Rotoscoping - A New Niche?

December 18th, 2008

Who would have ever thought before that clipping path can be such a profitable niche in the outsourcing industry. There were brave ones who saw the opportunity, the need was there and they filled it. Now, a lot of graphic outsourcing companies are offering clipping path services and it is evident in Google once you query “clipping path”. Big offshore companies this time are eying a new niche. Found across the video post production industry, the possible next outsourcing hit is rotoscoping.

What is rotoscoping exactly? It is the process of tracing a live-action sequence frame by frame. The analogy of clipping path is similar for rotoscoping. You trace an object out to remove it from the scene or to apply effects exclusively within the created matte or mask. Rotoscoping is clearly like clipping path only it is for videos and ten times the workload.

Rotoscoping is a repetitive and time-consuming task that does not need the degree of creativity a compositor would like to work into. Many post-production companies employ roto artists to accomplish this task and free VFX (Visual Effects) designers of this lackluster chore. Keeping rotoscoping in house definitely adds to a company’s project cost which is exactly why this can be a profitable niche for outsourcing firms to enter.

There are firms that are already doing this but then they’re not so many since putting up this kind of business requires significant cash outlay. For one the computers must be high-end to accommodate the usually big needs of the clients and to expedite the process. Who could forget to factor in the cost of acquiring several licensed software that can seriously dent any man’s wallet. The upside is that labor costs wouldn’t be much of a problem especially if the studio is located offshore.

Several freelance roto artists are also offering this service for a lower Read the rest of this entry »

Recession and Outsourcing - Moral Dilemma

December 17th, 2008

A recession is defined as a decline in a country’s Gross Domestic product (GDP) or negative growth for two or more successive quarters of a year.

Recession is caused by any one or combination of the following factors:

1. Currency Crisis:- This happens when the value of a currency changes quickly, undermining its ability to serve as a medium of exchange.

2. Inflation;- It is the result of a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.

3. National Debt:- Recession follows when a sovereign government is unable to pay off national debt.

4. Speculation & economic bubbles:- Speculation causes prices to deviate from their intrinsic value. Recession follows when such hyped prices crash.

5. War:- When two or more nations are at war over a considerable period of time, it can prove to be a drain on the economy and can result in recessionary trends.

6. Under consumption:- When there is under consumption it leads to a situation where stagnation will set in as production will be stopped, resulting in recession.

7. Over production:- If there is over production on a large scale, it would lead to the reduction in value of the produced goods, thereby leading to lower prices and unsold stock.

The current recession seems to be the fallout of bursting of Economic (read Housing) bubble and overproduction (read over availability of mortgage credit).

The real estate prices had been growing to astronomical figures due to hyped demand. This hype in demand had been caused by over-availability of easy credit. When there was snap in one of them, the entire bubble burst. Add to that, the continued rise in oil & steel prices and the stage was set for recession in US. The involvement of big players the world over resulted in this enormous recession in the entire world.

The recessi Read the rest of this entry »

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