Category Archives: The Mediascape

Digital Humans coming soon!

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Epic Games and Unreal Engine have announced MetaHuman Creator, coming later in 2021.

“MetaHuman Creator is a cloud-streamed app designed to take real-time digital human creation from weeks or months to less than an hour, without compromising on quality. It works by drawing from an ever-growing library of variants of human appearance and motion, and enabling you to create convincing new characters through intuitive workflows that let you sculpt and craft the result you want. As you make adjustments, MetaHuman Creator blends between actual examples in the library in a plausible, data-constrained way. You can choose a starting point by selecting a number of preset faces to contribute to your human from the diverse range in the database.”

Right now, you can start with 18 different bodies and 30 hair styles.

“When you’re happy with your human, you can download the asset via Quixel Bridge, fully rigged and ready for animation and motion capture in Unreal Engine, and complete with LODs. You’ll also get the source data in the form of a Maya file, including meshes, skeleton, facial rig, animation controls, and materials.”

Got that? See documentation.

The takeaway is that your digital humans can live in your Unreal Engine environment. Is this the future of movies?

My take: This reminds me of my experiments in machinima ten years ago. I used a video game called The Movies that had a character generator (that would sync mouth movements with pre-recorded audio,) environments and scenes to record shots I would then assemble into movies. See Cowboys and Aliens (The Harper Version) for one example. You know, in these COVID times, I wonder if Unreal Engine’s ability to mash together video games and VFX will become a safer way to create entertainment that does not require scores of people to film together in the same studio at the same time.

From Shorts to Features at Sundance 2021

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Oakley Anderson-Moore writes on No Film School How Shorts Propelled These Filmmakers to Make Their Sundance Features.

She profiles six filmmakers who beat the odds, had shorts at Sundance and came back this year with features. For two of them, the shorts were basically proof of concept calling cards.

Oakley says:

“This year, there were 1,861 narrative features and 1,642 documentary features submitted to the Sundance Film Festival. And due to COVID-19, that number was less than in previous years. Holy hell, that’s a lot of competition! How do you make a feature film that makes it into Sundance? For some filmmakers, a short version of a feature is a great way to prove the concept, not to mention get attention and funding. For others, their short film got them noticed by future collaborators. For others, it merely went to sharpen and hone the voice they would need for their feature debut.”

The filmmakers, their short and their feature are:

My take: I love that two of these features started as shorts. It takes a lot of perseverance to expand a short into a feature but at least folks can see your concept and your filmmaking chops.

Indie filmmaker pivots marketing strategy

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Evan Kidd guest posts on Film Independent how his Microbudget Feature ‘Panda Bear It’ Shifted Its Gameplan Post-Pandemic.

He starts by lamenting the loss of the way things were:

“I miss the community that accompanies sitting in a dark room for an hour or two surrounded by complete strangers. Strangers who embark on the uniquely shared but silent conversation that is watching storytelling unfold in the cinema. Every filmmaker wants to see their work on the big screen with an engaged audience. It doesn’t matter if it’s a crowd of five or five hundred. Putting your work (yourself) out there and having a dialogue about the message behind the medium makes the trials and tribulations of this industry melt away.”

With his second feature, Panda Bear It, a new marketing strategy was required, as:

“…film festivals, screenings and promotion typically involved many other people and a lot of marketing: shaking hands (RIP), traveling with your project to festival screenings big and small and being an ambassador for your own film. That slow burn approach allows you to meet your audience.”

But as the pandemic picked up steam, suddenly only social media and online distribution were viable.

Rather than invest in too many festivals with online screenings, Evan decided to build up his online presence:

  1. He created a podcast called Convincing Creatives. “Talking to a different member of our cast and crew of every episode. The types of conversations we would have with an audience at a film festival Q&A just put into podcast form. People connected with that. They missed it.”
  2. He also fleshed out his Youtube Channel. “I filmed a series of videos shot in my home office during lockdown talking about every aspect of production on Panda Bear It for a few hundred dollars in North Carolina. It grew into a series about indie filmmaking now spanning over 35 videos and counting. They’re essentially the DVD bonus features no one asked for.”

All this was to build up hype for their release on Amazon Prime. He concludes:

“The twists of this year molded me more as a filmmaker. I was truly and fully involved in every aspect of production and promotion like it or not. Perhaps this is a roadmap for future works? Filmmaking is a celebration of the human condition that I didn’t know was as resilient as my fellow filmmakers and film goers proved to me this past year.”

See his company RockSet and twitter for Panda Bear It.

My take: I love the way Evan pivoted. Not able to tour with his movie at film festivals, he doubled down on his podcast and Youtube channel. All indie filmmakers need to be all-in on every possible marketing outlet to attract their audience.

Best places to live as a filmmaker in 2021

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MovieMaker Magazine has just published their Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker, 2021.

COVID got you down? Fed up with your current town? Perhaps a move is in your future.

Here is the list:

HALL OF FAME CITIES

  • New York City
  • Los Angeles

BIG CITIES

  • 25. St. Petersburg, Florida
  • 24. Milwaukee
  • 23. Seattle
  • 22. San Antonio
  • 21. Kansas City, Missouri
  • 20. Washington D.C.
  • 19. Portland
  • 18. Baltimore
  • 17. San Diego
  • 16. Memphis
  • 15. Oklahoma City
  • 14. Cleveland
  • 13. Cincinnati
  • 12. Dallas
  • 11. Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • 10. Calgary, Alberta, Canada
  • 9. Boston
  • 8. Miami
  • 7. Montreal, Quebec, Canada
  • 6. Philadelphia
  • 5. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
  • 4. Chicago
  • 3. Austin
  • 2. Atlanta
  • 1. Albuquerque

SMALL CITIES & TOWNS

  • 10. Ashland, Oregon
  • 9. Wilmington, North Carolina
  • 8. Richmond, Virginia
  • 7. Tulsa
  • 6. Providence
  • 5. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
  • 4. Savannah
  • 3. Pittsburgh
  • 2. Santa Fe
  • 1. New Orleans

Of Vancouver, they say:

“Ryan Reynolds came home last year to shoot the star-studded The Adam Project, which features Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, and Zoe Saldana. But Vancouverites are more than accustomed to seeing famous faces around town at this point: generous, sustainable tax incentives, and temperate Canadian weather have lured many an A-lister up the Pacific Coast. Sandra Bullock shot an untitled Netflix film in the Chinatown district of Vancouver in 2020, and you can ponder what it might be about as you walk along nine beaches stretching out over 18 kilometers — that’s about 11 miles in American. If you’re looking to go back to school, British Columbia has seventeen educational institutions that offer digital media and motion picture production programs, including the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, Capilano U, and Vancouver Film School. Tax credits in British Columbia can be tricky, but it’s worth the money you’ll spend on a good accountant to figure them out. A production can receive a 35% basic tax credit along with several additional credits for particular types of projects and locations. For example, a digitally animated production done in certain locations could receive a total credit of a jaw-dropping 69.5%.”

Of Victoria, they say:

“Vancouver thrives as a big-city alternative to Los Angeles and New York City, and Victoria thrives as a smaller alternative. It’s only about 75 miles away from Vancouver, but getting there will require a combination of driving and a ferry — which takes about four hours from downtown Vancouver — or a flight, which takes about 35 minutes. Victoria is worth the trip. The Vancouver Island Sound Film and Media Commission notes that the island, where Victoria is located, has locations that can double for everything from Central Park to English castles to the French Quarter to the Napa Valley. Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters in Deadpool is really Hatley Castle, just outside Victoria, and Vancouver Island’s Highway 19 was the scene of a harrowing chase in Sonic the Hedgehog. We’d suggest referring to our entry about Vancouver for a taste of the significant tax benefits that await you in Victoria, but as we said there, you’ll probably want to enlist a tax professional. The commission will cheerfully direct you to qualified crew and production services, and your mood will be elevated by waking up each day to dreamy greenery and crashing waves.”

My take: so there! Five mentions on a list of thirty-seven places: we’re punching above our weight.

Shoot your next film in Virtual Unreality

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Oakley Anderson-Moore reports for No Film School on How One Studio Is Thriving During COVID (and Why It’s a Big Deal for Indies).

(The studio tour proper starts just before 14 minutes in this promotional video.)

“During the pandemic, one studio stayed open when most others closed. How? L.A. Castle Studios has developed ‘a better way to shoot.’ And owner Tim Pipher believes it’s the way of the future — perhaps no more so than for independent film. ‘I guess some of it comes down to luck,’ explained Pipher to No Film School. His studio has been slammed with work in the midst of the shutdowns. ‘COVID or no COVID, we think we’ve got a better way to shoot.'”

What sets this green-screen studio apart from others is the ability to shoot with a live-composited set.

Simply put, you and your actor can now create inside virtual reality.

How is this possible? It’s achieved by marrying movie making and video game 3D environments. The core software is Epic Games‘ Unreal Engine.

See the Unreal Engine website and its Marketplace.

Check out L.A. Castle Studios.

My take: I love this technology! Basically, it’s Star Trek‘s Holodeck with green instead of black walls. Keep in mind, as a filmmaker, you still have to address every other component other than location: for instance casting, costumes, makeup, props, blocking, lighting, shot selection and performance. Do I know any Unreal Engine gurus?

Theatrical revenue down 80% in 2020

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The Hollywood Reporter reports that It’s Official: 2020 Domestic Box Office Fell 80 Percent to $2.3B Behind China’s $2.7B.

“North American box office revenue plummeted 80 percent in 2020 amid the novel coronavirus pandemic and unprecedented theater closures, while global revenue tumbled more than 70 percent. Domestic movie tickets sold between Jan. 1 through Dec. 31 generated an estimated $2.3 billion compared to $11.4 billion in 2019, according to Comscore estimates. That’s the lowest showing in at least 40 years. The dramatic fall-off was expected, considering that many cinemas have been closed for more than nine months in the U.S. Globally, 2020 movie ticket sales are expected to come in between $11.5 billion and $12 billion, compared to 2019’s $42.5 billion.“

For the first time ever, the Chinese market outgrossed the U.S. and had the biggest movie.

THR quotes Comscore‘s Paul Dergarabedian‘s rosy predictions for 2021:

“The movie business will be forever changed no doubt, but movie theaters will be ready for their closeup and as things slowly return to some semblance of normal, they will star in an uplifting sequel of their own. 2021 will be arguably the most important year in the history of the big screen, and one that will bridge the gap between a devastating 2020 that tragically affected so many people and impacted so profoundly many brick and mortar businesses.”

Meanwhile, cinemas are doing any and everything they can to survive. Chicago’s oldest movie theatre has even become a COVID-19 Testing Center.

Deadline has the 2020 specifics for each studio.

My take: given that theatres were only open roughly 10 weeks out of 52, the 80% decline makes sense. I don’t see any return to normal until October 2021, once the world has been vaccinated. Even though No Time to Die is scheduled to open on April 2 in Canada, wouldn’t it have made a great title for everyone’s first movie back in cinemas next Fall? In the meantime, here’s Billie Eilish‘s theme song.

2020 in review, by Netflix

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Netflix has released What We Watched in 2020 and it’s very revealing!

Some highlights:

  • Searches on Netflix for ‘home baking shows’ went up almost 50% in March over February.
  • There was a huge jump in viewing of stand-up between March and April (compared to February).
  • Anime viewing was up over 100% in the US.
  • Documentaries and reality TV were watched twice as much this year.
  • Viewers also watched twice as much romance this year as in 2019.
  • Viewing of foreign language titles was up over 50% this year (compared to 2019).
  • K-drama viewing almost tripled.

Netflix concludes their report with a reflection on race relations:

“Most important of all, 2020 taught us to open our eyes. We saw this in the way we embraced My Octopus Teacher (about the importance of nature), Crip Camp (about the disability revolution in the 1970s) and The Trial of the Chicago 7 (about social justice). But it was most obvious in how we responded to the murder of George Floyd in May 2020. In the three weeks that followed his death, viewing of titles that helped us better understand the Black experience in the US soared — 13TH was up 5000+%, LA 92 up 1300+%, Dear White People up 700+%, Time: The Kalief Browder Story up 500% and American Son up 270%. And Dave Chappelle’s 8:46 video, which was shared with the world by Netflix is a Joke, became THE top trending video of the year on YouTube.”

Here are Netflix’s top five shows in six categories:

My take: yes, like everyone, we spent much more time watching TV sports, the U.S. election coverage, Dr. Bonnie Henry here in B.C. and our many streaming services. We might actually be responsible for that huge rise in K-drama viewing! Here’s hoping 2021 is better — and let’s us break our dependence on our screens for entertainment.

TikTok leads social short-video platforms

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Julia Sachs writes on Grit Daily that Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok Are Eating Each Other.

“Snapchat, which launched its own version of TikTok this week called Spotlight, will pay creators through a program similar to the TikTok creator fund. Spotlight runs through the Snapchat app, and will run similar to competing platforms like Instagram Reels—which also mimicked TikTok by allowing users to create short-form videos that will automatically loop.”

Got that?

Basically, these three social media platforms all now have similar short-form (<60 seconds) video capabilities.

She recounts the short history of short-form video (remember Vine?) and singles out Kylie Jenner (yes, of those Kardashians) as an instrumental figure.

Her article makes fascinating reading.

See also TikTok’s 2020 in review.

My take: I love short-form video! Kinda surprising for someone who aspires to make feature films, but I say the shorter the better. Vine was fantastic in its day! The creativity on TikTok is amazing and assures me that the new batch of storytellers will have no trouble keeping us entertained. Two hashtags to check out are #maincharacter (5 billion views) and #RatatouilleMusical (191 million views.)

2021: streaming to cost more

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Frank Pallotta predicts on CNN Business that Streaming is about to get a lot more expensive.

Last week Disney+ revealed it has amassed 86 million subscribers and “will have roughly 10 new series from Marvel and Star Wars, as well as 15 Disney live action, Disney Animation and Pixar series. Disney also said that 15 new films from Pixar, Disney live action and Disney Animation will be heading to the service.”

Oh, and the price is going up in March 2021. This, after Netflix has already raised prices for US subscribers in October 2020.

Frank argues that streaming subscriptions must go up to pay for the expensive movies that will find their audiences at home in 2021 and not in cinemas:

“Take HBO Max, for example. The service from CNN’s parent company WarnerMedia announced earlier this month that it will stream movies on HBO Max the same day they drop in theaters. Whether that becomes the norm or is just a quick solution during a pandemic is yet to be seen. But if it becomes a permanent strategy, consumers will likely see their subscription prices rise over the next few years. Producing a major blockbuster like ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ isn’t cheap.”

He also quotes Bernie McTernan, a senior analyst at Rosenblatt Securities:

“Disney increasing its content budget is a big deal for the whole industry, including Netflix. It is effectively raising the bar to compete. If Disney needs to spend $14 billion to $16 billion on content, then Netflix likely needs to spend well over $20 billion to achieve the same subscriber scale globally.”

Investors will foot this with the expectation of future company profits. But given that the rate of new subscriptions is plateauing, Netflix will have no choice other than raising prices again. (They have also cancelled their free month trial subscription.)

My take: and don’t forget that in Canada GST will become payable on your foreign streaming services come mid-year. Yes, streaming will definitely cost more in 2021.

Film Festivals move online for now

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Chris Lindahl reports on IndieWire that Numerous Distributors Pulled Films from Online Film Festivals in 2020.

He refers to a new report recently released called The New Era of Indie Film Exhibition by Jon Fitzgerald, Brian Newman and Lela Meadow-Conner.

They surveyed 100 filmmakers, film festivals and distributors.

The insights are somewhat predictable:

  • 70% of filmmakers expect to share in a percentage of online film festival ticket sales.
  • 79% of film festivals had films withdrawn after the decision was made to move online.
  • “70% of distributor said that geoblocking and ticket caps were decided on a case by case basis, but 60% of distributors said they preferred ticket caps on virtual screenings. 30% of distributors said that if a film they wanted to acquire was not geoblocked they would let the filmmaker know that would stop them from making an acquisition.”

Specifically, filmmakers want to see:

  1. “More breakout sessions with filmmakers
  2. More networking and access to industry players
  3. More live Q&A sessions with audiences
  4. More flexibility in viewing times, not just a one time stream
  5. Better stats and data after the festival
  6. Social component, more interaction with audiences
  7. More press and social promotion
  8. Audience data & email lists
  9. More help in creating revenue opportunities for filmmakers
  10. More open dialogue with the filmmakers
  11. More panel discussions & educational offerings”

My take: this report makes fascinating reading and illustrates the vastly different, and opposing, goals of filmmakers, film festivals and distributors when it comes to the festival circuit. I would say filmmakers and film festivals are united in wanting as much “exposure” as possible whereas distributors would prefer festivals to remain as small and exclusive as possible so they can further “exploit” their acquisitions commercially.