Depending on the success of this school, the company will expand itsoperations all over the country. The plan is to set up at least 20 animationschools in India within the next four to five years. Even though there areseveral animation schools in the country, they focus mostly on the softwarepart of the business and not on training students in the animation skills,said Mr Griffin. ``Therefore, our's is a unique venture as Modi-VFS willconcentrate on training students in the animation skills,'' he said. Likelyto be called Institute for New Content Arts or INCA, the proposed animationschool will have three full-time courses: 2D Classical Animation; 3DAnimation; and New Media. All the courses will be of 10 to 11 months'duration. Commenting on the duration of these courses, Mr Griffin said:``We're offering international quality animation training in 10-11 months,against a four-year university curriculum.''

He added: ``We want to replicate the intensity of the production schedule.The focus will be on building core artistic skills of the students.'' Theminimum eligibility condition for gaining admission in this animation schoolis a Plus 2 school certificate. However, Mr Griffin pointed out that for acourse such as 2D Classical Animation, one needs exposure to an art school.Applicants will also be tested on their art and writing skills at the timeof submission of their applications. The admission process will begin aroundMarch-April 2001, when Modi-VFS officials will give presentations in artschools in the country.

The fee structure for the animation courses has not been fixed so far. But,said Mr Griffin that it's going to be substantially lower than what ischarged at the Vancouver Film School in the US. Vancouver Film School isknown for being continuously in production, said Mr Griffin. ``It's not atraditional school, rather it's a group of production facilities, andproduction is used as a primary educational driver,'' he added. The firstModi-VFS institute is being set up in Mumbai to have a an interactiverelationship with the film industry and the various production houses.According to a recent market study, a number of production houses in Indiawant to go international. And, Modi-VFS animation school is a step in thatdirection, said Mr Griffin.

Since finding skilled staff in animation could be a hurdle, Vancouver FilmSchool has planned to train Indian instructors in Vancouver and also getpeople from VFS to India for an integrated approach. The animation schoolto be set up in Mumbai will have around 50 instructors and 25 administrativestaff, for a student strength of 750 spread over three courses.

On the whole, the Modi-VFS venture is a good way of leveraging the$20-billion animation industry worldwide. And for a country like India whichis uniquely placed in the animation world, what better opportunity than thisone.