The most sought-after destination in Andhra Pradesh by film makers – Visakhapatnam – has the best natural locations, a film studio, a couple of training institutes, but the pre and post-production facilities are far from satisfactory.
This was the general impression of the participants at the opening of the Millennium School of Animation, a division of Millennium Software Solutions (MSS), at Dwarakanagar here on Sunday.
Andhra University Registrar V. Umamaheswar Rao, actor, singer and director R.P. Patnaik, film trainer L. Satyanand, comedian Sunil, and producer Sudhakar Reddy were among those who participated. The speakers felt that though Visakhapatnam was endowed with natural sceneries, beaches, and hills, lack of pre and post-production facilities were forcing filmmakers to travel to Hyderabad for completion of their films.
Sunil, whose film is presently being shot in Visakhapatnam, said: “We are shooting for quite sometime in the city, but facing problems due to lack of pre and post-production facilities.” The Registrar said that Andhra University was offering a diploma course in animation to students in association with the Millennium School. He said that the students should be made to do graphics and animation as project work. This would not only help them in honing their practical skills but also help filmmakers lower their production costs.
