BIG AIMS and Annamalai University Announce Strategic Collaboration to Redefine Animation & VFX Education in India

Online, June 29, 2011 (Newswire.com) - - Unveils first of its kind Bachelor of Arts Program in Animation & Visual Effects Film Making

Chennai, June 27, 2011: BIG AIMS (Animation Infotainment & Media School), a premier animation and VFX training academy of Reliance Animation today entered into a strategic collaboration with Annamalai University (AU) to introduce first of its kind degree program in Animation & Visual Effects Film Making in India. The MoU was signed between Ashish S Kulkarni, Chief Executive Officer, Reliance Animation and Dr. M. Rathnasabhapati, Registrar, Annamalai University in the presence of Dr. M.Ramanathan, Vice Chancellor, Anna Malai Unversity in Annamalai Nagar Chennai last week. Dr. S.B.Nageshwara Rao, Director Distance Education and Tejonidhi Bhandare, Head of Finance, Relinace Animation were also present on the occasion.

Under the MoU, BIG AIMS and AU will offer avant-grade Bachelor of Arts Program in Animation & Visual Effects Film-Making. The program will expose students to the exciting and very creative animation and film making industry with an unmatched degree program. The courses have been designed to harness best creative and technical talents in students. The Bachelor of Arts Program in Animation & Visual Effects Film-Making will be made available to students across India through authorised BIG AIMS learning cetres.

The USP of the course underlines the core principles of Animation and VFX Film making positioning it primarily as an artistic vocation with technology seamlessly ingetrated. The program will help groom the creative and artistic talents of the students so that they can manuever the latest technology as per the demands of the artistic needs of the meduim, which is the very essence of Animation and VFX Film making as per the global demands.

Speaking on this significant development Ashish SK, Chief Executive Officer, Reliance Animation said, "We are delighted to join hands with Annamalai University to create a talent pool for the fast evolving animation, VFX, gaming and comics (AVGC) industry in India. Considering the present needs and the trends of the industry, this B.A. program is extremely well designed to create the finest talent pool for the emerging era of digital content creation in the field of Animation and VFX Film Making. We strongly feel that the art of storytelling holds the key to success in this industry, therefore our endeavour would be to expose the aspiring youth to the secrets of animation and VFX film making and effective story telling through this degree program so that one day they can turn into accomplished creators of animation and VFX content."

"For Animation, VFX, Gaming and Comics as an industry, the greatest assets are the people in its various techno creative departments and not the machines and software's. It's the mind of the creative workforce that makes the tools come alive turning celluloid dreams into reality. At BIG AIMS we are dedicated to groom the minds of our young generation as unique creative individuals who aspires to find themselves as leaders in the emerging digital era of creative expressions." added Ashish.

Dr. M. Ramanathan, Vice-Chancellor, Annamalai University remarked "Over the years AU has made available cutting edge degree programs in various disciplines to students across India and overseas also. Our association with BIG AIMS has given us an opportunity to introduce for the first time a comprehensive degree program for the fast evolving and highly competitive animation and VFX industry. I am extremely impressed with BIG AIMS's faculty training program which I am sure will go a long way to ensure quality deliverables of the curricullum. We do hope that together we will be able create world class animators and visual artists in India."

Dr.S.B.Nageshwara Rao, Director, Directorate of Distant Education said,
"Currently, this is one of the most sought after career options amongst the youth, especially, since India has now become an outsourcing hub for international projects. The requirement for trained manpower has increased manifold. And people today look up to us to get customized education which is internationally recognised and high on the employability scale. We are confident this partnership with BIG AIMS will enable our students to acquire employable skills in the domestic as well as global markets."

About BIG AIMS:

BIG AIMS, a premier animation and VFX film making academy of Reliance Animation, is part of Reliance Entertainment - the largest entertainment group in India.

BIG AIMS has been incepted to bridge the gap between present training methodologies and answer the real professional needs of the animation, VFX filmmaking industry. In other words, BIG AIMS positions itself as an Academy that inculcates learning in the real-time production environment to equip the students to perform as per the demands of the industry from day one.

BIG AIMS's young animators and VFX film makers have already been placed successfully in some of the most renowned studios in the country like Accel Animation Studios, Fountain Pixel Animations, Prime Focus, Pixion, Prana Studios, Reliance Animation, Reliance Media Works, Side FX Entertainment, Ven Sat to name a few.

About Annamalai University:

Started in 1929, the Annamalai University is a unitary, teaching, and residential university located at Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, South India. It was founded by the munificence of the farsighted and noble hearted philanthropist and patron of letters the late Hon'ble Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar of Chettinad, Kt, LL.D., D.Litt. Since its inception, it has progressively tried to realize the aims of the noble Founder Pro-Chancellor.
The present Pro-Chancellor Dr. M.A.M. Ramaswamy, a philanthropist and a patron of sports, is the distinguished son of Dr. Rajah Sir Muthiah Chettiar. The University has had the unique good fortune of having a succession of eminent Vice-Chancellors to guide its destinies. During the last eighty two years of its existence the University has grown rapidly and has consolidated its position as a unitary and residential University with forty-nine Departments of Study and over 3240 members on its teaching staff. Annamalainagar is already a busy and full-fledged University town, east of Chidambaram, the abode of Lord Nataraja. The University campus, including the colleges, hostels, and playgrounds, occupies an area of about thousand acres. The Directorate of Distance Education Annamalai University established in 1979 offers more than 500 programs of study. All the programs offered by the Directorate of Distance Education have the approval of the Distance Education Council, New Delhi. The national assessment and the accreditation council have accredited Annamalai University.