Why is India the preferred destination for VFX & Animation outsourcing?

Before knowing why India is the preferred destination for VFX and animation outsourcing, let us quickly go through how and why India became the outsourcing giant in the IT sector in general. There are a specific set of qualities that Indians possess that set them apart from people from other countries. India has such a varying cultural diversity that people from other countries can not even imagine. People here are prone to more conflicts, and differences in opinions and mindsets due to which more often than not, people have a hard time reaching a consensus concerning a topic. Due to this, Indians developed a tendancy to work harder under pressure, within teams and developed conflict resolution skills. Over the years, Indians also developed a keen sense of adapting to various situations which made them good at working on evolving technology which included computers and IT. Ever since the beginning of the IT revolution, the government of India has supported the growth of IT infrastructure in India. This led to the rise of a skilled workforce that was good at solving complex IT problems. Cheaper labor rates compared to those of other developed countries and the fact that India is the second largest English-speaking country in the world made her the preferred destination for outsourcing IT projects. VFX and animation have evolved along with the evolution of IT all across the world. Apart from moviemakers, businesses in other sectors also rely on these for marketing and analytics purposes. India caught up in the last decade with the race along with other nations in the VFX and animation industry. Let us take a look at some of the reasons why VFX and Animation outsourcing is preferred in India:

India as a preferred destination for VFX & Animation outsourcing:

• Higher currency conversion ratio and price arbitrage:

While Hollywood moviemakers are considered the best of the best in terms of VFX and animation, India provides slightly less if not the same amount of significant performance with regard to the sector at a far cheaper rate. Creating an animated movie would cost around $100+ Million in the US whereas it would cost only around $15-$25 Million in India. For foreign business owners, there is a higher scope for bargaining and pricing negotiations since there are no fixed prices for animation and VFX in India.

• Indian movies appealing to the masses:

India has started to make movies that have an International appeal like Bahubali and RRR that have garnered a lot of attention from foreign viewers.

• One of the largest talent pools:

India has one of the largest talent pools which consists of a large number of talented artists who can work on various animation techniques and tools with ease. So many of these talented artists have assisted in the animation and the VFX of many Hollywood blockbuster movies as well. The learnings from the VFX industry in Hollywood are applied in the post-production pipeline in the animation projects that are available in India.

• Best in class project management:

Due to the fact that Indians have an innate ability to work within teams, we have amazing project management skills which helps us in delivering projects within budget and time.

• Expertise in Rotoscoping and Paint:

Rotoscope and Paint are the core fundamentals modules in any VFX project. They involve sub-tasks like removing an object from the shooting plate and wire/rig removal. They take laborious effort and take a lot of time to accomplish. Since India has a huge number of artists, it is easier for them to carry out these tasks within strict deadlines. Though it does not require a lot of brainwork, it requires a lot of attention to detail.

• A diverse set of Infrastructural equipment:

Indian VFX studios and their artists are equipped with a complete set of infrastructure required for any kind of animation project. In terms of software, they have Blender, Maya, 3Ds MAX, Fusion, Houdini, NUKE, etc. whereas, in terms of operating systems, artists are well acquainted with Windows, Linux, and Mac.

• Large English-speaking workforce:

India is the second largest English-speaking country in the world after the United States. This gives humongous leverage to the country to cater to the needs in the VFX and animation industry of the majority of countries in the world. Although India is the preferred destination for VFX and animation outsourcing, people in the industry need to be consistent in delivering the projects on time and within budget. This is the key to keep our competitive edge intact against Chinese studios. also read Why VFX/Animation Project Management can be Tedious Using Spreadsheets?