Category: ves

https://www.animvfxunion.com/blog/mpcrag

https://kotaku.com/sources-unity-laying-off-hundreds-of-staffers-1849125482

https://www.vfxvoice.com/the-rise-and-future-of-high-end-episodic-vfx/

https://www.slashfilm.com/839799/the-most-influential-vfx-artists-in-movie-history/

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/netflix-animation-erased-executives-fired-220251819.html

Phil Rynda, whose official title is Netflix’s Director of Creative Leadership and Development for Original Animation, was let go this week, along with several of his staff, TheWrap can exclusively report and Netflix has confirmed.

tbivision.com/2022/04/20/netflix-shares-plummet-33-after-losing-subscribers-for-first-time-in-a-decade/

Announcing its Q1 2022 results, the streaming leader revealed that it had lost 200,000 subscribers in the quarter, prompting an investor sell-off that lopped off more than a third of the SVOD’s value in after-hours trading.

Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings then revealed in an earnings call that the streamer would roll out cheaper ad-supported versions of its service, with plans being explored “over the next year or two.”

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-61173561

www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/weta-fx-opens-vancouver-office-amid-global-expansion-1235125067/

https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/amazon-mgm-merger-close-1235207852

www.reuters.com/business/amazon-may-be-days-away-closing-deal-buy-film-studio-mgm-2022-03-14

news.sky.com/story/british-visual-effects-giant-cinesite-devises-plot-for-blockbuster-163300m-sale-12588150

www.theverge.com/2022/1/18/22889258/microsoft-activision-blizzard-xbox-acquisition-call-of-duty-overwatch

www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-60401124

Streaming service Paramount+ has announced a huge slate of new shows and films ahead of its expansion to countries including the UK this year.

www.cnbc.com/2022/02/07/matrix-co-producer-sues-warner-bros-over-hbo-max-streaming-release.html

“WB’s sole purpose in moving the release date of ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ forward was to create a desperately needed wave of year-end HBO Max premium subscriptions from what it knew would be a blockbuster film, despite knowing full well that it would decimate the film’s box office revenue and deprive Village Roadshow of any economic upside that WB and its affiliates would enjoy,”

“The Matrix Resurrections” disappointed at the box office, partially because of its simultaneous release strategy and partially because its target audience is older than the moviegoers who have been most active in returning to cinemas.

www.awn.com/news/att-spin-warnermedia-merger-discovery

Discovery CEO David Zaslav told CNBC that his goal is to hit “2-, 3-, 400 million homes over the long term” — twice the amount of subscribers currently boasted by Netflix. Even prior to the merger, WarnerMedia’s key holdings – Warner Bros., HBO, CNN, DC Comics, among others – control rights to the kinds of pop culture hits that incentivize subscriptions.

www.techradar.com/news/live/sony-is-buying-bungie-for-dollar36b

www.cnet.com/tech/gaming/sony-bolsters-playstation-buying-destiny-game-maker-bungie-for-3-6-billion/

www.awn.com/news/dneg-going-public

www.awn.com/sites/default/files/attached/1056363-dneg-agreement.pdf

www.cartoonbrew.com/business/why-did-netflixs-value-plunge-by-over-20-overnight-212642.html

Netflix is still leading by some way, with 221.8 million subscribers at the end of 2021. Amazon’s Prime Video had around 175 million active streaming users by Q1 last year, although it is not exclusively a streaming service. Disney+ had 118.1 million subs as of October 2021, and is targeting 230–260 million by September 2024.

Netflix’s stock price fell over 20% in after-hours trading, wiping nearly $45 billion from its market capitalization. … Disney shares are down nearly 6% this morning, Roku around 6%, and Viacom 5%. Anxiety spread as some investors worried about how much more the streaming market as a whole can grow. “They’re saying the streaming wars are over,” Rich Greenfield told CNBC’s Fast Money.

www.cartoonbrew.com/ideas-commentary/winnie-the-pooh-and-bambi-have-entered-the-public-domain-212036.html

It’s important to distinguish here that Disney’s (and other) adaptations stay under copyright, as do other books by the authors. Any adaptations, remixes, or extensions of these stories must be based on the original 1926 works. Also, Winnie-the-Pooh’s pal Tigger first appeared in a book in 1928, so will remain copyrighted for another two years.

Another important addition this year is a library of an estimated 400,000 sound recordings, all released prior to 1923. Due to quirks in how the law has developed, this is the first major batch of recordings to enter the public domain in one go. If you’re looking to soundtrack your film, you can start by exploring this trove of old blues, jazz, classical music, comedy skits, and more (listen to highlights here: www.archeophone.com/arsc-top-ten-nominees/#smith).

https://www.ft.com/content/ae756fda-4c27-4732-89af-cb6903f2ab40

From the Financial Times:

The top eight US #media groups plan to spend at least $115bn on new movies and #TV shows next year in pursuit of a video #streaming business that loses money for most of them.

The huge investment outlays come amid concerns that it will be harder to attract new customers in 2022 after the pandemic-fuelled growth in 2020 and 2021. Yet the alternative is to be left out of the streaming land rush.

Most of the companies — a list that includes The Walt Disney Company , Comcast , WarnerMedia and Amazon — are set to rack up losses on their streaming units. Including sports rights, the aggregate spending estimate rises to about $140bn.

But the fact that even the industry leader must invest heavily to churn out shows and keep pace with competitors has caused some investors to ask whether video streaming is a good business.

Netflix is set to spend more than $17bn on content next year — up 25 per cent from 2021 and 57 per cent from the $10.8bn it spent in 2020. The company expects to break even and become free cash flow positive in 2022.

“The market is increasingly concerned there is no pot of gold at the end of this rainbow”, the bank’s analysts said.

www.vfxvoice.com/the-progression-of-design-with-oscar-winning-visionary-doug-chiang

www.studiobinder.com/blog/best-movie-directors-of-all-time