John Lasseter and Ed Kamal are obsessed with making 3D animation. They also have a premonition of the good prospects of this form of animation. When Eric is optimistic about the future of computer special effects, neither of them can think of any refutation reason. After all, the 3D animation that the two insisted on has not yet achieved any results, and Eric's vision in movies has been confirmed through many movies.
Having said so much, Eric put the detailed plan in front of Ed Kamal, and Ed Kamal was also aware of Eric's intentions. Although he is now making 3D animation, 3D animation is still a kind of computer CG special effects, and when Ed Kamal was first in Lucasfilm, he was responsible for the computer CG scenes in "Star Wars" . So it was clear that Eric wanted him to run the team.
John Lasseter is of course aware of this, with a worried expression on his face. After working together for so long, the cooperation between the two has become very tacit. If Eric transfers Ed Kamal to host the digital domain What about Pixar's computer effects department
"Eric, you know, although most of the technical problems of "Toy Story" have been solved now, Pixar still cannot do without Ed..."
Eric nodded: "I understand your concerns, John, ∑, I don't mean to ask Ed to leave Pixar, I just intend to set up a technical team specializing in computer special effects and software engineering, and Ed De is not only an excellent computer technologist, but also more familiar with computer special effects technology than most special effects people in Hollywood. After all, he started to touch computer special effects more than ten years ago. So I hope he can also be the chief technical officer in the digital field Officer. Lead the team."
When Eric talked with John Lasseter. Ed Kamal had been thinking quickly in his heart, and when he heard Eric's arrangement for himself, his heart began to move.
From Eric's plan, Ed Kamal felt Eric's ambitions for computer special effects. Although he still had doubts about the prospects of Eric's plan, it did not prevent him from thinking about this plan. Awareness of the grand plan.
Once the development trend of film and television special effects develops in the direction Eric said, then the digital field, which has begun to focus on computer special effects research more than any other special effects company, will undoubtedly become the industry leader.
What's more, there is also a plan for software engineering of special effects processing solutions. Although this plan will consume huge human and financial resources, once it accumulates to a certain level, then the digital field will undoubtedly become the overlord of the special effects industry, and its position will be unshakable.
Because when a latecomer entered the field of film and television special effects, when they were faced with a special effects problem, they found that the digital field already had detailed special effects software to solve this problem. Develop a solution, or buy software directly from the digital realm
The answer is obvious.
I pondered for a moment. Noticing the expression on the face of his partner John Lasseter, Ed Kamal, who had already planned to agree, said: "Eric, I hope that the headquarters of this technical research team in the digital field can be set up in San Francisco, so that I can Taking into account Pixar, and, although Los Angeles is the stronghold of the film industry, San Francisco, which has Silicon Valley, can attract the top computer technology talents.”
Eric nodded and said, "Of course, that's what I planned to do. It's okay to set up the team headquarters in Emeryville, and maybe we can be neighbors with Pixar."
It took a few more hours to briefly discuss the details, and the specific plan still needs to be negotiated between Stan Winston and Ed Kamol.
After leaving Pixar and boarding the Chevrolet commercial vehicle, Eric was relieved, and another important chess piece was dropped.
No one is more aware of the development trend of film and television special effects than him. Computer special effects will become the mainstream of film and television special effects in the future. Even Industrial Light & Magic, which started with model special effects, has closed down after the new century that created many virtual characters in "Star Wars". The model special effects department of the company will focus on digital special effects.
Moreover, the reason for forcing the software engineering of special effects solutions is not Eric's impulse, but after careful consideration. This plan stems from Eric's understanding of another development trend in the special effects industry.
After the new century, with the rapid development of computer technology, the threshold for entering the film and television special effects industry has become lower and lower, and film and television special effects companies have sprung up all over the world. It is getting worse and worse. In order to compete with Hollywood's original special effects giants, other states in the United States, and even other countries outside the United States, have implemented high tax rebate subsidies and other financial support for special effects companies.
Under such brutal competition, Hollywood's established special effects companies went bankrupt one after another.
Of course, it is impossible for Eric to let the fate of bankruptcy in the digital field happen again in his previous life, and he has no intention of saving the entire special effects industry. As a film producer, he is opposed to the special effects company in terms of economic interests.
Eric's plan is to not only keep the industry's absolute lead in the digital field, but also to maintain an absolute lead in the digital field through technology accumulation ahead of other special effects companies, software engineering of commonly used special effects solutions, and finally by selling special effects solutions and special effects software. It is hoped that the digital field can become an oligarch in the special effects industry and form a technical monopoly.
This kind of idea is not unfeasible, because now, computer special effects have just emerged, and big-name special effects companies are still nobles in the industry. If film companies want to make special effects movies, there are not many special effects companies to choose from. In this case, There is definitely no shortage of special effects film projects in the digital field. As long as you are willing to invest, then the digital field will accumulate enough special effects solutions.
After ten years, the threshold of the special effects industry will be lowered, and those backward special effects factories will find that many special effects technologies that need to be developed by the establishment of technical departments. There are already mature special effects software in the digital field, so these companies will definitely choose to buy software instead. It's not about spending a lot of money to develop it yourself.
What, we don't have the software you want
Don't worry, we have a strong enough technical team. As long as you pay a suitable fee, the digital field can quickly and cheaply develop the technology you want, which is much cheaper than supporting a technical team yourself, no
Like many industries, once a monopoly is formed, it is difficult to break.
In the previous life, Industrial Light & Magic originally had this kind of potential, because in the early 1990s, when computer special effects became popular, Industrial Light & Magic was the only one in the special effects industry, and the seven major film companies wanted to produce movies with excellent special effects. Always ILM. It is a pity that after the success of the "Star Wars" trilogy, George Lucas possessed a huge fortune that could not be spent in his lifetime, so he no longer had the ambition to develop Industrial Light and Magic into a giant. (To be continued..)