Sabbir Hussain: Assistant Professor

Centre for Animation and Promo Films



It was a couple of months back that I met a fresh college graduate who does casual design work. He expressed his desire to pursue a career in filmmaking that involves the audio-visual medium. He was clearly not intrigued by mere static designs. He had a good sense of both design and art. I motivated him to pursue his dreams because a sense of design can go a long way in building up a career in advertising filmmaking, promo filmmaking and similar other marketing genres.



A large chunk amongst us aspires to build conventional careers ignoring the huge opportunities in offbeat fields such as filmmaking. While feature films still constitute the bread and butter, there is always an option of creatively telling a story through ad films and promo films . These films mostly emphasize on being either emotionally engaging or funny or quirky while promoting a product or a service or an idea. The same idea works for the television industry as well where the promos are shown to sell dreams.

The contemporary consumer is suffering from an overdose of advertisements across multiple media platforms. While the number is mammoth, it is also a fact that there is always a market for engrossing advertisements that effectively use the available marketing appeals. It needs to be remembered here that the most important holding points for an advertisement are imaginative visuals, sound and dialogues or voice overs.



An interesting dialogue involving a news anchor and a guest significantly attract eyeballs. This is exactly where a promo comes in handy and this is particularly true for particular time slots. It is extremely important to communicate the idea to the prospective consumers. The Indian advertising industry has evolved from being a small-scale business to a full-fledged industry. The advertising industry in India is slated to be the second fastest growing market in Asia after China. It is estimated that by 2018, the share of ad spend in India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will be around 0.45 per cent.

If we have the ideas and the zeal and the passion to work with design elements or have an active interest in films, camera, storytelling or for that matter creative writing; then we must think about alternative career avenues. My experience with ETV Network as the head of its On-Air Promos division made me meet a number of creative people, who definitely had the talent but lacked proper training. A systematic and industry-oriented curriculum can produce a significant workforce for creative organizations such as advertising agencies, production houses, TV channels, animation studios and portals.



This is what triggered my mind to make my mark as a mentor and transfer knowledge to the young and energetic minds in Ad Filmmaking and Promo Filmmaking at Ramoji Krian Universe (RKU) , strategically located within the Ramoji Film City (RFC) in Hyderabad. So, if you think you are a storyteller and you love making short films or you love to dabble with graphic design and animation, then Ad Filmmaking or Promo Filmmaking might just be your calling.

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Assistant Professor – With a master’s degree in mass communication from the University of Hyderabad, Ajmera is in the advanced stages of finishing his Ph.D. in Film Studies and Visual Culture from The English and Foreign Languages University in Hyderabad. A career academic, Ajmera has worked with leading organizations like ICAT Design and Media College in Hyderabad, CREO Valley School of Film and Television in Bangalore and The Sagar School in Delhi . Assistant Professor – With a cumulative experience of more than a couple of decades in multiple genres including television journalism, programme direction, production, creative direction and animation; Prof. Hussain has worked with prestigious brands such as Doordarshan, Star Plus, Sahara India, Zee Cinema and ETV Networks. Someone who loves to draw cartoons, create animations and paint; Prof. Hussain has also taught at the Maulana Azad National Urdu University in Hyderabad.







