Asia’s Largest Event In Gaming, Animation, Visual Effects Inaugurated
The Bengaluru GAFX conference is being held from 21 to 23 June
Mumbai: Asia’s largest animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) event, was inaugurated by Biren Ghose, President, ABAI and committee members today at The Lalit Ashok.
Inaugurating the event, Mr Ghose welcomed the enthusiasts who have gathered from all over the world and invited them to join the unique three-day experience that is Bengaluru GAFX 2019. Bengaluru GAFX 2019 is organised by the Government of Karnataka and the Association of Bangalore Animation Industry (ABAI) and intends to identify and provide a global platform to talents. It also attracts industry veterans, professionals, students, academia, technology partners, animation, VFX and games studios and production houses and generates jobs.
The inauguration was followed by session ‘Around the World of GAFX,’ where experts from all over the world took the audience through the AVGC industry internationally. Avrill Stark, the CEO/Executive Producer and creative leader of A Stark Production (ASP) based in Sydney, who joined the session through video conference, Angela Salt, CEO of Salt Content Ltd. from UK, Sheila de Courcy, Creative Specialist from Ireland, President and Executive Producer of Branscome International LLC, Catherine Branscome, Cristian Jezdic, Producer, VFX/CGI supervisor and IP specialist from Italy and President and CEO of Unlimited Media Inc. Neil Chakravarthi, offered insights into the world of animation, gaming, VFX or motion graphics in their respective countries and worldwide.
The session was followed by a panel discussion, where the students and professionals from the AVGC sector interacted with the above-mentioned experts.
The panel discussion on ‘Changing CG production in India Centre of Excellence: Disrupting Traditional Production’ saw industry biggies talk about the future of motion graphics and how it is disrupting the sphere of animation, gaming and visual effects.
Moderated by PC Vikram, the ‘Comics and Beyond: Presentation and Panel’ saw the coming together of graphic novelist and animation film director Somnath Pal, illustrator and animation film designer Saumin Suresh Patil and Anand Radhakrishnan, a graphic novelist and art director. Kirini Rambhatla also presented on ‘Chitrakatha’- the future of graphic novels.
Session on ‘Indian IP – A Pictorial Journey & Future Pathways,’ moderated by Ashish Kulkarni, witnessed the homegrown experts explaining the inception and growth of various Indian animated tv series and films.
At the session, ‘Take your 3D assets and environments from the first draft to final frames,’ the audience was hooked onto Autodesk’s integration of groundbreaking technology for the design, production and rendering. The day also saw a video conference with Arielle Martin, Creative Specialist at Foundry from the UK, who introduced Katana and explained its significance and usage.
The other sessions include ‘Mentor 360 – Connecting Students and Studios,’ moderated by Ganesh Papanna of ABAI and attended by Anand Baid, Vishal T.M, and three principals from ABAI and Karnataka Government’s Digital Art Centers, ‘Deals with Wheels – Global Productions Looking for Indian Partners,’ attended by Angela Salt, Sheila de Courcy, Neil Chakravarthy, Avrill Stark and Catherine Branscome, and GAFX exclusive that revolved around the making of Chota Bheem Kung Fu Dhamaka.
Speaking about Bengaluru GAFX, Co-chair of Bengaluru GAFX 2019 and Secretary, ABAI, B.S. Srinivas, said that the turnout at the GAFX 2019 has been massive as animation and visual effects, gaming and comics enthusiasts and professionals, industry veterans, academia, technology partners, animation, VFX & games studios and production houses have been taking part with great passion. This defines the future of the city and the state as the leading leader in AVGC sector, he added.
