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SGI coaxing Hollywood to sub-contract work in India

"We are contacting some world famous names in film production, trying to get their work sub-contracted to studios here, and already some leading names from the US and France have shown interest in the proposals." Silicon Graphics Systems (India) Limited General Manager (Film/Video/Publishing) Avinash Fotedar has said.

As part of its plans to entrench itself in the Indian film industry's special effects market, the world's biggest company in high-end servers is also planning to have "close interactions" with top directors in the coming months. "This will be our effort to give them a firsthand exposure to the immense possibilities in the field, like Jurassic Park, Twister, Independence Day and Mask," Fotedar said.

SGI's business in the country's entertainment field, he said, is projected to grow to around 16 per cent of total business, doubling last year's trade of around Rs 180 million. He said the company's latest endeavour to invite international studios to sub-contract their work in India stemmed from the fact that in recent times Hollywood has been following such a trend.

A prime example of this, he said, is the Michael Jordan movie Space Jam, a Warner Bros/Cinesite Productions venture recently released in India. The cell animation work for the film was done in 18 studios around the globe. "Feature animation is an extremely lucrative art form involving the use of high-end servers, and once big studios from abroad start sub-contracting work to Indian studios, it will be a big break for them," he said.

Detailing SGI's further plans in India, Fotedar said another field being emphasised is to hold international seminars/workshops for video game 'authors' so that they could explore the possibilities of working in the country. "We are also planning to have close interactions with top Indian film directors," he said, adding, non-linear editing has taken off very well India and already four of our high-end servers are in Bombay studios.

He said once direct-to-home broadcasting comes to India, Silicon Graphics would have ready solutions for the broadcasters.

- Compiled from the Indian media

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