In the same week that one global VFX giant has its AI division alone valued at $1.43bn another is on the verge of collapse. It is hard not to draw the conclusion that the two are related. Adrian Pennington reports.
For a long time the visual effects side of the post-production business has been notorious for wafer-thin margins and excessive last-minute client demands with deleterious impacts on a generally un-unionised workforce.
Covid might have been a watershed for the industry to change its working practices, but in reality, VFX facilities were more anxious than ever to scoop up work as it came back onstream, simply maintaining the status quo.
The rapid advance of artificial intelligence promises a cheaper and quicker path to photoreal VFX for Hollywood studios and streamers, at the same time as the tech fatally undermines the bulk of VFX jobs.
One casualty it appears is Technicolor...
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