I just returned from SIGGRAPH Asia and had two days to check out the show. I have to say it’s impressive. You can see some impact from the economic turndown, but it hasn’t hurt the event in any big way. While there I had an opportunity to chat with many small Asian companies that are doing remarkably high-quality animation and VFX work.

Singapore is a nice introduction to Asia. It’s clean, virtually crime-free and the people are very helpful. I was asked to speak on a panel at SIGGRAPH Asia on the training gap between current manpower in CG and what is needed there. I work with the Digital Design Foundation in Beijing and that is one of the problems we’re working to solve in China.

One of the more interesting displays was a series of artistic/technical installations showing very creative uses of CG and technology. One was just vertical string of flashing lights of various colors. I couldn’t figure out its significance until I turned my head and got an image of a skeleton. A second later the colors changed, so I rotated my head again and got a complex circular design. I’m thinking, ‘This has application for subliminal advertising!’ Another interesting installation was a small room with a colorful platform projected on the floor. When you step on it, the platform begins to tilt as if your weight was causing it. I instinctively moved forward to the center and it slowly righted itself. Then I rocked back and forth making the platform seemingly rock. The illusion was powerful. I truly felt like I was actually rocking back and forth in space…but I wasn’t. But I digress.

Exciting developments in Asian CG
Two years ago I took a look at the emerging VFX communities in Eastern Europe and India (Eastern Europe on the Rise and Rhythm & Hues India). I was impressed that in spite of the lack of infrastructure and trained animators, they were making headway. Several companies in India have been working hard to create an exceptional workforce from scratch. That takes time, dedication and investment.

Rhythm & Hues has been leading the way with a comprehensive evaluation and training program that prepares young people in the arts and sciences of production animation. They only hire a small percentage of the people they’ve combed through and trained. Their overflow clearly helps other smaller studios in the vicinity of Mumbai and Hyderabad. They’re taking that same approach in Kuala Lumpur where they’ll be opening another studio in less than six months.

Prashant Buyyala, who heads R&H’s international operations, tells me that they don’t work on the outsourcing model. Each facility is fully integrated into the R&H family with the same pipeline and same quality expectations across the board. They also have state of the art communications so that the facilities are tightly linked. By bringing their professional Hollywood standards to Asia, they are raising the bar for the smaller companies here.

In speaking with a number of Indian VFX artists, the idea of actually working on a big Hollywood production is an enormous thrill for them.
One of those smaller companies had a booth here in Singapore: Anibrain Animation. They’re not actually that small! I took a look at their demo reel and was very impressed. Like R&H, they do top-quality VFX work and have experience with big Hollywood productions. Interestingly, the attitudes about competition here are very different from the US, much healthier.

It seems that instead of being in bitter competition, companies like Anibrain and R&H are on very friendly terms, with mutual respect and admiration. What a refreshing attitude. I spoke with Jesh Krishna Murthy, founder and CEO of the 75-person Anibrain studio. Jesh told me: “We all kind of have a mutual respect here because we know just how difficult it is to start a studio from scratch. It’s been particularly difficult because we work with Hollywood studios who are looking more for quality and artistry and creativity rather than a cheap price.

“We have about 75 people at any given time and they are all staff because freelancing is not part of our culture yet. Being in India, we are automatically cost-effective even for the highest quality work. However, quality is not automatic and that is what makes all the difference.

“We have had to train our entire staff from scratch. I studied in Canada and worked also CG Supervisor at Creature Shop in London. So I brought my expertise to India to share. It’s interesting that we’ve had like a pyramid of training. I train my key people and they train the people under them. We’ve been fortunate to maintain very high quality standards throughout.”

They are offering a unique service to North American and European companies to help them grow without huge infrastructure and staff hiring output. They already take overflow work from some of the biggest studios in the US and Canada and they reliably deliver excellent quality, on time and within budget. They’ve worked on over 20 major features, particularly in the area of VFX. Jesh notes: “We do everything from concept art to previz to final production. We are actually helping Western companies become more profitable while growing in their home country.”

I know that many smaller Hollywood VFX studios often have to turn down work because they can’t handle the pressure on their staff. Often they have people working 100 hours a week just to meet demand. With the service Anibrain is offering, a small studio can take on significantly more work than usual by forming an association with Anibrain, they’ll be assured of top quality work coming out under their brand, expanding their capacity and income. This approach actually helps small studios afford more and better staff locally, seeding their expansion.

The Malaysia Multimedia Super Corridor
One of the people I ran into was Hasnul Hadi Samsudin, head of the Malaysia Animation and Creative Content Center in Kuala Lumpur. This initiative is under the Multimedia Super Corridor Malaysia. He’s dedicated to helping Malaysia capture its slice of the VFX and animation pie. He told me: “In 2007 the government decided that because of the influx of new business in the graphic and animation arts industries they would sponsor an economic development corridor with financial incentives in terms of both soft and hard infrastructure.”

It was fun talking with Hasnul because he was educated in the United States and calls Madison, Wisconsin his hometown. I asked him to tell me what this media development super corridor was all about.

“Starting way back in 1996, the prime minister back then launched a project to develop the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry to model ourselves after Silicon Valley. A group of Malaysians went to Beverly Hills and Silicon Valley. I went with the prime minister and we stayed at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The prime minister got to meet a lot of celebrities such as Spielberg and Lucas. It was an auspicious start.

“We went up to Stanford and that’s where we had the first inaugural international advisory committee meeting. In one room we had Sony, IBM, Sun, Microsoft and HP all represented. This was the first time we announced our intention to develop a superior multimedia hub in Malaysia. That’s when we started to get investments into our country.

“Because they were starting from ground zero, building a multimedia hub took an enormous effort both in design and implementation. They had to train a sophisticated workforce from scratch. We started an entire university in ’96 to make sure we could train the people properly to handle the incoming investment opportunities. And we’re still training them today.

According to Hasnul: “The Malaysian government recently approved 150 million Ringgits (just under 43 million US Dollars) to develop and catalyze the creative multimedia content industry. We have four focus areas: animation, games, visual effects and mobile content. Our agenda is three things: one is to supply affordable infrastructure for our content developers. Second is to really skill-up our talent to be production-ready. And last, to allow our companies to participate in global projects via co-production funding.

“In a sense, this is like a national incubator for our industry. It represents a huge opportunity not only for the companies in Malaysia, but also to potential international partners. The legendary John Hughes (head of R&H) saw the opportunity [in Malaysia] as he did in India and [R&H] will be opening a full studio in less than six months in Kuala Lumpur.”

The same day, I spoke with Prashant Bayyala, R&H’s head of international development. He told me that when they went to Kuala Lumpar to explore the possibility of building a studio there. They were extremely impressed with the resources there. He implied that Malaysia is ripe for development in our industry and the government is clearly willing to help.

The following week I was in Beijing for the International Cultural & Creative Industry Expo (ICCIE) and spent some time with John Hughes. He told me that he’s excited about their prospects in Malaysia and will be using his international corporate resources to train their staff from the ground up.
“R&H has a unique pipeline and way of working and we like to train our people to our own standards and ways of doing things,” notes Hughes. “It takes time, but it gives us the control over the final product. Each facility in the R&H family is functionally identical. Although each is localized to meet the needs of our people, the workflow and pipeline is the same as it is in Marina Del Rey.

The idea of exploiting other cultures
I’ve heard the argument that we shouldn’t be paying people in Asia less than we do in the US because we’ll be exploiting them. That is patently ridiculous. What companies like Sony Imageworks and Rhythm & Hues are accomplishing is a wonder. Sure they can now get top quality work done in Asia, but it is taking a grand investment and years to establish their workforce. In addition, they pay excellent localized wages that allow their workers to expand their lives and increase their standard of living. That is a good thing.

Prashant Bayyala, told me that having their Asian operations has actually helped R&H to expand in the US. With nearly a thousand employees total, over 700 are located in Los Angeles. Without their operations in India, that would most likely not have happened.

I’ve spoken with a number of companies in various parts of the world and all agree that they are bringing a higher standard of living to their local areas. From Sophia, Bulgaria, to Kuala Lumpur and Mumbai, animation and VFX houses generally pay good wages that allow their workers to live an upscale life. They are also providing transferable job training that would otherwise be unavailable in those places. Others are providing a company culture that may include medical help, free meals and transportation and social events.

Making international business connections
Jenny Fulle and Marc Kolbe, two sharp experience Hollywood insiders, see the opportunity for making connections between Asian resources and Hollywood needs. They call their company The Creative Cartel. Jenny helped Imageworks set up their foreign mini-studios and Marc is a well-known VFX supervisor in Hollywood. I’ll be able to tell you more about their operation in my next column here at StudioDaily.

Another company of interest, with top expertise on the developing Asian VFX and animation industries, is X|Media|Lab currently located in Shanghai, with offices in Sydney, Australia. They run remarkable “think tanks” on media development, covering everything from the business to the artistry. Their events are networking bonanzas and their speakers are always top quality. Run by Brendan Harkin and Megan Elliott, I consider them top experts in our industry around the globe. I recommend Googling them for more information.

With the economy in such a mess, these kinds of connections can help struggling US producers find ways to cut costs and get their projects completed without sacrificing quality. I’m personally hoping they can also help the TV industry avoid another inundation with cheesy reality shows by helping to reduce the cost of TV drama and VFX-heavy shows like those on Sci-Fi channel.