No-one knows more about the process of churning out entertainment in enormous quantities at low cost than India’s vast film production industry in Bombay, and Silicon Graphics Inc is planning to tap the local talent. According to Reuter, the company is planning to set up digital studios in India to make high-quality special-effect clips for export and also for use in local films. Ashok Desai, Silicon Graphics’s managing director for South Asia, told the news wire that several Indian film producers were keen to invest in digital studios to get a technological edge currently lacking in the Indian industry. It’s very cheap to create special effects here compared with other countries. Once a base of trained people is available, India could become a big supplier, Desai said. This industry could be bigger than India’s computer software industry, he said. Silicon Graphics will help producers to set up the studios, each expected to cost $1.6m, by providing hardware and expertise. It will not take equity in any of the proposed studios, but would help by training people to do special effects. Silicon Graphics Systems India Pvt Ltd is to start testing and manufacturing boards for the the Mountain View-based parent company’s machines by October.
