Digital Academy, a new television & film training institute is being launched in Mumbai in April. Some details:

TIME was when the road to a career in films and television, an attempt at establishing oneself in the entertainment arena, meant an irreplaceable period of study at FTII, the grande dame of Indian film schools. Time spent in controlled environs, with both the facility and the intellectual ambience to ferment one’s skill sets. In the recent past, however, a host of problems have bogged this premier institute, whether in the form of frequent courseware revisions, a seeming lack of hands-on training approach, fund shortages, or even the frequent strikes by students.

All this has meant a void in the options that an aspiring film and television professional can face in terms of training institutes. Even a glance at most of the independent operators who provide career training in the television and filmmaking craft reveal facilities not equipped with even barely composite educational models to make the student an independent filmmaker at the end of the course.

Even reputed institutes of mass communication lack full-time faculty, accessibility of equipment to students, support systems and placement assistance to outgoing students. These need to be considered in the light of the fact that the entertainment sector, all set to become the next driving force of the Indian economy according to the recently held FRAMES 2002 by FICCI, will result in a monumental demand for trained professionals. The current output of FTII, the independent operators and mass communication institutes is not enough to meet this need.

Kartikeya Talreja, alumni of the New York University having studied business and filmmaking, realized the crying need of trained professionals in the Indian entertainment industry. Thus, backed by his father, Basant Talreja, a businessman in the international arena is launching Digital Academy, a premier television and filmmaking institute on April 5 with a career fair.

Digital Academy is neither a university nor a career institute. It has been uniquely positioned between these two extremes with an objective to provide short intensive curriculum offering basic to specialized courses covering all aspects of filmmaking for the novice as also the serious filmmaker. This would include offerings related to pre-production, production and post-production in filmmaking.
Kartikeya Talreja, managing director, explains: “Today what the Indian Film and Television industry needs is not more gloss, but more creativity. Digital Academy will offer extensive hands-on, practical-oriented training. And our students will get to make a demo feature film as part of their course, encouraging them to start off as independent filmmakers by the end of their course, supported and facilitated by the infrastructure Digital Academy will provide.”

Digital Academy’s efforts are supported by a 20,000 square foot state-of-the-art campus, with industry professionals and celebrities, including ex-FTII graduates, as faculty members. Digital Academy’s large investment will house bleeding edge technology machinery to assist the students to make a feature film on a shoe-string budget. The academy is offering two main courses besides specialised elective courses. The academy is offering the film appreciation course and the foundation course for all aspirants and the generally interested, and various specialised courses to become a full-fledged professional. Besides these, the academy also has on offer the home film essentials course, which will give housewives a peep into the world of films, and little actors course for children during vacation time.

Adds Talreja, “Taught to conceptualize, direct and edit their own film projects apart from being able to promote their skill sets, Digital Academy will ensure that students on completion of formal training and industry internship start earning well or become independent filmmakers themselves.”
Digital Academy will hold a career fair on April 5, 6 and 7 for those considering a career in film and television. On the three days of the career fair, aspirants can meet Digital Academy counselors for a briefing on career prospects and Digital Academy offerings on the same. Details regarding the same are available on telephone 022-6901427.