The last session of the first day of the KAM 2021 Summit had an interesting topic of discussion and a panel of enthusiastic speakers.
The panel included leaders from the tech space including Samit Shetty, Autodesk India Technical Solutions Manager, Adobe Sales Manager Sharrom Yezdegardi, Production Technology Veteran VK Gupta, Scan 360 Studios Partner Hans M Van der Sluys and Zebu Animation founder and director Viren Patil shared their views. and solutions to speed up workflows and reduce costs while keeping the bar high for quality and creativity and what new innovations are offered by software companies. The session was moderated by the AVGC Center of Excellence, Karnataka and the Secretary of ABAI, BS Srinivas.
“New age production is very demanding. For one or two years, the consumption of animation has doubled. So to achieve this, many companies are working together to get things done faster. New age production not only saves time, but also saves money. You no longer have to invest in multiple tools and plugins, ”said Samit Shetty.
“The public has become more judicious. They expect more quality content and the evolution of technology plays a big role. The technology is slowly evolving to a point where it starts to become invisible, which is fantastic. And the fact that technology is evolving so much is impressive, ”added Viren Patil.
With live shootings limited or facing new restrictions, 2020 has brought a wave of exceptional animated commercials from various brands. Even before the pandemic, technological innovations helped usher in new talent and techniques in animation. The changes have led some animators to suggest that they are entering a golden age for their profession. One example is the development of real-time animation, the process of using a live 3D character puppeteer motion capture system, which has moved beyond “cheerful or visually unpleasant graphics”.
“Motion capture will play an increasingly important role in television, animated series and movies. As the competition increases, we will be able to use animation in production in real time. By using motion capture with different software like Motion Builder, Unreal Engine, and Maya, you can do things in real time. I strongly urge everyone to experiment, at least to try, ”urged Hans M Van der Sluys.
Sharrom Yezdegardi added: “Immersive media is no longer the future, it is actually the present. It’s here. It goes beyond industries. When it comes to the future of the animation, visual effects, and video game industry, more and more artists want reduced requirements for switching between apps to convert formats from. files and better collaboration tools.
Marketers are already trying to be more conversational in the digital realm. The “faster turnaround” of real-time animation has the potential to make these interactions more fun and creative, and allow brands to stand out when responding to daily news or social media trends. We are witnessing a change in audience and distribution, which will fundamentally realign the economy and animation, but we are also witnessing a technical innovation. These are pretty magical things happening at the same time, so it wouldn’t be too melodramatic to call it a golden age of animation.
“As technology improves, you don’t need to train the tools. The tools become much easier. It is only a question of skills since the software does not require any more education. The technology has come to a point where you can become an artist again now. Earlier technology was tedious because datasets were locked in software and lots of collaborative tools had to be created. But now is the best time to become an artist. I guess that’s why I call myself the production tech veteran, ”VK Gupta said with a laugh.
Moderator BS Srinivas said, “Content consumption and content creation have increased after the pandemic; thanks to esports, games and OTT platforms.
In conclusion, all the panelists agreed on the fact that today technology has evolved so much that creativity must keep pace.
Watch the entire session here starting at 3:00:47
