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Strategies & Market Trends : India Coffee House -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mohan Marette who wrote (3354)	12/7/1998 3:26:00 PM
From: Mohan Marette	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12475

Indian IT expertise reaches Hollywood! With its graphics expertise Pentafour has gone ahead and pitched its flag in the mecca of entertainment--Hollywood Creating a twin of the former Miss World Aishwarya Rai can be called another wonder. And that too when it is a computer-generated motion capture technology adopted for bringing alive a character, which otherwise exists only in thin air. The 22-minute special effects in the climax scene of the film Jeans--the blockbuster made in four languages--with both the Aishwaryas dancing on the stage must be still fresh in any cine goer's mind. This is the longest animation of motion captured image in the world, its immediate precedent being the 12-minute special effects in Independence Day. The credit for this goes to Pentafour Software & Exports Limited. The company has over the last five years built up the necessary infrastructure and expertise in the multimedia segment and now boasts of a facility which can be called one-of-its-kind in the world. Little wonder then that the company has made to the entertainment big league in Hollywood--its latest work being a six-minute pilot shoot for Walt Disney. Scintillating effects Today, the Chennai-based software house has its order book filled with contracts worth $80 million from Hollywood alone. The client list includes prestigious names like Improvision, Rich Animation, Sony, Grip and Funimation Productions. And not to mention the orders from our very own Bollywood. Pentafour, also prides in having successfully completed the $20 million world's first real-time 3D animated motion capture film Sinbad: Beyond the Veil of Mists for US-based Improvision, leaving little doubts about the software giant's capabilities in the entertainment sector. Now the company is all set to revolutionize the film industry by substituting computers with cameras, and animated characters with actors! And all this without any competition from players in India or abroad. A brief stint at a US radio station and a strong belief in the capabilities of computers gave birth to the idea of Digital Imaging Center in Chandrasekaran's mind, much before he even thought about setting up a company of his own. Even while contemplating of setting up a software company of his own, Chandrasekaran had in his mind a plan to build a unique software technology park. One that will cater to the requirements of the global IT industry, encapsulating a Digital Imaging Center and a Multimedia Plant within it. The goal was clear: "To expand the reach of computers to the common man." "And what could be better than doing it through films?" asks Chandrasekaran. ciol.com

To: Mohan Marette who wrote (3354)	12/7/1998 3:47:00 PM
From: Mohan Marette	Respond to of 12475

AERO INDIA 98-India airshow woos Europe after poor U.S. response aeroindia.com Monday December 7, 3:20 pm Eastern Time By Y.P.Rajesh YELAHANKA, India, Dec 7 (Reuters) - India is gearing up to showcase its aviation capabilities and strengthen its partnerships with Europe through its second bi-annual Aero India 98 airshow starting Tuesday at this southern Indian Air Force Station. ''Aero India '98 is essentially a show that provides an excellent forum for indicating our national capabilities,'' Probir Sengupta, a senior defence ministry official whose department is organising the show, told Reuters. ''It is also a forum where there is very close interaction between different people in this business and this gives them an opportunity to evaluate their future options.'' Sengupta said. He said only three American firms are participating as trade and military sanctions by the U.S. continue after India's May nuclear tests. The three U.S. companies -- AlliedSignal Inc (NYSE:ALD - news) Boeing Co (NYSE:BA - news) and General Electric Co (NYSE:GE - news) -- are participating in the exhibition at the show. India and arch-foe, neighbouring Pakistan, were subject to military and trade sanctions after they conducted tit-for-tat underground nuclear tests in May. Aero India '98 had confirmed participation from more countries than the airshow in 1996. Sengupta said 110 companies from 17 countries are participating in the show that will be held from December 8 to 12 at Yelahanka, outside the southern Indian city of Bangalore. Some 100 companies from 13 countries participated in Aero India '96. Sengupta said no U.S. aircraft would be on display for the show. Analysts said the almost total boycott by U.S. companies had come as an opportunity for European aviation companies. European aerospace companies have announced that they will have a major presence at Aero India 98, with British companies alone constituting 25 percent of foreign firms at the show. ''The Americans do not want to participate for obvious reasons...but I don't see any problem,'' said T.S.Prahlad, director of the state-run National Aerospace Laboratories. ''There are some areas in which we can work with the Europeans. Apart from military aviation we must also seriously think of co-operation in civil aviation,'' Prahlad said. S.R.Valluri, former director general of the Aeronautical Development Agency, said India always had close interaction with the European aviation industry and the strong presence of European companies at the Indian air show was a natural development. Analysts said the participation of the British Hawk 200 advanced jet trainer (AJT) aircraft and the Russian MiG-AT AJT at the airshow were an indication of European companies strongly pitching for India's plans to acquire jet trainers. ''Aero India '98 will spread the message about future business opportunities available in India,'' C.G.Krishnadas Nair, chairman of the state-run aircraft manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), told Reuters. He said HAL would look to forge partnerships with international companies to co-produce aircraft and components. A defence ministry statement said foreign aircraft on display at the airshow include SU-30 and SU-33, MiG-AT, Mirage 2000, Falcon 2000, ATR, Hawk, UAV, Mig-21UM, among others. aeroindia.com biz.yahoo.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------