The media and entertainment industry is at a pivotal moment of change. While the current outlook for blockbuster filmmaking may seem bleak —franchise fatigue, soaring budgets, an over-reliance on post production fixes and declining theater sales — this presents an opportunity. History has shown us again and again that upheaval can spark extraordinary innovation, and the media & entertainment industry are no exception.
In the 1960s, Hollywood nearly collapsed. It was locked into a dying model, flooded by formulaic westerns and musicals. Studios were showing desperation, with massive flop after flop, while television’s growth continued to eat into the film industry. Film executives decided to take more chances, and handed over the reins to younger, more innovative filmmakers, like Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, to name a few. And those new filmmakers brought with them new technology, including smaller, more portable cameras. That allowed filmmakers to shoot anywhere, breaking free from the confines of the studio system. That freedom helped to birth films like Easy Rider, which became a landmark film that spoke to a growing counterculture movement, and The Godfather, which has become an all-time classic. Both were part of a new wave of films that helped revive the industry and laid the groundwork for innovative and technologically-revolutionary blockbusters like Jaws and Star Wars.
But history tends to repeat itself, and we’re starting to see many of the same issues. Fast forward to 2024, and we’re back to relying on a franchise model that was stale nearly 50 years ago. Audiences crave something fresh, and when they receive it, they react. Take the 2022 film Everything Everywhere All at Once. It debuted at SXSW without much hype, but it won people over on its way to being a box office success, and then dominated the Oscars on its way to winning Best Picture. I believe that Everything Everywhere All At Once is the Easy Rider of today, showing how ambitious, relatable storytelling can inspire a new wave of innovation, at a fraction of the cost.
So what’s the new secret to breaking through the noise? Efficient technology and meticulous planning. As Richard Crudo, director of photography on Ray Tracing FTW, put it: “Filmmakers will succeed if they plan their movies like a complicated heist.”
The Hollywood system often looks at films – especially franchises – like products, leading to a “fix it in post” mentality that is closer to a smash and grab, shooting with no specific plan and hoping that the editor and VFX will fix it later (along with costly and rushed reshoots). This results in audiences blaming CGI for bad movies rather than poor planning.
Virtual production offers a solution, just like the new technology of the ‘70s created new options for the filmmakers of the era. And with new technology coming out every day, LED stages might be much more accessible to all levels of budgets. Filmmakers today can leverage a variety of tools, from industry-standard software like Maya, Houdini and Blender, to open-source formats like USD and MaterialX. New technologies like Project Arena are also making virtual production more accessible, enabling filmmakers to take assets directly from those tools to virtual production, without requiring an army of people to convert data for game engines. These technologies streamline workflows, enabling a seamless transition from pre-production to post production, using the same high quality asset for all of them.
Independent filmmakers can build, test and refine assets early, and it forces them to make decisions on-set, rather than try to fix it later. It drastically reduces costly production days, and simplifies post production.
To offer a practical example, when I produced Ray Tracing FTW, we were able to do 30 setups per day, reducing costs and improving efficiency. By planning thoroughly and leveraging adaptable tools, filmmakers can tell ambitious stories while keeping budgets manageable. For people familiar with these tools, a $30M film could be done for a fraction of that cost – possibly even $5M to 10M, without any loss of quality. In some cases, it might even look better.
While today’s challenges seem daunting, they also signal the potential for a renaissance. Just as auteurs of the 1970s reshaped cinema, today’s filmmakers have the tools to do the same. By embracing innovation and meticulous planning, we may be on the brink of a new era where storytelling and technology work hand in hand — a future where independent filmmakers create boundary-pushing projects with streamlined workflows and tools.
Chris Nichols is Director of Special Projects at Chaos (www.chaos.com). Chaos is headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany, and develops 3D visualization technology for the media & entertainment industry.