hotstar is also targeting the Tier-II and Tier-III cities which have been “fueling the growth of online video consumption in India, using mass media vehicles such as TV and print, along with on-ground activations.

Hotstar executive vice president and business head Sidharth Shakdher told ET, “We see a huge opportunity in building awareness and encouraging trial across Tier II and Tier III cities around our vast and high quality library of free entertainment, and thereby, enabling a behavioral shift towards online video consumption. Hotstar’s free content will unlock a new world of entertainment for this audience which currently has to settle for outdated reruns on a limited set of channels.”

Hotstar aims to get all the traffic who have lost access to paid channels after TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) imposed new tariffs orders (NTO 2.0). While a set of audience hooked to these soaps, may turn to the streaming service and others of the same family who are interested in sports may take the subscription. It’s not good news bad news for television channels as it may lead to complete migration from traditional TV subscriptions to OTT.

Presently, Hotstar’s free content library includes hit movies like Chhichhore, Mission Mangal, Star Plus soap operas like Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, Nazar, Kasauti Zindagi Kay and shows from Star Bharat like Savdhaan India along with News. It seems to be the perfect time for Hotstar to launch this campaign ahead of IPL (Indian Premier league) that’s a huge money churner and attracts humongous audience attention.

“The next wave of growth for OTT platforms will come from smaller cities as adoption picks up. In fact, non-metros today outstrip metros in terms of video consumption. Through this campaign, our endeavor is to engage with our audiences further in Hindi-speaking markets and take digital video consumption to new frontiers,” said Hotstar chief product officer Varun Narang.

Hotstar is also planning to opt for door-to-door marketing in Tier-II and Tier-III cities using different mediums of marketing including billboard to advertise about their free library.

An OOH initiative will culminate in a billboard spanning 10,000 sq. ft, that will feature the variety and scale of content available on Hotstar. Other high impact activations include, OOH billboards and wall paintings across 80 small towns in India along with a branded mobile marketing canter van campaign.

The country is expected to witness a tough battle in the over-crowded OTT space this year. Hotstar, plans to break down its own record of 18.6 million concurrent viewers during the IPL season. It has also set aside Rs. 120 crore to make seven originals across regional languages.

The post Hotstar aims to penetrate into Tier II and Tier III cities through its new 360-degree campaign appeared first on AnimationXpress.