Profile Presentation of Whistling Woods International - Institute for Film, Communication & Creative Arts

1. Whistling Woods
International
JULY 2018

2. Amongst the world’s best Film Schools
The Hollywood Reporter
has rated
Whistling Woods International
amongst the
10 best film schools in the world
in July 2014, July 2013 and
August 2010.

3. WWI - Achievements
Global Acclaim
Amongst the Top 10 Film Schools in the
world - The Hollywood Reporter
A Global Institute of Influence – Forbes
Associations with
Google (YouTube)
FoxConn
Red Digital Cinema
Reliance Jio
Sony
India’s first applied-arts graduate degree in
Filmmaking, Acting, Screenwriting & Music
WWI has launched, in association with the
Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India’s first
BSc / BA degrees in Filmmaking, Acting,
Screenwriting & Music.
WWI has pioneered education in
Producing
Digital Cinematography
MBA in Media & Entertainment
Content Creation for Digital Platforms
3D Stereoscopic Filmmaking
Cinematic 360VR storytelling
Alumni & the Oscars
WWI Alumni were part of the Academy
Award winning Animation, VFX &
Cinematography teams for ‘The Jungle
Book’ & ‘Life of Pi’.

4. Key achievements – Detailed listing (1/2)
! Amongst the Ten Best Film schools in the world, in 2014,
2013 and 2010 - The Hollywood Reporter
! A Global Institute of influence – Forbes (2015)
! Forging strategic partnerships leading to construction of
multiple world-class labs on campus:
! Reliance Jio - WWI Jio Virtual Reality Lab
! Google - India’s first ‘YouTube Space’ & ‘YouTube
Educator Lab’ for teaching digital content creation
! Foxconn - FoxConn Media Lab
! Red Cameras - Asia’s first Red education platform.
! Sony - Sony Media Technology Centre
! Alumni achievements:
! 1600 students with over 95% employed at several
leading Film & media organizations.
! Part of the Oscar Award winning Cinematography &
VFX teams for ‘The Jungle Book’ & ‘Life of Pi’
! Regional cinema across Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi,
Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada & Tulu industries have
been greatly benefited by WWI alumni choosing to
go back to their native markets and making films in
those languages

5. Key achievements – Detailed listing (2/2)
! Corporate Social Responsibility:
! Whistling Woods has provided scholarships & free
education to less-privileged students of over 5Cr over
the past 12 years.
! WWI has also provided full-time career education and
undertaken workshops for children of several NGOs at
no charge.
! Skill Enhancement:
Pushing the principles of Skilling India, Digital India and
Make in India, WWI has been contributing to the central
government’s skill enhancement mission through the
Ministry of HRD (TISS-SVE & CBSE) and the Skills
Ministry (NSDC – MESC)

6. Skilling India | Digital India | Make in India
Skilling India:
! WWI is, at its core, a career-education institute,
focusing on creating & training employable
professionals for the Media & Entertainment
Industry having graduated over 1600 students, 95%
of who are employed in the Media & Entertainment
industry
Digital India:
2007 - Digital Cinematography
2009 - 3D Stereoscopic Filmmaking
2012 - Content creation & monetization for the web
2015 - India’s first YouTube Space / educator lab
2018 - India’s first VR Lab focused on Cinematic VR
content
Make in India
! WWI educated students to make Indian content,
in India for global consumption
! WWI alumni work for top-level international
studios globally and on reaching a critical mass,
will have the ability to bring high-tech production
& post-production work from the global Film &
Media industries into India
! This quality of education, if dissipated well, can
transform India to the hub for global Media &
Entertainment content creation / production

7. Association with the Government of India
Ministry of Human Resource Development
! WWI is the Media & Entertainment vertical anchor
for MHRD’s Vocational education outreach being
undertaken through TISS.
! WWI has designed & written the Media Studies
curriculum for the 11th & 12th grade of the CBSE
board.
Skills Ministry - National Skill Development
Corporation
! Whistling Woods is a partner to NSDC’s Media &
Entertainment Skill Council (MESC).
State Governments
! WWI has been advising several state governments
on how the state can set up progressive policies
for the Film & Media education as well as creative
education as a whole.

8. School of Filmmaking
• BSc/BA degree
• Advanced Diploma
Areas covered
• Cinematography
• Direction
• Editing
• Producing
• Screenwriting
• Sound
• VFX
• Production Design
School of Media &
Communication
• BBA degree
• Post graduate diploma
Areas Covered
• Advertising
• Journalism
• Events & PR
• Business of Film & TV
School of Performing Arts
• BA degrees across
Acting, Music
Production &
Composition
Areas Covered
• Acting
• Music
• Singing*
• Dance*
• Indian Martial Arts
(Kalaripayutu /
Mallakhamb, etc)*
Whistling Woods International (WWI) Academic Structure
School of Creative Arts
BSc/BA degrees across
Animation, Visual
communication and Fashion
Areas Covered
• Animation
• Gaming
• Comics
• Visual Communication
Design
• Fashion Design
• Experience (UI/UX) Design*
• Product Design*
• Spatial Design*
• Transportation Design*
• Prosthetics & Makeup*
• Fashion Styling*
• Luxury Brand Management*
*To be commenced by 2020

9. Management team
Subhash Ghai
Chairman & Founder
Eminent film-maker
for over 40 years and
Chairman of Mukta
Arts Ltd.
Ravi Gupta
Executive Director &
Dean
Former GM & MD of
National Film
Development
Corporation, India, Ex
CEO of B4U Global &
Mukta Arts Ltd
Meghna Ghai-Puri
President & Director
A graduate from Kings
College, London. Has
been instrumental in
shaping WWI, and is
currently the
President of WWI
Rahul Puri
Academic Head
Rahul Puri is currently
the Managing
Director, Mukta Arts
Ltd shepherding its
growth through all of
its businesses
Chaitanya Chinchlikar
Vice President
Multi-faceted career
including Chartered
Accountancy, Business
Strategy & Consulting.
Founding member of
WWI, is currently the
Business Head & CTO.

10. The Governing Council at WWI
Anand Mahindra
Chairman of the Governing
Council
Vice Chairman & Managing
Director – Mahindra &
Mahindra Ltd.
• Anil Harish – Advocate, DM Harish &
Associates (Mumbai)
• Ashok Misra - Former Director, Indian
Institute of Technology, Powai (Mumbai)
• Kiran Karnik - Ex-President, Nasscom
• Purnendu Chatterjee - Founder & Chairman,
The Chatterjee Group
• Pradip Shah – Director, IndAsia Fund
Advisors

11. Advisory board at WWI
Shyam Benegal
Chairman
Eminent film-maker in
Indian Cinema &
National Awards
winner
A.R. Rahman
Ashish Kulkarni
Ashutosh Gowariker
Ashvini Yardi
Brian Tellis
Dilip Cherian
Dilip Kumar
G. Krishnan
Hema Malini
Jabbar Patel
Javed Akhtar
Josy Paul
K. V. Sridhar
Kamlesh Pandey
Karan Johar
Krishna Mehta
Mahesh Bhatt
Mahesh Samat
Nagesh Kukunoor
Naseeruddin Shah
Neeta Lulla
Om Puri
Pradeep Guha
Rakeysh Mehra
Ramesh Sippy
Ranjit Barot
Ronnie Screwvala
Shabana Azmi
Shah Rukh Khan
Shiamak Davar

12. International Advisory board at WWI
KANWAL REKHI
Entrepreneur & Management Guru, Silicon Valley
LORD DAVID PUTTNAM
Film Producer of Academy Award winning ʻChariots of Fireʼ
& other Films like ʻKilling Fieldsʼ, ʻMidnight Expressʼ
SIR MARTIN SORELL
Founder & CEO - WPP Group
SIR CHRISTOPHER BLAND
Former Chairman – British Telecom & former Chairman of
the BBC Board of Governors
LORD BHIKU PAREKH
Centennial Professor London School of Economics
DR. DEEPAK CHOPRA
Practicing Endocrinologist & Founding President of
American Association of Ayurvedic Medicine
SIMON RELPH
Former Chairman of BAFTA and is a governor of the
National Film and Television School
SANDY CLIMAN
Renowned Hollywood film producer. Has produced films
like Aviator & Miami Vice
CLARE WISE
UK Film Council – Former Director, International Affairs
PARMINDER VIR, OBE
Award winning experience with BBC, ITV, Channel Four and
several others
DEREK WYATT
Member of Parliament – UK, Chairman Associate
Parliamentary
SHELLEY PAGE
Former Head of International Outreach for DreamWorks
Animation
SUNIL THANKAMUSHY
Founder/CEO of DEEPBLUE Worlds Inc, an online virtual
worlds studio based in California, USA.

13. 5.5 acre campus - 150,000 sq. ft of built up space

14. Technical facilities
• 250-seater Audi with 4K 3D projection & Auro 11.1
sound
• 40 x 60 Film Studio
• 40 x 60 Television studio with a fully motorised lighting
grid
• 20' x 35' Multi-purpose studio
• Sony & Red HDR 4k HD Digital Cinematography Cameras
• 3D stereoscopic filmmaking
• 48 Track Recording Studio
• 96 Track, Dolby Digital Surround Film Mix Theatre
• ADR & Foley suites
• Digital Audio Workstations
• Editing Labs & HD Edit Suites
• Animation & VFX labs
• FoxConn Media Lab
• Apparel Construction Machine Room for Fashion

15. Faculty at WWI
Animation & VFX –
Yusuf Mehta
Key Faculty
- Jasbinder Singh
- Avik Chakravarty
- Kshitiz Sharma
- Gaurav Trivedi
- Jaydev Dhakan
Acting
Chief Mentor –
Subhash Ghai
Key Faculty
- Arvind Pandey
- Arun Bali
- Nikita Sharma
Cinematography –
Ashwini Kaul
Key Faculty
- Krishhnamurthy M
- Farida Mehta
- Manoj Peter
- Chandrashekhar Iyer
Direction – Binitesh
Baruri
Key Faculty
- Paresh Kamdar
- Abhijit Majumdar
- Indraneel Kashyap
Editing – Prashant
Naik
Key Faculty
- Rajesh Parmar
- Suvir Nath
- Vivian Pimenta
- Mannu Thakur
- Parag Turalkar
Producing – Rabiya
Nazki
Key Faculty
- Anupama Bose
- Priyanka Joshi
Screenwriting –
Anjum Rajabali
Key Faculty
- Ashwini Malik
- Vikas Sharma
Sound Recording
& Design –
Sudipta Basu
Key Faculty
- Rakesh Ranjan
- Bhaskar Roy
- Tunmay Bose
Media &
Communication –
Laili Dutta
Key Faculty
- Meenakshi
Upadhyay
- Meenakshi CV
- Utkarsha Kotian
Fashion
– Nisha
Chanda
Key Faculty
- Bijal Vora
- Bhalinda Bawa
- Rubina Gautam
Music –
Sangeeta
Shankar
Key Faculty
- Vijay Kurien
- D Wood
Design –
Milindo
Taid

16. Guest faculty at WWI
Rakeysh Mehra
Vishal Bharadwaj
Ashutosh Gowarikar
Rajkumar Hirani
Imtiaz Ali
Shimit Amin
Nandita Das
Vikramaditya Motwane
Shyam Benegal
R Balki
Govind Nihalani
Anurag Kashyap
Zoya Akhtar
Ritesh Sindhwani
Farah Khan
Sukhwinder Singh
Jaya Bachchan
Tigmanshu Dhulia
Nagesh Kukunoor
Vidya Balan
Shabana Azmi
Karan Johar
Kamlesh Pandey
Anil Kapoor
Pankaj Kapur
Gulzar
A snapshot of leading industry professionals who
regularly conduct master-classes at WWI

17. International guest faculty at WWI
Danny Boyle
Ashok Amritraj
Syd Field
Guillermo Navarro
Craig Caldwell
Claude Lelouch
Theo Angelopoulis
Leonard Goldberg
Oliver Assayas
Steve Barron
Shelley Page
Tom Abrams
Eric Reiwer
Trevor Griffiths
Dan Wolman
Julie Taymour
Eliot Goldenthal
Steve Ahern
WWI was set up with the goal of graduating a global
film-maker, catering to a global audience. We ensure,
hence, that students are exposed to leaders from the
international media industry.

18. Where do our alumni work?

19. Technology Partners

20. Technology
Partnerships
&
Development
Labs
• Whistling Woods has played a key role in the
technological advancement of the Indian Film
& Media industry
• Over the past decade, working with Tech
Partners, WWI has introduced several new
tech / workflows to our students & the Indian
industry
• This section outlines some of the key
partnerships that Whistling Woods has
undertaken with Technology companies

21. Whistling Woods
International &
• Foxconn & Whistling Woods have entered into a
Memorandum of Understanding to set up the
Foxconn Media Lab
• The lab, set up in 2015, continues to aid the
training of students in content creation for digital
platforms

22. Whistling Woods
International &
• Google (YouTube) & Whistling Woods have associated
to set up The YouTube Space Mumbai - the 7th global
YouTube Space (India’s first)
• The space also runs the ‘YouTube Educator Lab’ (India’s
first) teaching content creation, distribution &
monetisation for digital platforms.

23. • Being the pioneer in Digital Cinematography education in India since
2006, over the years WWI has worked with RED in many ways.
• In late 2015, the association took to the next stage with WWI
becoming Red’s first REDucation partner in India
• In addition to camera grants, Red has been conducting workshops on
campus for its students on Digital Cinematography & usage of Red
Cameras
• Whistling Woods students have been using high-end RED Cameras in
their projects, with great flair & success
Whistling Woods International & Red Digital Cinema

24. Whistling Woods
International &
• Sony having recognized WWI as a leader in the Film & Media education
sector in Asia has set up a Sony Media Technology Center (SMTC) at WWI.
• This is the 3rd such center globally and the only one that is in partnership;
the other two (in California & London) are standalone centers
• The SMTC focuses on new and emerging technology in the fields of Digital
Filmmaking (2k, 4k, HDR, High Speed)
• Apart from equipping the SMTC with the latest technology, Sony also
stations on campus their key technology experts from whom Whistling
Woods students & the Indian film industry & learn a great deal

25. Whistling Woods International & Reliance Jio
• The Whistling Woods JIO VR Lab has been set up in
February 2018 to create the first generation of
cinematic VR filmmakers, in the Indian Film, Media &
Entertainment industry.
• This is one of India’s first Industry-Academia partnerships in the technological
evangelization of the Indian Film, Media & Entertainment industry
• The lab will bring in an understanding of fiction narrative storytelling, state-of-the art
technology, workflows & global best practices into the Indian VR ecosystem.

26. WWI’s University
Partnership
The Tata Institute of Social
Sciences & Whistling Woods
International have partnered to
offer Graduate Degrees,
Advanced Diplomas & Diplomas
in Film & Media Education

27. Global academic affiliations
Griffith University
Deakin University
& Victorian College of
the Arts, University of
Melbourne
Principal
Partners:
Advanced
Standing for
Graduate and
Postgraduate
programs,
Student
Exchanges &
Active Study
Groups
In Line
Partners:
Short
Customised
Courses,
Workshops ,
Sharing of
Library
Resources,
Student Film
Exchanges
Le Libera
Università di Lingue
e Comunicazione
Gobelins
Norsk Film Institute
Seneca
Syracuse
SVA
Escuela Internacional
de Cine y TV
Bermuda
College
Hochschule für Gestaltung
Offenbach
Leeds
LCC
Hertfordshire
RHU
Teesside
Bradford
Filmakademie
La Fémis
QUT
Chapman
La Universidad
del Cine
Simon
Fraser
University
Univ of
Calgary
African
Film & TV
Academy
AFTRS

28. Key academic affiliations
WWI is a FULL
member of
CILECT, an
exclusive global
association of
film schools.
There are less
than 160 film
schools that are
FULL members
of CILECT.

29. Whistling Woods’ mission is
to be the thought leader
for Film & Media Arts
globally

30. Thank You
Chaitanya Chinchlikar
Vice President
chaitanya.c@whistlingwoods.net
+91 22 30916030