Issue: Workstations - November 2006

NVIDIA LAUNCHES 'DIGITAL BOLLYWOOD' INITIATIVE

MUMBAI, INDIA - Nvidia Corporation (www.nvidia.com), the Santa Clara-based maker of programmable graphics processor technologies, has teamed up with several partners to create a strategic initiative for the Indian digital content creation (DCC) community. The initiative, dubbed "Digital Bollywood," couples Nvidia technologies with expertise from around the world, all in an effort to enable India to become a DCC powerhouse.
Digital Bollywood is a combination of technology, education, expertise and community.

Nvidia's Gelato rendering software and Quadro processing technology is being tailored specifically for the Indian market. The education aspect, called the  "Digital Production Curriculum," will include two courses consisting of Gelato certification classes and advanced digital production pipeline techniques.

DCC professionals from around the world are lending their expertise to the initiative. The DCC Guru Lecture series, for example, is a series of monthly lectures delivered in multiple Indian cities.

And close working relationships with organizations such as the ASIFA, TASI, ABAI, and other animation societies will help strengthen the local community. The MAAC and Whistling Woods will teach the "Digital Production Curriculum" in their respective schools. Additional collaborators in the initiative include Acris, Anibrain, Anirights, Crest, EFX,  IIT, Maya Entertainment, NID, Prana, Prime Focus, and VCL.

"India is poised to become the center of the DCC universe and we share India's passion and excitement for graphics and video processing," says Dan Vivoli, senior VP at Nvidia. "We consider ourselves fortunate that we can play a significant role in catalyzing Bollywood and view this initiative as a continuing long-term investment."