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Market research Previz + Motion Control company/service in Hollywood feature film.
Hi there! Thanks for contacting Wonder for a review of the landscape of the previsualisation industry in film, including the kind of technology that is used, particularly for motion control. The most useful sources for answering this question were industry reports and the DataFox database of companies in the industry.
The short version is major previsualisation companies working in feature film include Proof Inc., Halon, and Digital Domain. These companies use software, such as Maya, Nuke, After Effects, PFTrack, and Final Cut Pro, with several of them allowing motion control. While the previsualisation industry has grown rapidly in recent years, it's possible there may be a slowdown due to increased cost and potential for cliché.
Below is a deep dive of my findings.
PREVISUALISATION COMPANIES
According to DataFox, Proof Inc. and Engine Room are two major previsualisation companies in Los Angeles, CA. Both have estimated revenues of $7M. Proof Inc. focuses on feature film work and works on "20 to 30 films a year", while Engine Room works more in television. Other major previsualisation companies listed by Databox do not work in feature film.
Other major previsualisation studios working in feature film are Halon, Digital Domain, Persistence of Vision, Baraboom Studios.
Between them, these companies have worked on numerous feature films including:-
SOFTWARE
While not all companies were forthcoming with the types of technology they use, Halon has previously reported using off-the-shelf tools, such as Maya, Nuke, After Effects, PFTrack, and Final Cut Pro. Baraboom use "cg animation tools and virtual environments". Software, such as After Effects and Nuke, allow motion control.
FUTURE TRENDS
A 2014 LA Times article declared that "A decade ago, previsualization, or previs, as it is commonly known, might have been used to plan a single tricky scene. Today, the process can involve as much as two-thirds of a major action movie".
To date, previsualisation has experienced an upward growth trend thanks to its low cost, acting as a kind of insurance for movie studios. The process of previsualisation costs $35,000 to $500,000 or more, depending on the project size, but can save movie studios millions.
However, as the previsualisation becomes a larger part of the film, and more expensive, the cost to benefit ratio will narrow. Additionally, as Brian De Palma has pointed out, when everything is previsualized, you end up with cliché. Therefore, growth in the industry could potentially slow in the future.
CONCLUSION
In summary, major previsualisation companies working in feature film include Proof Inc., Halon, and Digital Domain. These companies use software, such as Maya, Nuke, After Effects, PFTrack, and Final Cut Pro, with several of them allowing motion control. While the previsualisation industry has grown rapidly in recent years, it's possible there may be a slowdown due to increased cost and potential for cliché.
I hope this information is useful. Please get in touch with any further questions and one of our expert researchers will be delighted to provide a response. Thank you for choosing Wonder!