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Author: Lauren Brady

Are we ready for the “Netflix of gaming”?

The games industry is currently holding its breath. The start of the next gen battle is almost begun and we have some prices at last. The Xbox Series X and its smaller companion, the Xbox Series S, will cost $499 and $299 respectively (around £449 and £249). The PS5 is on an even playing field, with a cost of $499 for the standard edition and $399 for the digital edition (£449 and £359). But while we wait for the November releases, everyone is sort of just twiddling their thumbs.

To pass the time, some have turned to the wonders of Xbox’s Game Pass – a library of games you can peruse at your own pace for just pounds a month. And it isn’t the only such service out there. There’s also Uplay Plus, EA Play, PlayStation Now, and even Apple Arcade.

It’s the “Netflix-ification” of gaming and has gathered a lot of steam. This isn’t shaping up to be a flash-in-the-pan fad like motion controls; it has the potential to be what defines the next generation. Not consoles, but services. But is this a good future for gaming? Or will cracks begin to show?

 

The competition

So who are the big players shaking up to be? Xbox Game Pass might have the strongest library so far due to their heavy investment in third-party studios. Now those investments are starting to pay off. At their recent showcase, they revealed a flurry of games, all of which are headed to Game Pass day one. Recently purchased studio Obsidian released a preview build of Grounded and announced their new RPG, Avowed. Ninja Theory also showed off Hellblade 2. And we would be remiss to mention Rare’s Everwild. All in all, their library currently has over 100 games and will grow quickly.

But with Xbox’s All Access deal likely coming to the Series X, the prospect becomes harder to resist. For a $35 per month contract, players can get a Series X console plus access to Game Pass. It’s no different from a mobile phone contract and is an appealing option for anyone who can’t foot the upfront cost.

Their largest competitor, PlayStation, will struggle to match that. They have PlayStation Now, born from the ashes of OnLive (which PlayStation purchased), creating Sony’s own cloud gaming platform. Just like Game Pass, it features a collection of first- and third-party games, though we don’t see Sony pushing quite as hard as Microsoft does for Game Pass.

To complicate matters, EA and Ubisoft also have their own platforms where they serve up their games. EA Play and Uplay Plus both feature the studios’ biggest franchises. With games like FIFA and Assassin’s Creed, it’s certainly a big draw. Then, on mobile, we have Apple Arcade, which offers a more casual experience using the same model.

And while we’re here, we should mention both PS+ and the Epic Games Store. While they aren’t game subscription services per se (PS+ is an online access subscription and Epic Game Store is, well, a storefront), both give away free games to draw you into their service. Their intentions are the same as everyone above.

 

A utopian future?

On the surface, this all sounds fantastic. For a set price, you can access a library of games and play at your leisure. As games push over £50 and look to go even higher in the next generation, it’s an appealing prospect. Even more so if it’s something like Game Pass and you can access brand new games immediately. And with 10 million subscribers for that platform alone, you can’t argue it isn’t working.

You could say it’s more consumer friendly. We’re being given access to hundreds of games – mere pennies each. And the newest games too – Game Pass subscribers can play the latest Microsoft Flight Simulator. PS+ subscribers were given Fall Guys for free in August; a brand new third-party title at no cost. A more apt comparison might be Spotify, with the latest albums released day and date.

But that might not be where the similarities will end. Artists on Spotify don’t earn a lot of money from their streams – potentially as little as 0.006 cents. So 1 million streams would earn them a whopping… $6,000. Great if you’re a huge artist who can guarantee an army of loyal listeners; not so much if you have a smaller audience. If they can listen to you on Spotify, what compels them to buy your album?

The same can be said for games – why buy them if you can access them for cheaper? It might sound good if you’re a first-party developer with that insulation, but third-party developers stand to make less from actual sales.

And as pro-consumer as it is, nothing is permanent. Games can be taken off these services, potentially leaving you halfway through a game. If it’s a massive game you can pour hours into, that’s a lot of time lost.

 

In conclusion…

All of this is without even mentioning the competition presented by cloud streaming services such as Google Stadia. Its recent launch was solid and they have a strong foundation to build on. The benefit over the other options is you don’t need the hardware; theoretically, you’ll be able to play your games wherever on any device you please. Their Pro version offers a small selection of free games and, were that to grow, it could become a fierce competitor.

What remains to be seen is how sustainable the idea is. Right now, it seems like a dream. With these services, what excels aren’t the big franchises we all know, but the smaller ones who stand to gain a whole new audience.

But we need to be careful and ensure developers who need the support find the funds they need. We have no doubt that the likes of Microsoft and Sony have this in mind, and their pursuit to bring more studios into their fold is part of that.

In the end, their goal is to create an ecosystem where people stay within their loop. That’s what services like PS+ and the Epic Games Store are hoping to achieve in particular. They want to drive traffic to their stores and online services and use these sweet treats as bait. It’s a fantastic tactic and one people won’t complain about as long as they get to watch their library grow.

The future of gaming might not necessarily be a war of platforms, but a war of services. The industry is no stranger to operating at a loss to bring in numbers, and this could be an extension of that. The mark of a winner may not be the amount of consoles sold but the number of subscribers you have. How that plays out who knows; we’ll have to wait and see.

At REALTIME, we’re ready for the future of gaming. And with our clients, we’re working on bringing it to the gaming community. If you’re looking for a creative partner for your next project, get in touch with me at [email protected].

REALTIME Appointed Key VFX Vendor on Sky Original Drama

VFX Studio REALTIME has been appointed a key VFX vendor on the second season of Sky One drama ‘A Discovery of Witches’.

The second season of ‘A Discovery of Witches has been commissioned by Sky One and is being produced by British television production company Bad Wolf.

REALTIME has been briefed to create and design a variety of different magic techniques, using a mixture of FX and 2D techniques. They have also designed and animated a hero creature for the series.

The drama is a TV adaptation of the bestselling novel A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. It stars Matthew Goode (Downton Abbey) and Teresa Palmer (Hacksaw Ridge) and is shot in Wales and on location in Italy. 

Jonathan Rawlinson, executive producer at REALTIME, said: “We all watched and loved the first series of A Discovery of Witches. It’s great to be working with Bad Wolf on Season 2 of A Discovery of Witches. We’ve flexed our creature and FX designing skills to help design a truly unique character. Here’s hoping our skills stand us in good stead to help create another memorable digital on-screen experience for fans of the series.

“The project comes at an exciting time for REALTIME. We are developing a reputation for projects where creativity and literary excellence combine to make compelling TV series. And it’s always a thrill to work alongside partners who share our passion for screen dramas that live long in the memory.”

REALTIME is also currently working on The Watch for BBC America. The Watch is a fantasy police procedural series inspired by characters from Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. REALTIME is developing a number of creature and atmospheric assets for the show.

Last year, REALTIME worked on the BBC adaptation of the 2019 The War of the Worlds. REALTIME was a key VFX partner for the production, creating visual effects for the first-ever British television adaptation of H.G. Wells’ iconic novel. 

To meet demand, the VFX Studio launched a recruitment campaign which is ongoing. The campaign will see the studio become one of the largest in the North West UK region, employing a mix of up to 100 full-time staff and freelance digital artists by the end of 2021.

 

Notes for editors

  • More information about A Discovery of Witches Season 2. Season 2  opens with Matthew (Matthew Goode) and Diana (Teresa Palmer) on the streets of Elizabethan London, where they are hiding in time from the Congregation. Here in Elizabethan London they must find a powerful witch teacher to help Diana control her magic and search for the elusive Book of Life. Alongside the Elizabethan action, back in the present day, Diana’s beloved aunts, Sarah and Em, must take shelter with notorious witch hunter Ysabeau De Clermont at her ancestral home, Sept-Tours. Meanwhile, in Oxford, Marcus and Miriam take on Matthew’s mantle to protect daemons Nathaniel and Sophie, whose pregnancy is advancing. And Gerbert, Knox, Satu and Domenico are determined to hunt down every clue they can to Diana’s and Matthew’s disappearance, and the secrets their allies are keeping from them.

 

    • Executive Producers: Jane Tranter, Deborah Harkness, Lachlan MacKinnon, Susie Conklin, Pete McTighe
    • Directors: Farren Blackburn
    • Screenwriters: Sarah Dollard, Susie Conklin, Pete McTighe
    • Producer: Edoardo Ferretti
    • Production Designer: James North
    • VFX Supervisor: Steph Coren
    • VFX Producer: Antony Bluff

 

https://bad-wolf.com/productions/a-discovery-of-witches-season-2/ 

 

TV VFX for dummies – Budgeting for your VFX (part 1)

Welcome back to another part of our ‘TV VFX for dummies’ series, covering all of the aspects of the TV VFX outline, from the biggest ideas to the smallest details. Every part of the process is important, and each has its own quirks that might leave you wondering what to do.

That brings us to today’s topic: budgeting for your TV VFX. It’s a huge topic, so rather than covering everything in one massive article, we’re splitting it into two. Each one will be filled with thoughts and advice on the topic, so make sure to check back for part 2 soon. So let’s start by looking at how you can begin to work out rough figures for your VFX budgeting.

 

Initial ballparking at the script stage

Producers and production companies are often keen to get ‘ballpark’ bids from VFX vendors. This could be while a project is still being financed, or in the early stages of pre-production, when all the key departments are doing their budget estimates based on the latest script versions.

Creating a ballpark cost for a TV series at script stage can be a daunting and difficult task – particularly if the VFX vendor has yet to meet the producer, director, director of photography (DOP) and production designer to get a sense of the creative vision they all have for the series.

The production company or on-set VFX producer or supervisor asking for a ballpark cost often needs one quickly. The temptation for a VFX vendor is to turn around a cost based on average shot costs, rather than providing a cost that considers the relevant methodology and approach for each scene or sequence

Different companies and people bid in different ways. Some will err on the side of caution and allow for any eventuality, leading to a much higher bid. Others will go for the minimum cost for each different shot or sequence, assuming they will adjust the costs later in the process to meet the actual creative brief from the director, DOP and production designer.

The result can often be disappointing – both for the client and the VFX vendor. Clients might receive much bigger ballparks than they were expecting; or, conversely, appealing low bids. Later on, they may find those large ballparks reduce, as the vendor receives more information about the series. Similarly, very small bids can suddenly balloon when the full creative vision for the series is communicated to the VFX vendor.

 

Separating the asset costs

It’s common to separate asset costs in TV series that contain lots of 3D assets – whether it’s a creature or a spaceship.

It’s useful to do this so the production company knows how much it costs to create the asset in question. Conversely, if the 3D asset is included in the shot cost, the client won’t know how much that creature or asset costs to build.

Personally, I think it’s helpful for clients to know how much an asset costs to build. Often, it is less than they think and if the asset is an important character or creature, it is useful for the client to know then how much roughly it costs each time to ‘see’ that character in the series, but separately.

Once clients know how much an asset costs, it’s helpful for them to then think about using the asset as many times as they can afford. Creatures are relatively expensive to build, but once built, they aren’t that expensive to put into a shot. So if you are going to build an asset, then use it. Or rather, if you build an expensive asset, don’t just use it in one or two shots. 

The other side of that coin is if the asset only appears once in the series, do they really need it? Could they find other ways to use it? For example, if the asset is a digital matte painting, could it be re-used by changing the lighting or time of day?

 

Keep rebidding

For a production company or producer, the overall accuracy of a budget is extremely important.  The only way to keep on top of this is for the VFX vendor to keep rebidding the series. If a vendor boards a show that doesn’t have a VFX producer or supervisor on the team, they need to rebid the series following the tech recce and throughout the shoot as any key changes are made. 

If a VFX vendor provides a ballpark at script stage and doesn’t rebid the series until shots are turned over (and is not involved with tech recces and on set supervision), there will almost certainly be a dramatic rise in the VFX budget. The changes that happen throughout a shoot need to be communicated back to the vendor throughout and the budget adjusted accordingly.

 

Budget for clean-up costs

Last – but by no means least – in terms of cost comes clean up. ‘Fix it in post’ is one of the most overused phrases in the TV industry and is not something either producers or VFX vendors really want to hear. For producers, it means unwanted costs. For VFX vendors, it can mean budget for interesting creative shots being spent on clean-up that has no production value or impact.

While there is always a need to clean up unexpected or unwanted items from a shot, too often with a tight shooting schedule, clean-up work involves cleaning up crew members, crew vehicles, and equipment. These costs can be considerable, and they are almost always more than the client was expecting.

So my suggestion with clean up is that you should budget for it. Make an allowance per episode and stick to it. Otherwise, the costs can spiral; on many series, it can take up to 30% of the VFX budget or more.

You can clearly see just how deep the rabbit hole goes when it comes to budgeting. But there is still so much more to this dense topic. In part 2, we will look at what you can do to make the process easier and give VFX vendors a clearer picture of what to expect.

If you need a VFX vendor you can rely on to get the job done to budget and to a high quality, reach out to us here at REALTIME. To discuss further, you can contact me at [email protected].

 

Four ways to boost your trailer visibility with performance marketing

Our friends over at attract mode have written up some hints and tips on how to boost the number of eyeballs you can get on your video game trailers with performance marketing.

Stefan Wehler has been working in video game marketing for over 15 years and has supported all sorts of game developers, from Independent to AAA including Riot Games, Funcom, Remote Control Productions, Astragon, Zeuz and more.

Take it away Stefan!

You have pushed that publish-button and dropped your trailer like it’s hot. Sure, you know your way around video SEO and have used all the little growth hacks to get it discovered by your desired audience. You named it with a keyword-heavy title, tagged it with the most relevant search terms, and distributed it across all your social consumer touchpoints. You asked your team, friends, and partners to engage and share the video to the max.

But what if you are still not getting the number of eyeballs you have been looking to achieve? I’m not surprised! In May 2019, 500 hours of video content was being uploaded to Youtube every minute. That’s a lot of content to consume, and a year later I’m sure this number is even higher. The good news is that one-third of the global internet population view more than 1 billion hours of video each day on YouTube (source YouTube). The bad news is you have to find your relevant audience amongst these billions of eyes.

The is where Performance Marketing is here to help!.. Let’s have a look at your options on YouTube first. You have 2 choices on Google’s video platform.

TrueView Instream ads

When it comes to length, many people have the misconception that you are limited to tv commercial like ad formats
with YouTube PreRolls. To be honest, indeed, short-form videos perform quite well. But assuming your trailer is of top quality, the actual time limit is 3 minutes. Viewers will be able to skip after 5 seconds, which is why especially movie or tv trailers have been putting a micro- teaser for the full trailer in the first 5 seconds for quite some time now. Its ultimate goal is viewer rentation for the full length of the video.

But even if users opt to skip your video, it’s no drama as you will not get charged for the impression. The charge applies either if a user watches at least 30 seconds or engages with your TrueView ad, for example, by liking it or clicking on the link.

You can have these ads run on either YouTube exclusively or expand to partner sites on the Google Display Network with the whole wealth of targeting options coming with advertising on the Google Ads ecosystem. Go broad with an affinity audience and topics or niche with in-market audiences, custom audiences, or even single keywords and creator videos where you would like to see your trailer running.

 

TrueView Video Discovery ads

The Video Discovery Ads are a different breed of video advertising compared to instream ads. If you have ever done search engine marketing, you know that it takes a heroic effort to set it up, manage the campaign, and keep costs under control. But don’t forget: YouTube is considered to be the 2nd largest search engine on the internet, processing 3 billion searches a month. And it’s much more accessible and even more relevant when your target audiences are millennials, Gen Z or younger.

To place your video in the search results is much easier to achieve and cost effective with TrueView Video discovery ads compared to classic SEM with a video creative. Where In-Stream Ads play in front of other videos, Discovery Ads show up on the YouTube search result page, on the right-hand side-bar of the YouTube watch page, and YouTube’s mobile app homepage. Most importantly, these ads require excellent copywriting as you only have 25 characters for a catchy headline and two lines of 35 characters for the description. Your video thumbnail needs to be eye-catching as well to attract searchers to click on your ad. Motion only happens if users hover over the thumbnail, which will give them a short glimpse of the video content. The other big difference to In-Stream Ads is how you get charged. No matter how long users watch your video, you only pay per click. Sound expensive? It’s not!

People tend to think that both YouTube formats must be quite expensive. But in reality, you can run campaigns on a cost per view of 0.05 € or even lower. So as your trailer is top-notch, you shouldn’t have problems running on a 30% view rate. A quick calculation backward shows that a 10k € spend would give you 200,.000 views and around 6.6 M Impressions. That’s what I consider quite a return for your money.

Facebook Video discovery

As mentioned at the beginning of this blog, you will have distributed your trailer via social. The Facebook ecosystem holds another opportunity to boost your video performance. As context, you have to be aware that video has become a focus for Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg kept mentioning this in earnings calls over recent years. The agreement between Microsoft’s sunset streaming platform Mixer and Facebook live is only the latest sign of how much effort Facebook has been putting into upping their game when it comes to video on the core feed as well as on Instagram.

Boosting video views is baked in to the Ads Manager as one of the 11 campaign types delivering to both platforms. By default, the video view ad type will focus on pushing ThruPlays, which equals a watch time of 15 seconds minimum. Right after, you will be given a choice if you want to be charged by impression or ThruPlay.

To inform your campaign setup, take a look at Creator Studio first. The insights tab of Creator Studio is your go-to place to explore the organic performance of your videos. What is the average time people spend watching your video, how many 1-minute views did you achieve, and most importantly, which audiences have engaged with your video. Before you set up any targeting and budget make sure that you check these stats thoroughly and use it to your advantage on the hunt for more eyeballs.

 

Twitch Trailer blasts

In 2020, I cannot leave out Twitch for boosting your trailer’s visibility. You think the live streaming platform is only for gamers showing off their game skills? Think again, the number of monthly visitors has risen 88% between November 2019 and April 2020 (Source: Twitch), and the viewers come for more than games, not just since COVID. Music has gained popularity, sports as well and just lately Twitch has introduced watch parties where the users can enjoy the latest tv shows together.

On Twitch you can opt for classic pre-rolls, but, in my opinion, what works even better is getting your trailer delivered right to the community by their favorite influencers. Enter Bounty Board, Twitch’s platform to connect with millions of micro-influencers. It works on a Cost per engaged view (CPEV) basis, which means viewers will have to watch your trailer for at least two continuous minutes before you get charged. Once set up, your campaign is posted as a bounty to the connected streamers. The creators who see it and see that it lines up with their community can accept the bounty and start distributing your video. As micro-influencers typically have a highly engaged fanbase, the CPEV makes total sense as you can expect some good engagement numbers. Handpicking them would be tedious to impossible (read this blog if you want to dive deeper into the influencer funnel topic), but Bounty Board facilitates it for you at scale.

 

Hopefully the above has given you a good overview of some things you can start exploring yourself to improve the performance of your marketing campaigns. Ideally, you can even leverage a mix of them if you have the budget to do so. It will pay off!