Industry is at the crossroads and the market appears to be in a flux as we straddle the golden age of content. If the profusion of the OTT space can be likened to rains, then each droplet contains a massive repository of content aimed at global consumption. And by extension, it feels like this unending digital monsoon is all set to irrigate the Indian storytelling landscape. New players are emerging by the day and the nature of the market continues to show its vagaries and caprice.
Inaugration
This, in effect, necessitates aggregator platforms which can verily facilitate connectivity, partnership, understanding if the market and the status-quo. Over the past five years, we have seen a flurry of summits and platforms that have collectively aimed to bring under one roof all the market players ranging from creators, producers, animators, artists and important stakeholders of the AVGC industry.
Packing a buzzing microcosm of the AVGC industry, IndiaJoy recently concluded on a high note and I was there to experience it first-hand.
However, in the apotheosis of aggregator events, IndiaJoy festival emerges as the most potent one in its promise and size. Perhaps it would be apt to say; In the ocean of AVGC events, IndiaJoy is quite an oyster.
Packing a buzzing microcosm of the AVGC industry, IndiaJoy recently concluded on a high note and I was there to experience it first-hand. While Hyderabad is termed as the heart of the Indian subcontinent, in the heart of the city itself lies a technology hotspot where India’s largest digital entertainment festival was ceremoniously held. And it saw a definitive gathering of Industry linchpins and over thirty thousand visitors from all across the world.
Participant poses for a picture
At the HICC venue, The festival was optimally stitched together to help the attendees easily maneuver through a series of events transpiring at different places in the venue. While the four-day event attracted thousands of big players from India’s AVGC sector, I could see a massive contingent of international delegates traversing the aisles of the exhibition area.
Seeing myself vicariously turn into a four-legged monster on the screen was cool enough but playing those nifty games near e-sports arena was just otherworldly.
You can draw parallels between Hogwarts and the IndiaJoy festival in the way students and aspirants feast upon the seemingly impossible wizardry that unfolds before them albeit IndiaJoy also aimed to explain the muggle (Human-made) technologies that helped create them.
Riot Games VFX artist Jason Keyser speaks to students
Instead of wands, presenters carried remotes that beamed at the large screens behind them, allowing them to switch slides and illustrate how complex VFX imagery was created on celluloid. India has had its own share of VFX-rich blockbuster movies that have also struck a chord with the global audience. Recent movies Bahubali saga and 2.0 that coincidentally also find their origins in the city of Hyderabad have become the landmark projects for the use of technology. VFX summit itself saw world’s top-drawer projects presented by the VFX wizards themselves. The line-up included big names like (2.0 fame) Srinivas Mohan, and Oscar-awardee VFX veteran Tim McGovern and redchillies.vfx supervisor Ronak Sanghadia and Technicolor India Head Biren Ghose.
Various stalls displayed their software offerings and plied visitors with a chance to experience the latest technologies like motion capture and virtual reality. Seeing myself vicariously turn into a four-legged monster on the screen was cool enough but playing those nifty games near e-sports arena was just otherworldly.
Tiger face paint at IndiaJoy
Speaking of gaming, there was a dedicated space reserved for gaming where participants participated with great fervour and there I actually acquainted myself with the sheer rage gaming scenario has grown to become. Players vying for the top spot had travelled from far yonders to get themselves registered for the gaming contests and the passions flared as the running commentary played out.
Artistic competitions saw its own razzmatazz with students participating in sketching, face-painting, clay-moulding and various other crafty contests and being handsomely rewarded by the end of the day.
India Joy 2019 packed a veritable treasure trove of knowledge and hot line up of nine premium events that included IGDC (India Game Developer Conference), Desi Toons, VFX Summit, InfluencerCon, Investor-Publisher Connect, E-Sports, OTT Pulse and the Indiajoy Music Fest.
OTT rush
With the explosion of digital space, Influencers have carved a space of their own. The onset of advertisement, promotional opportunities and brand partnerships that have emerged for influencers has brought on a wave of demand for knowledge on the crests and troughs of the market and how creators and brands can find inventive ways to form synergies..
While InfluencerCon turned in, serving as the holy grail of market information, reports and ongoing trends, OTT pulse saw an elaborate series of discussions on various facets of digital content. Several interactive sessions, including those by Facebook and Tik Tok bestowed nuggets of insight and tricks on making it big in their respective genres of content.
Arbaz Khan promotes Rogue Hiest (game) at IGDC
No longer is gaming a wayward hobby that children or (to be more specific I) often got grounded for. Gaming Industry has come to seize the pulse of millions, becoming a billion dollar industry worldwide. Ripples of which are being increasingly felt in India’s largest gaming conference that took place under the IndiaJoy umbrella. Attendees comprising of aspiring-game developers and stakeholders had the opportunity to witness various aspects of gaming right from developments to its business. IGDC flew down to the aisles of IndiaJoy a variety of gaming professions and market experts that discussed all facets of the industry.
“Well, it’s always fun creating babies, whether on screen or otherwise” – Green Gold Studios founder Rajiv Chilaka
On the Animation front, we saw giants of Indian Animation industry exchange inputs and enlarge on their journeys and pitfalls.
Was it thought provoking?
Hell yeah! Although it only scratches the surface of the larger issue, AnimationXpress founder and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari pointed out on the DesiToonz panel how creative folks are not given their due, which is the reason why we don’t see newer animated content or something to that effect. I hope those in charge heed that!
Mighty Little Bheem
Speaking about the recent superhit show in the kids’ category, Mighty Little Bheem ( I kid you not, is the cutest animated baby the world has ever seen) which is rocking at number one on Netflix, Green Gold Studios founder Rajiv Chilaka tickled the funny bone by saying, “Well, it’s always fun creating babies, whether on screen or otherwise”
Hyderabad-based and international Institutes offering courses in various aspects of digital entertainment and filmmaking also made their attendance with their own stalls.
Apart from Hyderabad emerging as the hub of technology boasting of the upcoming image tower, the sessions affirmed one notion; India’s AVGC industry is on steroids and content continues to get face-lifts by technology everyday. It’s only a matter of time before the India starts soaring through the global firmament.
The post My reflections on the IndiaJoy festival 2019 appeared first on AnimationXpress.
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