Webel Animation Academy steps it up

From a 50 student batch to a 300 student Academy, Kolkata based WEBEL Animation Academy has grown in terms of quality, reputation as well as scale in the past three and a half years of its existence.

Located at a sprawling premises of 8500 sq ft at Salt Lake City in Kolkata, the academy has been launched and operates under an initiative of the Government of West Bengal for promotion of animation industry

in the country.

The Academy has so far trained 380 students who are all positioned as animation professionals in top notch animation studios of the country like Crest Animation, DQ Entertainment, UTV Toons, Prana Studio, Rhythm & Hues, Graphiti, Famous Studio, Anirights, Green Gold Animation etc. Currently 270 students are undergoing the one year program of 2D and 3D animation and are already booked by the industry. From December onwards, the Academy will run in its expanded annual capacity of 300 students to be trained for subsequent recruitment by the industry. 

AnimationXpress.com spoke to Srimati Mukherjee, Project Leader, Webel Animation Academy about how was ‘Webel Animation Academy‘ started. She replied, “Animation, as we are aware, has taken the world by storm and India is also participating in the competition in its own way. But non-availability of trained manpower in good numbers in this field became a real issue before the animation houses.

At this juncture, one of the IT goals of the State of West Bengal ‘to build on the State‘s creative intellectual wealth‘ became very relevant. The state government in its IT Policy decided to focus on one or two such areas of excellence for rapid growth. The service segment like Animation was one of those segments of the vision. The State Government of West Bengal through WEBEL (West Bengal Electronics Industry Development Corporation Ltd.), the nodal agency for promotion of IT and ITeS industries in the State pioneered in this venture by setting up ‘WEBEL ANIMATION ACADEMY‘, the first of its kind animation training institute in the country within one year‘s time in June 2004 in a bid to bridge the gap between demand and supply of the right kind of human capital for the animation industry. Till date, the state of West Bengal is the only state to have set up such an academy in the country.”

In its endeavor to set up the Academy, Webel interacted with the major animation houses across the country to explore as to what kind of collaborative support could be made available by them and finally tied up with Toonz Animation India, Trivandrum as the technical partner for the venture. While WEBEL with 100 per cent investment in this venture carried out the organizational and administrative function on an ongoing basis in addition to providing the necessary infrastructure for training, Toonz Animation provided the consultancy services for the planning of the training division and put together the curriculum and course materials for the Academy. The Academy having attained a premier position in the industry now for providing quality animation training and being all set to continue with the same, it has been jointly decided between Webel and Toonz to formally end the three year collaboration. In the wake of this, the collaboration which was hitherto known as "Toonz Webel Academy" is now known as "Webel Animation Academy".

The academy possesses resources which include the latest software and technologies meeting international standards, a most modern library with a wealth of information in the form of books, scripts, videos, DVDs, journals, CDROMs, press kits, newspaper clippings related to the subject. Regular feedback from the industry during the last three years also helped the academy in upgrading its curriculum and infrastructural inputs as per requirement and it is a continuous process for the Academy.

Apart from providing a very high standard of animation training, the Academy is also instrumental in creating awareness of animation as a challenging career-option by organizing regular workshops/seminars to increase the interest levels of students by exposing them to more of animation content and also by organizing Animation Workshops for children." shared Mukherjee. 

"It also promotes animation as a rewarding business prospect to the prospective entrepreneurs of this part of the country where the animation industry is at the nascent stage. Regular outflow of quality-trained animation professionals from the Academy is aimed at attracting major players to establish their studio / business in the state. Bengal‘s very positive edge of an excellent combination of software knowledge base and highest degree of creativity supported by this Academy will undoubtedly help us gain a position in the global Animation and Gaming map,” she added.

With a very strict screening process for selection through a practical test in drawing skill followed by interview, the Academy started with a 50 student batch in June 2004 for one year full time programme (25 each in 2D and 3D Animation). Every subsequent batch, even with stricter screening, the size kept on increasing as per demand for the same both from the industry as well as from the aspirant students and the academy today in three years has grown to a capacity producing 300 trained people every year. Added Mukherjee, “The Academy is really proud to have been successful in creating a resource base ensuring availability of the right kind of creative human capital from this part of the country and all over India for the animation industry as was anticipated prior to setting up of the Academy.

She further states that the response to the Academy has been extremely positive and encouraging. “Talents from all over the state as well as from other regions, North-East in particular, are regularly enquiring and taking admission in the Academy. Most of them have proved highly suitable for the trade. Immediately after the first batch of 50 students completed their training, all of them got placed in top notch animation studios in the country. Subsequent batch onwards, the industry has continued to be eagerly waiting for recruiting the students through campus selection.

The Academy boasts of 100 per cent placement record so far. Till May 2007, it has trained a total of 380 students. All of them are gainfully placed for professional contribution in top-notch animation studios of the country, like Crest Animation, UTV Toons, DQ Entertainment, Anirights, Prana Studio, Famous Studio, Rhythm & Hues, Graphiti, Tata Elxsi, Green Gold Animation, Tata Interactive Systems to name a few. 270 more are in the pipeline to pass out by November ‘07 and May ‘08 and they are already being recruited in advance by the industry. December ‘07 onwards, 300 students per annum shall be on training.

Requests for admission from eligible candidates are being refused in the batch Dec‘07 - Nov.‘08 in absence of capacity. The Academy has no other alternative but to ask them to wait for the next session of June ‘08 – May ‘09.”

How did the expansion come about? Answers Mukherjee, “In view of the increasing demand from the industry for the pass outs of this Academy followed by equally increasing demand from the aspirant students for admission into the Academy, the authority had to seriously take up the expansion plan to the extent possible within the available resources.

As a concluding note about the future plans of the Academy, the leading lady viewed, “The Academy is seriously considering to take up a ‘Faculty Development Programme‘ with the help of the industry. In addition, we have a plan to have an independent campus of our own with all facilities to address the growing requirement of the animation and gaming industry. The Academy also plans to have association / collaboration with recognized bodies of industry houses and a relevant technical education authority for periodical upgrading and recognition of what the Academy has to offer. Experts opine that the Webel Animation Academy with its very fast success record in meeting the demands of the industry has the potential for gaining the stature of a Centre of Excellence for the Animation and Gaming Industry, on the lines of IITs and IIMs of our country. That’s what we aim to achieve"

AnimationXpress.com also caught up with some past students and dignitaries from the industry to have their opinion on Webel.

Dulal Das, an ex student of Webel, from Dec.04 Nov. 05 batch of 3D Animation, who is presently working with DQ Entertainment, says, “I had a dream to draw and a penchant for colors. There were hardly any takers for my lines and hues at my home in Naihati and hence there was always a lot of struggle that I had to face. I graduated with BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) degree after 12th, and came to know about Webel Animation Academy, Kolkata through a friend of mine. I joined the institute with zero knowledge of Animation, and within a while realized that I actually did the best thing to me.

Then there was no looking back… and gradually the Academy developed me into a complete Animation Professional – who could work globally. In fact, it‘s only because of this Academy, that now I‘m enjoying a fruitful and happening career with DQ Entertainment, Hyderabad, and that too drawing remuneration that I would have never imagined. My heartfelt thanks to Webel Animation Academy! Webel is my Genie that has made my dreams come true.”

On the other hand, Indira Bose, who too was a student of 3D Animation at Webel and is presently working with Crest Animation, views, “The courses at Webel Animation Academy, Kolkatta not only stimulated my creative desires but also helped me understand and use the latest and the best technical aspects of Animation production.

The industry too acknowledges these facts. “We greatly appreciate Webel’s efforts in spearheading Animation as a career for these bright youngsters. Wishing them all the very best and looking forward to many more quality students from Webel Animation!” stated Hatim Adenwala, VP (HR), DQ Entertainment Ltd., Hyderabad.

Jyotirmoy Saha, Vice President – Animation & New Media, UTV Toons, Mumbai too echoed similar sentiments, “All the students we have picked up from the institute so far have a very high level of commitment to the profession. We are also very impressed by the quality of animation fundamentals that have been imparted to these students. I am sure we will be a regular every year at the campus selections.”

While P Raja Sekhar, Vice President, HR & Admin., Crest Animation, Mumbai, added on to this by saying, “The biggest challenge for a CGI studio today is in building its Human Capital Asset and efforts such as made by Webel Animation Academy would go a long way in building the value proposition which is much desired by the industry. The artists from Webel Animation Academy have been found to possess the desired Attitude and Aptitude which would enable Animation Industry in India to compete in the global market.”

All this feedback bears testimony to the fact that Webel is crossing that extra mile for the future of their students and for the animation education field. AnimationXpress.com wishes the institute all the best for its endeavors and may the Academy expand multifold even in the future!