Global Animation Update
By Joe Cooper
joe.cooper@animationschoolreview.com
Animation School Review Columnist
The three major players in the animation industry - the US, India, and China - continue to make strides in advancing the art. This progress leads to the growth of animation education and animation jobs worldwide.
Animation Reaches New Scale (and Budget) in U.S.
In the U.S., the animation industry continues to move forward through large scale projects like director James Cameron’s new feature film. In a partnership with an animation studio under 20th Century Fox, Mr. Cameron is creating a science fiction epic using the latest in CGI computer animation to produce a film where the audience “has no idea which they’re looking at,” live video or computer animation.
With a budget of $200 million, James Cameron and the animation studio are bound to produce an incredible result.
Policy and Establishment Meets Animation in India
In India, the animation industry has gone as far as beginning the establishment of an “Animation Academy,” complete with an “animation policy” for the industry. The state government in India has also committed to making the city Hyderabad “an animation city,” says an Indian online publication.
India is known for the profuse growth of its animation jobs over the last decade, escalation which is predicted to continue.
China Doubles Animation Output
Animation in China is flourishing. China produced 81,000 minutes of animation in 2006, nearly double its 2005 total of 42,700. The number of degree programs in animation has grown to a total of nearly 450 universities, and over 1200 universities offer some sort of animation education.
Needless to say, the animation job market in China is also strong; like India, China is a popular source for animation outsourcing.
It’s an exciting time for the animation industry with opportunities booming worldwide.
Sources
SIOL: News
The New York Times
VFX World
About the Author
Joe Cooper is a freelance education and technology writer and edits medical literature. He holds a bachelor’s in American Literature from UCLA.
Posted on January 27, 2007 at 1:00 PM
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