Chennai-based Pentafour Software & Exports Ltd, a minuscule player now, is aiming for the big moolah addressing this huge market. In the next three years it expects to rake in $100 million from this segment. Even that is small, but at least the satisfaction is there that the country is making a mark in animation films and special effects segments for movies made in Hollywood.

At the Cannes Film Festival promo last year, aficionados had a peep at the first full-length 3-D real-time animation film Sindbad: Beyond the Veil of Mists slated for release in the next two or three months. The novelty factor made waves. Pentafour came into the limelight for creative animation work done for the film. And it earned a sizable $12 million from this project.

Says company CMD V Chandrasekaran: "Till the introduction of multimedia, computers were used to provide 2-Deffects mainly through programming. It was still too technical for the end-user to enjoy.

"But multimedia has changed all that. Along with the internet, it has brought creativity, value-addition and 3-D entertainment to one and all."Pentafour is able to provide now, he says, 100 per cent animation through the compact disc using the computer to give 3-D effects. For example, if a resting arm is lifted up to the shoulder height, 2-D techniques would require the use of key frame concepts i.e. drawing the action of lifting the arm with 24 frames to be shown in one second.

But in the 3-D technique, using the motion capture in real time, only two frames (the arm resting and the arm at its finishing height) are captured through digital camera and the rest of the moves are programmed.

"There is lot more programming to be done but the 3-D technique ensures saving of drawing time of 22 frames and showing the end result faster. It thus enables to largely skip the key-frame concept," he said.

But doing such workinvolves a lot of creativity and investment in hardware, software and skills. Pentafour has invested Rs 50 to 60 crore in buying some 100 computers from Silicon Graphics of US with whom it has a technical tie-up for systems training and for marketing its services in the US. Close to 800 software professionals are employed to work in the multimedia division alone.

Recognition has come fast for Pentafour. It did a 90-minutes long animation film "King & I" for Warner Bros using both 2-D and 3-D techniques.

The business has immense potential but not many from India are into this specialised work. Chandrasekaran says the entry barrier is because of high infrastructure costs and highly-skilled personnel required for the job.

Typically animation film work in India, he says, would cost anywhere from $70 to $ 100 per hour. In the US the cost would be almost three times more.The company has recently bagged another $10-million project for the animation film Five Heroes & 100 Villains from Grip of US. AlsoImprovision Inc. of US has given a repeat order for Sindbad-2 which will be worth another $12-15 million and work for which is to start by June this year.

Indian film makers and TV producers too have started to use the company's specialised skills in these areas. It did a 24-minute special effects for Jeans which has been selected for Oscar nomination. Special effects work will also be done for Rajanikant's film Padayappa slated for release on April 14, Hindi film Hindustan ki Kasam starring the newly-married Bollywood couple Ajay Devgan and Kajol and T Rajinder's film Monisha.

In Hollywood, Pentafour will provide special effects to the yet to be titled movie being made by film director Christopher Cain. Pentafour recently announced a strategic alliance with Cyber Arrow Technologies, a subsidiary of the US-based New Media Venture Partners Inc., to provide multimedia products and services.

TV is another medium where a lot of animation and special effects works are finding acceptance. The company has beensigned up to provide such skills for a number of TV serials like Spiderman, Sindbad and Bhagavatham, all of which will keep the company busy for the next 18 months.