AMD eyes Indian film industry, to engage with makers

Betting big on the multi-billion dollar film industry in India, global chip maker AMD is engaging with professionals in the sector to help them use visual effects and graphics in their works at lower costs.
The US-based firm, which has worked with Hollywood directors like Robert Rodriguez (Machete Kills and Sin City), has collaborated with Indian film maker S S Rajamouli on various projects.
"There is a huge amount of content created in India and a huge number of stories to tell, there are examples like Mahabharata and Ramayana but we don't have something like a Lord of the Rings. Compared to Hollywood, the budgets here are small. We can help film makers use graphics and visual effects in a cost-effective manner using our technology," AMD Corporate VP Visual Computing Raja Koduri told PTI.

The company has today launched a new graphics card, offering high compute and graphics capabilities, aimed at video design and engineering professionals in the country.
Priced at about USD 4,500, the AMD FirePro W9100 has a 16GB ultrafast GDDRS memory, which allows work station users to multitask efficiently across up to six 4K (ultra high resolution) displays, edit, colour-correct and layer in multiple effects to 4K video projects in real-time, Koduri said.
Compared to previous generation of graphic cards, the new product is about 1.5-2 times faster, he added.

"The AMD FirePro W9100 is designed to deliver ultimate visual supercomputing performance for the next generation, ultra high resolution workflows. This professional graphics card ensures smooth handling of complex models," he said.

Asked about the film makers that AMD is in discussion with, Koduri declined to divulge names but said it is looking at a more "direct" relationship with the various film industries here.
"Most Indian studios are using our products in some way or the other. However, now we are looking at a more direct engagement with film makers here to offer solutions and the right set of software solutions to work with our products to deliver cost-effective solutions," he said.
He added that though the film business accounts for a small percentage of the company's budget, but the margins are higher.

AMD has also partnered educational institutions like MAAC, which trains students for using graphics and visual effect.