How do you create content across film, television and games that are compelling and profitable?
In today’s cluttered digital-ignited media landscape, the universal challenge is engagement. Global demand for high-quality production, innovative storytelling and diverse perspectives are, perhaps, greater than ever before. But how do you find new ways to use content more efficiently and effectively? How does an entertainment studio, a broadcaster (linear or digital), a gaming company, or anyone tasked with creating original programming find those proverbial eyeballs – and keep them engaged? And how can you deliver a captivating entertainment experience with so many outlets, and content options, at your fingertips?
At Autodesk University, individuals from around the world from a multitude of industries gathered from October 15 to 17 in San Diego, California for Autodesk’s annual design and make conference for insights, innovation and connection. The goal was to solve problems, share expertise, and celebrate content creators across all of the communities served by Autodesk.
Bringing Characters to Life for Film, TV and Games
Founded in 1982, Autodesk has always embraced emerging technology. Today Autodesk is using artificial intelligence (AI) to, according to its website, “help customers stay ahead of industry demands and technological shifts without sacrificing ambition, creativity, or the need for sustainability.” Autodesk develops a host of software solutions used by content creators, engineers, architects, design professionals, digital artists, students, and hobbyists to push creative boundaries and speed up production processes. In media and entertainment, Autodesk builds the foundational tools used by artists to design and create computer animation and visual effects.
Software tools in Autodesk’s Media & Entertainment portfolio have been used to create animation and visual effects for almost every major Academy Award nominee and winner in the Best Animated Feature and Best VFX categories for more than 20 years. Artists at top studios including Framestore, ILM, Pixar, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Weta and many more use a range of software tools from Autodesk to enhance the movie experience for audiences year after year.
As productions grow in scope and complexity, Autodesk developers have advanced their toolsets for visual effects, color grading, production management and animation to meet the demands of content creators. And it aspires to make the CG, animation, and the VFX business more timely, more viable, and more accessible.
For example, Autodesk’s Maya is a 3D computer graphics application that runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, originally developed by Alias and currently owned and developed by Autodesk. It is used to create assets for interactive 3D applications, animated films, TV series, and visual effects.
“Autodesk’s tools played an important role at every stage of our pipeline. Maya acted as our primary platform for modeling, rigging, animation, and served as the bridge for rendering in our proprietary renderer Freak, equipping us with the necessary tools to bring our CG characters to life,” noted Alexis Wajsbrot, VFX Supervisor on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3. “Maya was instrumental in the creation of multiple variants of Rocket Raccoon; its flexible rigging and animation tools allowed us to create diverse iterations of the character, each with its own unique personality and expressions. This was key to delivering Rocket’s powerful performances during the film’s emotionally charged sequences that saw audiences reaching for their tissues.”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: View of the screen during the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Influencer … [+]
AI Unlocks Access for More Content Creators
Last May, Autodesk acquired Wonder Dynamics, a software company that combines AI with established creative tools to accelerate and augment the process of creating films with VFX. Wonder Dynamics co-founders Nikola Todorovic and Tye Sheridan are both filmmakers, and intentionally built their toolset, Wonder Studio, with artists and the existing filmmaking process in mind. Wonder Studio assists artists and empowers storytellers to produce studio-level films with heavy VFX and CGI on an indie budget.
“Bringing Wonder Dynamics into the Autodesk Media & Entertainment portfolio extends our history of empowering artists with innovative and accessible solutions that break down barriers to entry,” said Diana Colella, Executive Vice President of Media & Entertainment at Autodesk. “In the 1990s, we helped artists learn how to use computers to create 3D graphics leading to the industry we see today, and Wonder Dynamics is our next step on that journey.”
“By embracing emerging technology, we want to help teams and creators of all sizes and skill levels create more content, more easily, so everyone has the power to bring their inspiring stories to life,” she added.
Diana Colella, Executive Vice President of Media & Entertainment at Autodesk, addresses the crowd at … [+]
In addition to Wonder Studio, Autodesk is building more AI-powered features into other tools including Maya ML Deformer that helps artists build virtual scenes faster and more efficiently. The M&E team also recently introduced Flow Generative Scheduling, which provides the opportunity to create realistic and balanced schedules that are easy to explore and adjust throughout the lifecycle of any project.
Maya’s ML Deformer enables artists to work more interactively with complex characters.
News From Autodesk University
This week at Autodesk University, the Wonder Dynamics team showcased Motion Prediction, a powerful new AI capability in Wonder Studio. It’s the latest Machine Learning model that predicts human motion even if the actor is not completely visible in a shot or is obstructed by an object, like a table or another actor, for example. Motion Prediction anticipates natural movement to produce more natural poses with less shaking and noise. This new feature is the latest example of how AI can empower artists to push creative boundaries and speed up production processes.
“In a constantly changing industry, it’s helpful to familiarize yourself with the tools available so you can identify where AI can save time or provide creative possibilities that might not have been achievable with an indie budget,” explained Nikola Todorovic, co-founder, Wonder Dynamics. “While AI can assist with technical execution, it’s the animator’s artistic vision, understanding of movement, specific style, and emotional storytelling that will drive the final outcome. AI should be seen as a tool to enhance creativity, speed up production, and explore new visual styles – but the human element remains essential.”
“Wonder Studio allows an artist to still be an artist,” noted Dean Hughes, shooter and editor at Corridor Digital, an independent production studio. “It allows you to focus on being creative and the software just takes care of the boring parts.”
Autodesk is also further exploring integration of new AI capabilities to its existing creative tools (including Maya, ML Time Warp in Flame, and Golaem, which enables animators to populate 3D worlds with directable crowds of characters) to help accelerate artist workflows.
“As we’ve witnessed the democratization of content, it is the technology and software companies like Autodesk that have allowed us to share our stories throughout the world in a most compelling manner,” said Mike Tankel, Chairman at Phenomena Global. “These software advancements allow new generations of storytellers to share their authentic stories in an easier, more attainable and more affordable manner, assuring not only that new voices get heard, but have the desired impact as well.”
“AI is certainly positioned to drive a lot of impact. And what is exciting to us is having the tools to democratize storytelling and allow more people to be part of the conversation,” noted Autodesk’s Rachael Appleton, Head of Strategy, Media & Entertainment at Autodesk. “We believe this could lead us to a richer, more diverse, and inclusive creative landscape, which is what the audience is demanding. Delivering meaningful AI capabilities that keep our customers at the center of the creation process is what we are passionate about.”
More information is available online to view key sessions from Autodesk University.
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