Interview with Snipple Animation Managing Director & CEO Jitin Goyal
by admin on Sep.24, 2010, under Animation
Founded in April 2010, Snipple Animation with facilities in Pune, India and London, is a studio delivering 3D & 2D animation services for films, TV series, advertising, edutainment, gaming and related areas. The Founder, CEO & Managing Director of Snipple Animation, Jitin Goyal opens up to AnimationXpress.com about Snipple Animation, its projects and future plans.
What are the current projects that Snipple Animation is working on?
While we are a relatively new company, we are already working with Hollywood legends such as Phil Roman – of “The Simpsons” fame – on some exciting new concepts. We are also doing the animation work for a film on Virtuous Business being produced by Dr. Theodore Roosevelt Malloch Jr. We are co-producing a short film on climate change, titled “The Frog Who Knew Too Little”, in partnership with Elpis (www.elpis.com), the world‘s fastest growing social network and collaboration platform focused on environment, sustainability and community development.
We have also done some ad-film works for clients such as Hay Smith Advertising, a leading ad agency based in the UK. These clients are testimony to the quality of the operation that we are building up at Snipple Animation.
Tell us more about the company and its business model.
Snipple Animation (http://www.snippleanimation.com) is a new animation services company that we set up earlier this year. Snipple is incorporated in the UK and India. Our studio is based in Pune, with plans to expand to other Indian cities as well as places like the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan at a later stage.
We are building a pool of pre-production talent in the UK, US, Australia and elsewhere to complement the technical & production capability of our studio in India. This gives us the unique ability to execute projects by leveraging talent around the world while retaining the intrinsic cost effectiveness of our operational model.
What sort of projects does Snipple work on?
Snipple provides 3D as well as 2D animation services for films, TV series, direct to DVD projects, ads films, as well as gaming and education sectors. We do mainly outsourced work for now, but are also selectively considering some co-prod engagements on merit. The primary markets that we are focusing on are the US, Europe, Japan and the Middle East.
What was your inspiration behind entering the animation industry?
Well, I believe that the animation industry in India is essentially where the IT industry was in the late nineties – the raw talent is there, but it has not quite been moulded into world class companies with the ability to execute complex engagements with a high degree of predictability and at world class quality standards. Having spent many years at the forefront of the revolution in Indian IT, I felt that there was an opportunity for us to apply some of the learnings and best practices from that industry to animation.
Mind you, these are two very different areas – we don‘t intend to replicate the IT model, only glean some useful insights. The IT industry has ended up under-investing in IP and is thus facing up to the limitations of linear growth models in the services sector. In animation, it is imperative that we work on in-house IP and co-productions hand in hand with outsourced engagements in order to succeed.
Note: Jitin has more than 16 years of experience in industries ranging from corporate banking, IT Services, and online social media to animation & filmmaking. He has worked in India, UK, Europe, Middle-East & Africa and the United States. Before starting Snipple, he was a Vice-President at Infosys Technologies, one of the leading IT Consulting & Services companies in the world, where he was the driving force behind the company‘s expansion in EMEA.
Tell us about the team at Snipple Animation.
The Creative and Production leadership of Snipple comes from studios such as Prana and Crest Animation. Between them, the Snipple leadership team has delivered more than 40 world class engagements adding up to more than 200 hours of output. The company has around 20 employees as of now, and expects to expand to around 100 by the end of the year.
Besides me, the other directors in Snipple are UK-based Anil and Kaine Patel, with diversified business interests and a 25-year track record of establishing successful business ventures.
At Snipple, we hire only the best of the best, and we take pride in our relentless pursuit of excellence in everything we do. We are implementing a comprehensive “entry test” which ensures that only the strongest candidates are offered a position at Snipple.
Advertisement
What are the future plans of Snipple animation?
We are putting in place a very strong people-process-technology based business strategy that is unique in the industry, and we are confident that our model will deliver differential value to all our stakeholders – our clients, our employees and our shareholders. Over time, we expect Snipple to evolve into a full fledged IP studio while retaining the outsourcing business as a service offering.
We are looking at expanding the production capacity to other Indian cities besides Pune, such as Bangalore and Mumbai. Expansion into other countries is also being considered. Over time, we expect that a combination of our pre-production resources in Europe and the USA and our production & post-production capabilities in India and other location will give Snipple a strong competitive advantage over others.
What‘s behind the name “Snipple”?
Ha ha.. Well, that‘s a little insider secret! All I can tell you is that it‘s a made up word with a nice little story behind it. Will tell you one day
October 12th, 2010 on 6:07 am
Between me and my husband we’ve owned more MP3 players over the years than I can count, including Sansas, iRivers, iPods (classic & touch), the Ibiza Rhapsody, etc. But, the last few years I’ve settled down to one line of players. Why? Because I was happy to discover how well-designed and fun to use the underappreciated (and widely mocked) Zunes are.
November 17th, 2010 on 9:01 am
I just discovered the website via Bing search engine. You truly created a meaningful point. In the long term I Really like to read brand new posts from your weblog.
November 19th, 2010 on 9:53 am
Hi there guys, excellent site, Thank you very much for that info I truly enjoy it!! Enjoyed it, i thought this was such an awesome post. We have just bookmarked your web blog. in addition I sent the url to a friend. instantempo
November 22nd, 2010 on 5:02 am
Australia’s #1 small business marketing podcast lives here. Register for one free marketing idea per week for one whole year!
November 22nd, 2010 on 5:58 am
I wanted to thank you for this interesting I definitely loved every little bit of it. I have you bookmarked your site to look at the latest stuff you post.
December 3rd, 2010 on 1:37 am
What I dont understand is how youre not even more popular than you are now. Youre just so intelligent. You know so much about this subject, made me think about it from so many different angles. Its like people arent interested unless it has something to do with Lady Gaga! Your stuffs great. Keep it up!
December 4th, 2010 on 8:23 am
Hello.I am well into a boring sunday thanks for giving something to think about.This is a great story got me thinking,Thanks!.
December 10th, 2010 on 9:58 pm
VRy interesting to read it
January 2nd, 2011 on 11:37 pm
Wow, what a blog! I mean, you just have so much guts to go ahead and tell it like it is. Youre what blogging needs, an open minded superhero who isnt afraid to tell it like it is. This is definitely something people need to be up on. Good luck in the future, man.
January 4th, 2011 on 8:16 pm
This layout is so stellar. How did you manage to make a blog thats as smart as it is sleek? I mean, its like an Aston Martin –smart and sexy at the same time. Ive got to say, the layout alone made me come back to this blog again. But now that Ive read what youve got to say, Ive got to share it with the world!
January 6th, 2011 on 8:55 pm
Great stuff from you, man. Ive read your stuff before and youre just too awesome. I love what youve got here, love what youre saying and the way you say it. You make it entertaining and you still manage to keep it smart. I cant wait to read more from you. This is really a great blog.
January 26th, 2011 on 12:52 am
Thank You For This Blog, was added to my bookmarks.
January 26th, 2011 on 5:57 pm
I do agree with all the ideas you have presented in your post. They are very convincing and will definitely work. Thanks for the post.
January 27th, 2011 on 11:00 am
Kudos for posting such a useful weblog. Your weblog is not only informative and also looks good too. There usually are very few people who can write not so simple articles in a creative way. Keep up the good writing !!
January 28th, 2011 on 5:29 pm
This is very intresting, You are a very skilled blogger. I have joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your great post.
January 29th, 2011 on 2:06 am
Hello would you mind stating which blog platform you’re using? I’m looking to start my own blog soon but I’m having a tough time making a decision between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your layout seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something completely unique. P.S Sorry for being off-topic but I had to ask!
January 31st, 2011 on 9:16 am
Kudos for posting such a useful weblog. Your weblog is not only informative and also looks good too. There usually are very few people who can write not so simple articles in a creative way. Keep up the good writing !!
February 7th, 2011 on 8:53 am
I’d have to check with you here. Which isn’t one thing I usually do! I get pleasure from reading a post that can make individuals think. Additionally, thanks for permitting me to comment!
February 8th, 2011 on 12:43 pm
Youre so cool! I dont suppose Ive read anything like this before. So nice to find any person with some authentic thoughts on this subject. realy thank you for beginning this up. this web site is something that’s needed on the web, someone with a bit of originality. helpful job for bringing one thing new to the internet!
April 20th, 2011 on 3:19 pm
I like your web site. Cheers and continue the excellent work.
May 10th, 2011 on 1:59 pm
You really make it appear really easy with your presentation however I to find this matter to be really one thing which I feel I would by no means understand. It sort of feels too complicated and very wide for me. I am looking ahead for your subsequent put up, I will attempt to get the hold of it!