‘Animating’ Filipinos for a global market

FILIPINO DIGITAL animators may soon be joining the global animation industry as they expand their work portfolios.

The country’s first full animated feature film “Urduja” is reminiscent of Disney classics with its charming hand-drawn style. Local animators have also released the first Filipino 3D film in theaters, “RPG Metanoia,” showing that Filipinos have the potential to create world-class animated feature films.

Despite the considerable gains, however, the local animation scene still has a long way to go due to a lack of skilled digital animators. This is partly because there are very few opportunities for Filipinos to gain the necessary skills.

Digimation UK, an animation school based in the United Kingdom, wants to change all that. In a press conference, it announced it would be offering 3D digital animation courses at reasonable prices at La Consolacion College Manila (LCCM).

Dilip Amdekar, chief executive officer and dean of Digimation, said this was an opportunity for Filipinos to get into the billion-dollar gaming and animation industry.

Amdekar said, with the quality and level of education they were offering, Filipinos would have access to high-paying digital animation jobs.

Suren, a teacher at Digimation UK, said simply knowing digital manipulation and computer programs such as Maya and Adobe Photoshop was not enough to succeed in the business.
Aspiring animators should have a burning passion and love for their craft. Educators should not only teach students the needed technical skills but also ignite the spark of creativity inherent in everyone.

Suren showed a video presentation made by Digimation UK students on the history of animation—from crude cave paintings to motion “scopes” of the late 19th century and today’s advanced computer programs capable of projecting entire worlds before global audiences.
An impressive segment broke down explosion scenes in Hollywood movies to show viewers how they were made and how much effort was taken to make them look as realistic as possible.

Present during the press conference was Ryan Flynn, a principal lecturer in games design at University of Greenwich in the United Kingdom. Flynn said the entertainment industry always thrived, especially during times of recession, because of the masses’ insatiable demand for entertainment.

Flynn added that anyone with skills in digital animation could work from their beds at home and, on their laptops, create games that could sell immediately. He cited Angry Birds, a simple game made by a small team of skilled individuals that became a hit worldwide with more than 200 million downloads.

But Flynn said, despite the potential of the games industry, there was a shortage of qualified digital animators. Many game developers had to settle for professionals with limited skills.

Digimation UK hoped that by offering accessible quality education, they could help individuals get respectable positions and salaries in a respectable field.

The school offers two-year courses that teach students technical skills that can also be used in many other fields related to computer programming.

Students who graduate from the two-year courses can take advance animation courses at the prestigious University of Greenwich in London.