Oscar winning Visual Effects company Rhythm and Hues (founded in LA in 1987) set up in Mumbai seven years ago to create the first quality animation/VX studio that could cover the entire production process. This is not an outsourcing model, all the R&H studios have the same departments and when a project comes in staff are assigned based on available resources, irrespective of geography. Staff from across the world have collaborated on films  including The Golden Compass, Narnia, Incredible Hulk, Evan Almighty, Babe and Happy Feet.

This distributed working comes from the founders of the company: seeing the failed investments by pioneering VFX studios in main frame computing, R&H sign up to the strength of distributed computing and systems. By spreading the offices across the world it enables them to:

  • maintain stability against economic vulnerability in specific parts of the world
  • keep a competitive edge within an increasingly globalised business by moving into new markets
  • attract talent  (a global resource)

 

R&H also believe that companies of less than 200 people are most efficient (people know each other/less middle management), so instead of staying small they spread their studios.

When the company started global expansion their LA-based staff were concerned that cheaper foreign talent would mean job losses but global expansion has enabled them to be more competitive and increase demand, so jobs in LA have actually doubled too.

We were hosted by Prasad the digital production manager who us an overview of the business and a tour of their rather beautiful offices. Whilst R&H started in Mumbai, the expense and overcrowding soon prompted them to look elsewhere and when staff were offered an opportunity to come to Hyderabad (considered a nuetral choice for launguage and food culture) about 50 people moved.

R&H India started small, producing backgrounds/painting out strings etc whilst they figured out work flow, communication, how to scale up and how to work with the time differences between LA and India.


Initially they found it difficult to get experienced people and unlearn bad habits from elsewhere so they now engage up-and-coming talent on the basis of their potential (IQ tests, passion, problem solving etc) and put them through an apprentice programme.

it is R&H's workflow systems that have enabled them to develop a global business and maintain the same quality levels to be delivered across the globe. Their office is structured to encourage openness and sharing and daily HD video conferences enable communication between teams.

Visiting R&H was great, not only did we see some great 3D animation and VFX, but experienced a company with a caring, open, networked approach to business and their own employees. A commitment to talent and knowledge exchange is to grow the overall ecology of the animation industry in India and their working conditions, salaries and working hours were by far the best we have seen.