Flat Earth VFX

Some new (to me at least) and interesting info in this morning’s seven and a half minute NPR story about the Rhythm & Hues studio in Mumbai that recently completed work on The Golden Compass and Alvin and the Chipmunks:

• India is on track to take $1 billion/year of Hollywood computer graphics production within the next few years.

• Tax breaks in the UK are so generous they make it difficult for US studios to compete DESPITE the unprecedentedly weak dollar.

• Talent costs, which would not logically decline over time (or ever) in the west, are low in Mumbai and Hyderabad - it’s the connectivity costs which are high. Connectivity is a commodity which would logically decline over time, in many cases rapidly.

• Perhaps most significant, there’s clearly no marginalizing the contributions made by the 200 person Mumbai office, who are heard being congratulated for work on the Monkey in Golden Compass - a major CG character. The CG creature (animal) work on that film has received universal praise; some claim it’s the best yet in any film (I haven’t seen Golden Compass yet and can’t comment).

This is not like the in-betweening studios that do The Simpsons - the Mumbai R&H office is heard receiving credit for a major breakthrough with the monkey (“a central CG character”) in Golden Compass.

I corresponded with a couple of R&H folks (from the main L.A. studio) who said that the job simply wouldn’t have been possible without Mumbai, that it allowed them to bid a bigger job than had been in their scope (so everyone benefited) and that although the Mumbai folks started out with the ‘simple’(meaning easier to work on from remote) stuff—roto, tracking, and simple compositing, and gradually introducing the more difficult stuff as communications problems got solved, and their capacity and capability increased.

It looks like a nice place to work!

This Revolution Will (by definition) Be Televised

To paraphrase Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore, this writer’s strike will end someday. Amid more and more speculation as to the irreperable damage being done to the Hollywood studio system is a major ray of hope for thousands of aspiring filmmakers - not just those outside the system currently, but even those striking writers - particularly the ones with an entrepreneurial streak.

And help is lining up. Just today, the mother of all alternative distribution channels, YouTube, announced a somewhat unclear yet promising expansion of its revenue sharing model which, when combined with their earlier announcement (also vague) that quality will improve in 2008 starts to make digital distribution a real and appealing option. Meanwhile, Flash 9 now supports HD, one more arrow in the arsenal of AMP beta.

Mark my words: the differentiator on youtube will move from sensationalism t0 production values, or the public will move on from youtube to the distributor that has them. A well-written story with poor visuals is certainly better than a fabulous looking vacuum of ideas, but a good looking, entertaining movie or series that can be created without the middleman? Now there’s the money. All it takes is teamwork by people who can write, edit, pull off some great color or visual effects work, light, and/or shoot.

There’s some fun and adventure to be had here.

Page 1 of 1 pages