mexico - ProMéxico

Negocios ProMéxico 17
Over the past five years, Renderfam Studios has established
itself as a major player in the digital media
world. Animation, visual projects in 2D and 3D and
transmedia are just some of the areas the company is
involved in, says Renderfarm CEO Fausto Cantú.
Back in 1997, Cantú left his job at Softtek, an IT services company,
to start up Renderfarm with a couple of partners. “We saw an
opportunity on the animation market, particularly for render farm
services, and we put up our own money to make it happen. We’ve
since progressed from interactive to digital media products,” he
says, adding that “we have our own render farm, which gives us a
competitive advantage in terms of time and cost, and enables us to
have complete control over all production processes.”
The “farm” he is referring to is a computer system with enormous
processing power. This platform affords Renderfarm Studios
the support it requires at critical moments in the production
of animation and image rendering –the process of generating an
image from a model– in compliance with stringent quality, optimization,
resolution and formatting standards. It is this control over
its productive and creative processes that gives Renderfarm’s animation
a competitive edge in international markets.
Foreign companies are starting to take interest in Renderfarm.
“What the global market demands of a company like Renderfarm
is price, quality and service, which is exactly what we’re offering as
part of our internationalization strategy,” says Cantú.
“We are currently involved in transmedia projects in Canada,
are working with a prestigious company that designs web pages
in England and have cooperation agreements with partners in Poland,
Kosovo and Germany,” he says, adding that “we don’t create
contents yet, but are involved in various animation and visual processes;
we’re approached to make models and participate in parts
of the process.”
Among the services Renderfarm offers its international clients
its added value is to be found in its 360 packages, which include
products ranging from animation to film projects and web pages.
The animated commercials Renderfarm created for Mexico
City’s Electoral Institute (IEDF) are a recent example of the studio’s
work and are currently being aired on television, along with
its commercials in Disney XD for children’s quilts.
Boasting annual growth of between 15% and 20%, Renderfarm
is a “gazelle” of the digital media jungle. “The digital media industry
is exploding in Mexico. The possibilities are endless. The
creative industries are expanding worldwide. Mexico is starting to
participate and, in my opinion, we will excel in the creation of contents,
as opposed to production aspects,” says Cantú, who bases his
predictions not only on the talent and creativity of Mexicans but
also on cultural competitive advantages.
“That is our main weapon in the battle against countries like
India. Other countries view what we do, what we manufacture, as
being of a high standard but we’re trying to carve out new paths.”
Meanwhile, Renderfarm Studios is on the hunt for homegrown
talent and has set up a training program to single out prospective
recruits. “We are also working on a storytellers program and
multiplatform strategies with a view to offering a complete package
with a communications strategy for storytellers, putting us on
track to becoming a digital media agency,” concludes Cantú. n
www.renderfarm.com.mx