MAAC Manifest 2012

Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics (MAAC) recently conducted an educational seminar, MAAC Manifest 2012 in Mumbai. The seminar catered to over 900 students, informing them about the various facets of animation as a career.

Experts from the industry including Arnab Chaudhary, Creator of Arjun - The Warrior Prince, Arpan Gaglani, Creative Director at Krayon Pictures and Kirtish Tharthare, Lead Lighting Artist, at Rhythm and Hues Studios graced the event. Providing insights on the use of modern software to bring life into characters, Chaudhary and Gaglani took students through the making of Arjun and glimpses of the movie, Delhi Safari. The use of images of digital paintings in the making of films caught the audience's attention.

The event was followed by an interactive session with students that focused on the scope of Indian animation industry and how India at par with international counterparts.

Ram Warrier, business head, MAAC said, "We have entered the 3D age of animation and this is clearly visible from the kind of animated movies being created. Through the event, we plan to educate and create awareness of the ample job opportunities that the sector provides."

IGNOU opens admission for three visual arts courses

The Indira Gandhi National Open University ( IGNOU) has started the admission process for three courses in visual arts with an aim to develop creative and aesthetics sensibilities of the students, an official said on Thursday.

The three visual arts certificate programmes in painting, applied art and sculpture can be pursued by those who have passed their 10th standard board exam, said the varsity.

"The programmes aim at imparting basic knowledge and skill of drawing, developing applied and design skills and understanding and use of material and technique to create expressive sculptures in turn inculcating creativity, precision and use of tool and materials," it said.

"The programme also helps to develop self-observation, visualisation and self-motivation to create an art work."

The last date to submit forms for the courses is Jul y 30, 2012.

More students opting for specialised courses now

Micro-specialisation, cutthroat competition and multiple course options offer the new generation of graduates a range of career choices beyond traditional options. Following their class XII boards, an increasing number of students are opting for specialised courses that focus on developing specific skill-sets for emerging careers in various sectors.

Retail India is considered as one of the top 10 rising retail markets in the world. As a fast growing industry, there is a demand for nearly 3.25 million trained professionals in this field, both in India and abroad. Aspirants in this sector can consider pursuing Bachelor of Business Administration (retail marketing) as an option.

The BBA programme charts the basics of retail as a business along with an indepth study of retail marketing. Successful BBA graduates can pursue jobs in supply chains, supermarkets etc. Retail managers are required in manufacturing companies as well and are also hired by companies such as insurance and banking to sell their commodities directly to customers.

Entertainment The 2011 FICCI- KPMG report states that the media and entertainment industry is expected to grow steadily over the next five years and that the industry is looking at tapping newer target segments, geographies and mediums, while tapping the potential of the existing ones. Entertainment today has gone beyond the traditional modes of entertainment — radio, television, theatre — to incorporate newer forms of technologies.

Freshers entering the industry have many job opportunities in technical as well as non-technical areas. Technical jobs for freshers include video, audio and light engineering, among others, and non-technical jobs include stage crew to manage stage co-ordination during an event, make-up and costumes, department sales and marketing, human resource, finance, engineering and housekeeping.

Designing The field of designing opens doors to various specialisations such as animation, interior designing, product designing, web designing, graphic designing, etc. Each specialisation can be a promising career option for talented and creative individuals. For instance, according to recent reports, the Indian animation industry is poised to grow by about 23%, while the Indian gaming industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32% by 2014. Both industries are likely to provide ample job options.

A strong sense of aesthetics, innovation, drawing and fine arts are some of the key skills that an aspirant in this field must possess. Various institutes across the country offer courses in designing.

Pharmacy The Indian pharmaceutical industry, with over 750,000 chemist shops, handles revenue of Rs 90,000 crore and is one of the fastest growing industries in India with a CAGR of over 13% in the last five years. The various areas that students can explore after graduation can broadly be categorised as medical pharmacists, retail pharmacists, industrial pharmacists and research pharmacist. To become a pharmacist, you have to clear class XII boards with a background in science. After completing a diploma in pharmacy, you have to undergo mandatory practical training for 500 hours in a government dispensary/hospital to get registered under the pharmacy council. For a BA in Pharmacy, you have to undergo two months of industrial training in production/quality control, though not mandatory.

Govt mulling framing guidelines for 'mushrooming' media schools

Taking serious note of mushrooming media schools in the country, government is mulling framing guidelines to protect the interest of students who have to eke out exorbitant fees for these unrecognised courses. 

Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said she had written to HRD Minister Kapil Sibal about the need to create a framework for these institutes whose numbers were going up due to media industry witnessing a high growth rate. 

"This growth rate, this interest in the print media has led to a lot of so called training schools. Media shops as sometimes people are calling them," Soni said at a function organised to award the prestigious Seema Nazreth Award for Journalistic Excellence. Soni gave away the award to Indulekha Arvind of Business Standard. 

She said there were complaints about high fees charged by media institutes for courses which were often not recognised. 

"High prices, one lakh-two lakh rupees for a six month course, for a diploma and then people do come and complain that we paid two lakhs for a diploma after six weeks, but that diploma is not recognised," Soni said. 

"Initially you might have landed a job as a TV journalist or with some newspaper or some other print media publication. But if you happen to leave that and look for something else that diploma may not be recognised," she said. 

Soni said she had written to the HRD minister regarding the need to creating a framework for these institutes. 

"I wrote to the HRD minister that we must do something about these mushrooming media institutes. There must be some ground rules that all of them must follow. So that the talent which admits itself in such institutes sometimes should not be disillusioned at the end of the day," Soni said. 

Soni also deprecated the trend of paid news, saying that it weakened the argument for complete freedom for media.