Animating the world around you: Why Wiztoonz has animation on their virtual radar

Not too many people have chosen passion over the profession and have made it count. Sreedhar V T of Wiztoonz certainly is one of them. A lawyer by profession, he decided to set up Wiztoonz Academy of Media and Design and today it has turned 3000+ students into professionals in the multimedia industry. He says, "We not only help the students understand concepts but we train them to develop necessary skills. This can help them adapt to the needs of the industry. According to me, the software is a tool for the artists but the real skills are in their hands and mind."

Excerpts from the interview:

How did your journey begin and how long have you been in this industry?
I have been part of the animation industry since 1999 and have worked with several organisations. In 2007, I started Wiztoonz because of my passion for this art. My idea was to create alternate courses and careers for students. In early 2000, students were focussing only on engineering and medicine. They were not aware that there are different areas which can provide better jobs. Especially in a country like India where art and drawing start from our homes with something as basic as rangoli, the animation industry could help improve their skills.

What is the transformation that you have observed in the past few years in the animation industry?
Earlier, the animation was restricted to entertainment. Now, the applications have increased with e-commerce, digital content, augmented reality, classroom education and automobiles. The other transformation is the change in the attitude of parents. They have realised that children need to pursue their passion. Hence, a lot of students are opting for this course. Accordingly, there are several famous studios coming up where students can apply their knowledge.

Have you collaborated with any foreign universities to provide courses for students?
Singapore is known as a design hub hence we are collaborating with Orita Sinclair School of Design and Music. We provide dual certification courses in Design Communication and Interaction Design. Those who apply for this programme have to study in India for a year and another year in Singapore. Having qualified from a reputed institute in Singapore, the students will be eligible to work in any part of the globe. Apart from this, we are also collaborating with the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts (VanArts) for International Dual Certification in VFX for film and TV. While Design Communication is meant to teach graphic design and web design, Interaction Design will be more about mobile application development, user interface etc. Based on their academic background, we suggest which course students ought to to opt for. Usually, we suggest Interaction Design for students from Engineering or Science backgrounds.

The students from Wiztoonz Academy of Media and Design have worked for movies including the recent Hollywood film Hobbes and Shaw, Baahubali part I and II, Mummy (2017)

What is the placement process for students at Wiztoonz?
We have an exclusive placement cell where we collaborate with more than 50 companies across India for placement. Since 2008, we have a record of 100 per cent placement. The way we conduct our placement programme is unique. We provide a week's training to them to make them understand how the corporate world works.

What is Creative Putani all about?

Wiztoonz has a separate category called 'Creative Hub' where we promote creative content. Creative Putani is one of them. It is our YouTube channel where our faculty uploads the videos of art and drawing, especially for kids. Art not only means working on computers or graphics. It can be anything including clay modelling, drawing etc.

What are your future plans for the institution?

Currently, we are located in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. We aim to expand to other cities in India so that we can reach many more youngsters.