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Tag: Crest Communications

  • Anigraph goes ‘full house’ on final day

    Anigraph goes ‘full house’ on final day

    MUMBAI: Being a Saturday as well as the final day at Anigraph, Day 3 opened to a full house. The packed auditorium got to view some very impressive showreels interspersed with talks.

    The highlight of the day was the talk on ‘International co-production in animation’ given by Crest Communications CEO A K Madhavan. Madhavan very lucidly explained the wisdom involved in co-producing animation, responding to questions with characteristic patience and calm.

    Also of note was the presentation by Broadcast Consultancy Services CEO Reena Ashok. Entitled ‘Renderfarm on Rent by IBM Shaf’ the presentation had Reena explaining as to how such a service can help studios function more effeciently, reduce overheads and improve output.

    Rendering being one of the critical processes in animation and VFX, the presentation held the attention of all industry members within the audience.

    Some good showreels were demonstrated in the plenary session ‘Special FX in movies and TV’ and in the presentation on ‘VFX in advertising’.

    Played during the FX for Movies and TV plenary, the Hatim showreel had the audience spellbound. The students amongst the audience were informed beforehand by the organiser Ramesh Meer, that TV shows have relatively smaller budgets for FX.

    Complimenting Jyoti Sagar on the impressive FX of Hatim, the curious audience put up questions on topics like miniatures, CG and compositing.

    ‘VFX in advertising’, the session by the brilliant VFX & graphics artist Ara of famous FX was a short one and could have been longer. Responding to a question from the audience Ara explained the methodology and innovation that went into the famous ‘Yeh pyaas hai badee’ Pepsi campaign featuring Shahrukh, Saif and Priety Zinta.

    The commercial had a scene with 800 cars in a single frame, 30 of which were real while the rest were digitally manipulated. Seperate plates had to be shot from different roof tops at the Bandra-Kurla complex, lighting and reflections considered and a lot of sweat and thought went in the creation of the compelling commercial.

    The enriching last day at Anigraph was however, not without it’s share of disappointments.

    2 eagerly awaited speakers, Martin Poole of The Pixel Farm (UK) and Pankaj Khandpur of Visual Computing Labs did not turn up.

    Meer announced that both the speakers were stranded, (Poole in germany and Khandpur in the United States) due to visa problems.

    Meer expressed his irritation with the Indian embassies abroad and said that it was very difficult to get timely assistance from them.

    All in all, as Anigraph 2004 came to an end, the audience and participants went back home contented that they had spent their time well. In the past three days they had learnt a lot about the business of animation, techniques and software. All of this for free without paying even a Rupee. For this the organisers thanked all the sponsors, Shaf, Seagate, Apple and Rahul Commerce for their support.

    Way to go …………..!!!

    Earlier stories on Anigraph ’04
    Anigraph 2004 opens with session on special effects
    Day 2 at Anigraph ’04: The industry participates

    For detailed session wise reports on Anigraph’04 check the June 28 issue of Animation Express. (To subscribe for free send a mail to anex@indiantelevision.com).

  • Anigraph witnesses ‘FULL HOUSE’ on final day

    Anigraph witnesses ‘FULL HOUSE’ on final day

    It is very AK Madhavan,the genial and smiling CEO of Crest Communications spoke on ‘International CO-production in animation’.

    Asking the audience, “How many of you here, want to be entrepreneur owning animation studios?” Madhavan began the session by sampling the aspirational quotient amongst India’s future animators.

    “I see that I have severe competition” remarked the successful CEO, on seeing many hands arise.

    Madhavan then introduced the students to the different business models on which studios work.

    “There are various types of business models on which studios work. One of them is doing work for hire, purely work for hire, and why we do it is cost of production is cheaper. Traditionally studios from Europe, US and Canada send work overseas to reduce costs. The other model is CO production. It denotes you have 2 or more than 2 partners.” explained Madhavan.

    Further commenting on the benefits of co-prouction and the complexities involved therein, Madhavan stated that CO-productions minimize risks, and the upside could be plenty.

    Regarding complexities he stated that CO productions could have various ways in which monies were regrouped, there were several instances when deals were done for a particular platform. “Agreements” said Madhavan, ” also vary from territory to territory and geography to geography.”

    Commenting on the long shelf life that animated content has and therefore the potential of perennial revenue inflows, Madhavan cited the example of Mickey Mouse, which he had seen as a child, which his children had also seen and his grandchildren would see too.

    He also drew light upon the CO production treaties that existed between countries like ‘Canada and France’ , ‘Canada and Germany’ etc. where each studio that produces content in the 2 countries has to input talent from the partner country.

    “Jakers is running in 17 countries across the globe, including PBS in the US, BBC in the UK, TF1 in France, and ABC in Australia” said Madhavan,talking about the high levels of appreciation and acceptance that content produced in Crest had received internationally.

    He concluded by saying that “One has to build a mix, in the business model (CO-productions and work for hire) also it has to be remembered that there can be no compromise on deliveries and the quality. I think we are getting there.

    This was followed by an interactive session with the audience, some of which is described below….

    Madhavan’s reply on … distribution models
    “So far what we have been doing is we’ve been working with different producers. India doesn’t have the skills to distribute or market content worldwide. What we do is we either go to distribution companies, obviously there is a fee for it. Also there are agents who do it.”

    Madhavan’s reply on … government involvement and human talent
    “I don’t think that the government is not interested. Government of India has not seen the potential yet. Industry associations are trying to get the government involved to encourage and fund projects. I am sure over the years, in the near future there will be participation.”

    “All of the Indian animation studios and there are 60-70 of us, are focussing on enhancing talent, we are hiring from overseas, conducting workshops and retraining our people.”

    Madhavan’s reply on … why only Tenali Ramas and Hanumans
    “If you have something interesting I’ll do it for you. The real reason is something called as copyright. Public domain stories don’t cost a copyright, this cuts on costs. They also have more immediate acceptance.”

  • Crest Communications creates underwater TV animation special

    Crest Communications creates underwater TV animation special

    MUMBAI: Over the years Disney and Pixar have been coming out with a number of 3D animation projects the latest being Finding Nemo. Seems like India is gearing up to offer some competition.

    Crest Communications, one of the leaders in 3D animation in India, claims that it has lined up the next big thing in television animation – a show set entirely under water.
     
     
    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com Crest Comunications’ international business head A K Madhavan says, “The television series has been made for the US market. This is the first time television has seen animation of this high calibre. It is certainly comparable to the marvellous work that Pixar did on Finding Nemo in terms of the quality of animation.”

    Exuding confidence, Madhavan states that India was ready to do a sequel to Finding Nemo. The new show deals with a few submarines and the different acquatic animals that live in the area. It is a pre-school series. When asked what was so special about the endeavour, Madhavan offers, “Animation on water is very difficult to create and render. It calls for huge computing power. The lighting effect underwater is very complex to create on the computer. This is yet another example of us setting benchmarks for television.”

    “The cost of each half hour episode is in excess of $ 2 million. The coral reefs, the lifelike fish that are able to emote realistically were all created right here in Mumbai.” The first episode had 15 people working on it and took around a month to complete. However Madhavan added that as production continues the speed increases. The initial episode always takes the longest to produce.

    Dwelling on the main challenges facing the growth of 3D animation in India, Madhvan says, “Primarily there is a shortage of skilled people. There are not enough skill sets available. I need 300 animators in the next one year. The talent pool does not exist. Another challenge will be to train and motivate them by giving them exciting projects to work on. The technical side is there. In terms of the infrastructure like delivery platforms India is ready.”

    Will this local animation company offer tough competition to the big boys in the West? Watch this space for more.

  • Crest Communications to issue GDRs upto $10 million

    MUMBAI: Mumbai-based Crest Communication Ltd has decided to go the GDR way to raise funds for the company.
    The Crest Communications board of directors is looking at an issue of Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) to the tune of $10 million.
    The company has informed the stock exchange that it will be seeking its shareholders’ approval for the GDR issue in the forthcoming AGM on 8 September 2003. The board has also formed a committee to take appropriate action in this regard.
    At its meeting held on 31 July 2003, the board also decided to de-list equity shares of the company from Ahmedabad and Mangalore Stock Exchanges subject to approval of shareholders at the ensuing AGM of the company. The board has already informed the exchange about the de-listing.
    Crest Communications is primarily into animation software. It specialises in multi format digital production and post-production editing. Its mainline business includes commercial television serials and packaging, ad films, 3D/2D animation and special effects.
    The company reportedly plans to ramp-up the number of computer graphic workstations from 120 to about 300 by the year-end, which is expected to cost the company about Rs 500-600 million.
    Earlier this year, Crest Communications had bagged three 3D animation television series worth over $6 million from the US-based Mike Productions. Its competitors in India include Pentamedia, UTV Toons, Colour Chips and the Padmalaya-Zee Telefilms combine.

  • Sahara TV readies new look for 2003

    Sahara TV readies new look for 2003

    NEW DELHI: The Sahara India Parivaar is set to unleash a countrywide media blitzkrieg on the group’s launch of new media products, including TV news channels, weeklies and more editions of the Urdu and Hindi dailies, apart from looking at foraying into foreign markets like the US, Canada and the UK.

    Simultaneously, armed with a new programming strategy, the Subroto Roy-promoted company will also unveil a new look for its existing Hindi language general entertainment satellite channel Sahara TV.

    “A media campaign involving the new offerings from the group will be launched by the middle of next month, a time by when we should be also ready with a new contemporary look for Sahara TV,” Sumit Roy, deputy director in Sahara India and the head of the group’s media & entertainment business, revealed to indiantelevision.com in a rare media interview.

    According to him, the company is also finalising a new programming strategy which will zero down on a programme or few programmes which will act as “driver programmes to pull in more viewers” which in turn will create a demand for the entertainment channel so that cable operators are forced to include the channel in the prime band all over the country.

    “We understand that there are some distribution problems with Sahara TV and we have also realised that we need an engine programme like Kaun Banega Crorepati to pull in more viewers,” Roy said, adding that the engine programme need not necessarily be a game show on the lines of KBC.

    Since its inception, Sahara TV has never been the cable operators’ darling and barring few cities does not feature on the prime band, courtesy cable operators who prefer to put the likes of Star Plus, Sony, Zee TV, HBO and even MTV ahead of Sahara TV in the line up. This has resulted in Sahara TV, (despite some good programming in recent times like the serial Viraasat), failing to penetrate adequately in cable and satellite homes whose universe now has expanded to almost 40 million homes.

    Roy said that the company has lined up some good shows, including filmstar Karisma Kapoor’s TV debut show and offerings from other film stars like Sridevi, and hopes that one of them or a combination of such programming will bring in the viewers in hordes to Sahara TV.

    It seems that Sahara has zeroed in on Bollywood in a big way. Apart from the Bollywood stars featuring in their programmes, the group has also roped in former Miss World and current Bollywood heartthrob Aishwariya Rai as its ambassador, besides having Amitabh Bachchan and Raveena Tandon as part of the Sahara India Parivaar.

    “You just wait and see, early next year we’ll come back with a bang,” Roy gushed, though refraining from detailing the exact programming line-up now. He also refused to comment on the size of the media campaign which will be unveiled in January saying, “It should suffice to say that the campaign will be a big one where we will target the TV channels, print medium and also the outdoors.”

    In the initial phase Novocom and Crest Communications worked on the look that Sahara TV will sport from next year. Later, according to Roy, in-house inputs were also given.

    “From the middle of January even the small component of news and current affairs programming will be phased out of Sahara TV in preparation of the launch of the news channels (slated for February),” Roy added.

    The group is also working the finer details of the brand name to be used for the proposed new weeklies in Hindi and English, the launch of which may coincide with those of the news channels.

    Come next year Sahara may just become the talk of the broadcasting and media industry for high profile programmes and media products, a la the parties which the company’s managing director Subroto Roy, with bosom buddy and politician Amar Singh, is known to host from time to time.

  • Sahara TV to take on a new look 15 August; slew of new shows being readied

    Sahara TV to take on a new look 15 August; slew of new shows being readied

    For long a has-been, Sahara TV is now gearing up to stand up and be counted. In preparation for a major programming revamp that is rolling out in September, the channel is going in for a new look on 15 August. Aimed to coincide with Independence Day, the channel will sport new graphics as well as a couple of new shows. 

    The channel also has plans to introduce a special weekend programming line-up within the next two months, says Sahara TV president Satish Menon.

    Among the new programmes that are to be launched on the channel in a phased manner in the next few months is Parchhaiyan, a suspense soap that premiered on Monday. Slotted in the 9 pm prime time band Mondays to Thursdays, the Ravi Rai directed series starring Milind Gunaji and Reena Wadhwa is pitched directly against family soaps on mainstream satellite channels, says Menon. 

    The channel’s Independence Day programming line up includes a mega entertainment show titled Bharat Parva featuring Bollywood’s top stars. And continuing in that nationalistic vein, an hour long weekly show Mission Fateh, an ode to soldiers on the battlefront, launches 16 August at 9 pm. Each episode will feature the saga of a martyr fighting for the country in the unfriendly terrain of Kargil. 

    Among the channel’s new shows lined up for September is an adapted version of the classic hit series I Love Lucy with retired former Bollywood superstar Sridevi in the lead role. Post-September will also see Sahara coming out with a strong weekend programming line up, says Menon.

    The channel recently appointed SSC&B to promote its programmes, Shubh Mangal Savdhan and Parchhaiyan in a multi media campaign encompassing print, outdoor and radio. The task of making the new graphics and new look of Sahara TV has been given to graphics major Crest Communications, says Menon.

  • Crest Communications targets launch of six serials in 2001

    Crest Communications targets launch of six serials in 2001

    Mumbai-based Crest Communications, a fairly new entrant into the the television serial business, has set itself a target of having six programmes on air before the end of 2001.

    Crest, which is better known for its 2-D and 3-D animation and graphics services, will be focussing its programming towards providing quality entertainment for the whole family, according to AK Madhavan, senior vice-president, international business.

    At present Crest is working on the pilot of a gameshow for children which will have a high level of interactivity as well as technological innovation, Madhavan says.

    An idea being explored is to use phone lines not only for calling in but also to allow a participant to play using the keys on his phone instrument as a game console, says Madhavan. For this, Crest is in contact with national telephone services provider MTNL, he adds.

    Madhavan said of the six projects they were planning, two will be high quality products with the kind of production values seen in the critically acclaimed TV series Malgudi Days.

    The other four would be your average bread and butter variety of soaps and sitcoms, the kind which were proliferating across the small screen at present, Madhavan said.

    Queried on the costs involved, Madhavan said the top rung series would cost in the region of Rs 600,000 per half hour episode while the other four would cost between Rs 200,000 and Rs 300,000 per half hour episode.

    Three Crest programmes have aired on TV till date. They are “Mere Angane Mein”, a sitcom on Sony Entertainment Television; “Meri Marzi”, a chat show for “tweens” (nine to 14-year-olds) on Doordarshan Metro. And “Purush Kshetra” on Zee TV which was hosted by Kiron Kher and modelled on the lines of Oprah Winfrey’s celebrated talk show.

  • Sensex sheds 227.2 points, hits 52-week low

    Sensex sheds 227.2 points, hits 52-week low

    It was another wild day at the bourses today, with the Bombay Stock Exchanges Sensitive Index (Sensex) swinging through the day in a 24 per cent band. Opening 8 per cent down, recovering almost all its losses by midday, losing another 8 per cent during the day before closing at 3,549.06 to a new 52-week low – a loss of 227.24 points, or 5.81 per cent.

    Markets witnessed an estimated Rs 300 billion erosion in market capitalisation. The S&P CNX Nifty also fell by 5.32 per cent to close the day at 1,923.38.

    Zee Telefilms,Tips , Balaji and Mukta Arts also crashed by 8 and 16% ceilings. Zee was quoted at Rs 110 down by 5% while Balaji lost 8% to Rs 176. In other media shares, counters like Pentamedia Graphics, Crest Communications, Jain Studios, Saregama India, TV 18 and Sri Adhikari Brothers were trading at their lower limit and below, ranging from 15-8%. Tips Industries (Rs 97.60), Adlabs Films (Rs 68.10), Cinevista Communications (Rs 51.95) and Pritish Nandy Communications (Rs 27.90) hit the 8% lower limit of the circuit breaker.

    The day began on a bearish note following the late Monday night sacking of all the broker-directors of BSE by market regulator Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi). The fall in the tech-heavy Nasdaq below the 2000-mark on Monday only added fuel to the fire. Finance minister Yashwant Sinha’s proposal to introduce rolling settlement in BSE’s specified section, too, contributed to the volatility, which was showing signs of cooling off in noon trading after institutions, primarily government-owned and one FII, had stepped in to lend support and ram up the Sensex to the day’s high of 3777.48.

    However, as soon as TV channels started flashing excerpts from a film, part of a sting operation carried out by New Delhi-based tehelka.com, a self styled news-views portal, showing some politicians from the ruling National Democratic Alliance in accepting kickbacks, all hell broke loose, with the Sensex plummeting to hit an intra-day low of 3436.75.

    The tehelka “expose” threatens to put even the stock market crisis into the shade with the opposition baying for blood. Tehelka has captured Bharatiya Janata Party president Bangaru Laxman on camera while accepting Rs 100,000 for a party fund. Further, the president of a key coalition ally, Jaya Jaitley of the Samata Party, has accepted Rs 200,000, according to the transcript of the film. India’s defence minister George Fernandes is from the Samata Party.

    Although Laxman did not deny taking the money, he claimed it was for the party coffers that he accepted the money. The expose did have an almost immediate fallout. At the time of posting, Laxman had announced his resignation as BJP party president.