FICCI Frames 2011 - A Round up

Asia’s biggest gathering of Indian media and entertainment industry, FICCI Frames 2011, was held on 23, 24 and 25^th of March in Mumbai at The Renaissance, Powai, was attended nearly by 2000 Indian and 800 foreign delegates. CG Today presents here a round-up of the three day mega event.

Day 1: 23.03.2011

PILOT Asks Industry to Unleash Creative Potential

FICCI FRAMES 2011 was opened 23^rd March morning by Mr. Sachin Pilot, Union Minister of State for Communications & IT in the presence of Indian  and foreign media moguls and industry professionals.

At the inauguration, Sachin Pilot asked the industry to make an effort to bring in technological revolution in rural areas including tier III and IV towns and unleash the creative potential of young Indians.

Pilot also expressed his views on piracy, he said, a speedy movement from analogue to digital technology was imperative as it would allow choice of content to the 750 million mobile phone users in the country as also help combat piracy which was proving to be the main disability to creativity.

The three day event covered the topics such as films, broadcast (television and radio), digital entertainment, and animation, gaming and visual effects.

FICCI-KPMG Report Unveiled

The FICCI-KPMG Report on Indian Media & Entertainment for 2011 was released on the occasion by Mr. Pilot and Mr. Rajesh Jain, KPMG Director.  According to the annual report, the industry is grew at 11 % to touch INR 652 billion  and it expects the CAGR of 14 % in the coming years. Indian film industry estimated to grow from Rs.83 billion to Rs.132 billion by 2015.

The report says, VFX and post production segments grew 42% and 17% in the total of INR 23.6 billion worth industry for 2011.Animation grew only 10% registering INR 10 billion in sales. Lack of distribution partners is cited as the main reason behind lack of box office success to Indian animation films.

One of the findings of the report was nine out of ten highest grossing movies worldwide relied heavily on special effects. It further says in future filmmakers will use stereoscopic 3D where VFX plays a crucial role in the film production.

The report also notes that companies such as DQE, Prime Focus, Pixion and Reliance Media works have seen significant capacity expansion in 2010. However most of the investment as per the FICCI’s survey has been in the area of 3D content development services.

In the gaming segment the report states that console games to be the highest revenue earner with companies earning INR 5.8billion in revenue for the last year. It is expected to add another 20% by the year 2015.

Mobile gaming the report says is expected to grow 45% by the year 2015 reaching INR 175 billion. In 2010, Zynga, the creator of Farmville, set up their first and largest base outside US in Bangalore. Many other foreign companies have evinced the interest to start operations in India, report adds.

On line and Pc game users are also on rise, says the report. At present, INR 1.5 billion is generated through this segment in India. It will reach INR 6.7 billion by 2015, adds the report.

Yash Chopra Blames Government

Welcoming the guests, Mr. Yash Chopra, Chairman, FICCI Entertainment Committee, criticized the government for not addressing the problems faced by the $2 billion strong Indian film industry, he said, Indian film industry is passing through great problems.

He further said, "The government has not taken the problems seriously enough. I want to use this platform to spread awareness because it's a crucial time for us"’. Chopra however expressed the hope that the government will redress the long standing grievances soon.

Digitalization Will Unlock the Potential of Indian Creative Sector, Says James Murdoch

Describing, India as a slumbering creative giant, James Murdoch, Chairman and Chief Executive, News Corporation, Europe & Asia, said, Digitization is the key to unlocking the potential of the creative sector.  With digitization, the Indian industry will finally have the incentives to invest and create.  Even more important, Indian customers will have the content and choice worthy of their nation’s rich diversity.

Asking the Indian film and television industry get ready for technological innovation to be a front runner in the entertainment world, he said, in a digital environment, everything becomes digital and the boundaries between our businesses film, TV, newspapers, books, even communications slide all over the place.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Kamal Hassan thanked Mr. Murdoch for saying India can be power house of next media revolution since it has the potential of generating business worth $120 billion instead of $15 billion as suggested in the FICCI-KPMG report.

Mr. Kamal Hassan said, "The numbers by Mr. Murdoch are music to his ears as the Indian tiger slumbered in 'analoguesque era' and thus missing on the digital days and the billions".