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Author: Lauren Brady

Meet Jaroslaw Blahuta

We love to give you an insight into who we are at REALTIME and we are our people, so say hello to our new automotive artist Jarek.

 

Tell me a little bit about yourself?
My name is Jarosław but people call me Jarek. I come from the beautiful city of Rzeszów, Poland but I spent most of my life in Reczpol. My first experience of 3D was projects I did in high school and I am also a big fan of Star Wars! So the R2D2 and Storm Trooper in the studio are pretty cool 🙂

 

What made you want to go into CGI?
When I saw Star Wars for the first time I knew that I wanted to create something from my imagination, I was always drawing spaceships when I was younger and was told by my teacher I had a really big imagination. When I saw the behind the scenes feature from Star Wars and realised the spaceships were created in 3D, that was it – I just had to be a 3D Artist.

 

What’s your role at REALTIME?
I am a 3D Artist in the automotive department and my role is quite technical. I work on the development of car configurators, using unreal and blueprints.

 

What have you learned since you’ve been working in the industry?
I have been working in the industry professionally for 7 years and every day I push myself to learn something new. But the biggest thing I’ve learned recently is a programming language and to code using blueprints.

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced and how did you get around it?
Around 2 years ago I was working UE4 project, the engine wasn’t as advanced as it is now. My manager wanted me to create a soft shadow and it just wasn’t possible, there wasn’t any ray tracing or anything like it. I tried and tried and then I got lucky, Unreal released a new function and I managed to make it work. My manager was so impressed  even the TD came over to ask me how I had figured it out. I was quite proud!

 

What has been your favourite project to work on?
At the moment my favourite project to work on is my personal project. It’s based on the Tesla power receiver engine and it’s inspired by the conspiracy story of the creation of the engine by Nikola Tesla.

 

Did you know about REALTIME before you joined?
Yes, I heard about this company many years ago, it’s great company and quite well known, and I’ve always wanted to work here.

 

Are there any upcoming things in the industry you think people need to keep an eye out for?
I think real-time ray tracing technology is the future and it will be standard for every CGI company. Some software like UE4, Unity or Project Lavina from Chaosgroup have great potential be standard tools in the industry.

 

What’s the best thing about working at REALTIME?
Working with amazing artists who challenge and help each-other, we also get to work on some really cool projects with world class brands, who I can’t mention…

 

Tell me a fun fact about yourself?
Believe it or not, the first 3D software (3dsMax 6) I ever owned was bought for me by my grandmother 🙂

Here’s something I’ve been working on the last few days…

 

Why the cars of the future aren’t coming from the brands you expect

There was a time when the mere suggestion of starting your own car company would single you out as an amateur in the industry. But that was some 30 years ago. Today, the notion of an automotive “startup” (for lack of a better term) is a widely accepted concept.

Look no further than the world-famous Tesla. It’s the brainchild of Elon Musk, whose prior experience was PayPal and SpaceX. Now they create one of the leading ranges of electric vehicles on the market. But they are far from the only example, with many exciting projects on the horizon.

 

Rivian

Rivian’s mantra was to create something that doesn’t exist. Founded in 2009, they now have locations across the US and here in the UK. At the helm is CEO Robert “RJ” Scaringe who created the company after graduating with a PhD from MIT. The two electric vehicles currently on the table – the R1T (a pickup truck) and the R1S (an SUV) – are built for exploring nature, a passion of many of its staff.

In their own words: “It’s a pickup truck that performs like a sports car, does well off-road, and has a range of a gas vehicle.”

They aren’t a small company either. They have over 750 employees, many of whom have come over from the likes of Tesla, Ford, and McLaren. Their Chief Technology Officer is even ex-Apple Mike Bell, who helped bring the iPhone to the masses.

 

NIO

Chinese auto manufacturer NIO has already made an impression on the market. They came roaring onto the scene with electric supercar the EP9 which broke records. Now their consumer electric SUV model, the ES6, is rolling out to early adopters.

Founded in 2014, the company has thrived in a short space of time. They now have over 9,000 employees working across Asia, Europe, and North America. Early signs look good, with the company leading in EV quality amongst its Chinese competitors.

 

Rimac

Rimac Automobili – named for its founder Mate Rimac – have set their sights on something more extreme. Their first car, the Concept_One, was built to be the best electric sports car around. Its focus is on sheer power, with a powertrain that can deliver the performance you would expect from a supercar.

Now, with the C_TWO, hypercar is a more accurate term. 0-60 in 1.85 seconds. Top speed of 412km/h. Still electric. Rimac’s technology is mind blowing. The current rumour is that Bugatti is looking to use Rimac tech for its own electric SUV. They deny it, of course, but you know what they say about smoke and fire.

 

Dyson

Holding their cards close to their chest, Dyson has at least admitted they are entering the automotive arena. There is no car yet – not to the public’s knowledge at least – as it’s all behind closed doors at their £200m restored hanger in Hullavington.

Recently revealed patents are all we’ve seen of the elusive electric vehicle, with many now speculating it’ll be an SUV. They’ve also been busy bringing veterans of the industry on board. This includes former BMW and Infiniti executive Roland Krueger. The car isn’t expected to launch until 2021 but surely an official reveal can’t be too far away?

 

The future

This is what makes the auto industry so electric in my opinion. That companies can spring up from almost nowhere and bring world-class concepts to challenge the status quo straight off the bat – exciting for any auto fan. But if these companies want to thrive, they need more than an excellent car and an unwavering passion. They need the marketing chops to break through to the wider market, as Tesla did.

They might not consider their CGI assets, both for internal and external use. Advertising renders for posters. Car configurators for their website. These ideas can be pushed aside in favour of making the launch. But this isn’t an either/or scenario. They can do both.

 

At REALTIME, we have worked with many well-known automotive brands to deliver startlingly accurate CGI models for a variety of uses and several launches. We are an extension of your company, sharing in your passion. If you would like to discuss a future partnership, contact me on [email protected].

The rise of free-to-play games

We recently discussed the new trend of autobattler games such as Auto Chess, Dota Underlords, and Teamfight Tactics. All are showing signs of becoming the next big genre in games to follow in the footsteps of MOBAs and battle royales. What one thing do they all have in common and indicative of a wider trend? They’re all free to play.

In the age of the internet, there’s never been greater access to a plethora of games that can be played almost instantaneously. With such immediate access, many have seen the potential for games that can be distributed for free and monetised in a variety of ingenious ways. 

 

Free to a good home

While you could argue the genre goes back to early PC shareware, most credit South Korea as the home of free-to-play (F2P) at the turn of the century. Across South Korea and Russia, these games gained significant prominence. They continued to spread across the world and, in the mid-2000s, games like MapleStory, RuneScape, and Neopets grabbed the attention of many cash-strapped kids and adults alike.

Games that were once paid for moved to a F2P model. Games such as Team Fortress 2 and MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic reached new heights of success. The stars of the current  F2P market include Fortnite, League of Legends, and its aforementioned autobattler spin-off Teamfight Tactics. All three currently enjoy being amongst the top five most viewed games on Twitch. Heavy-hitting  ‘AAA’ titles are making the switch too – most notably, Destiny 2. 

So why have F2P games become so widely adopted? While they will cost more upfront to produce and distribute, in the long-term, they have the potential to enjoy greater levels of revenue than if they had been a ‘traditional’ full-priced game. Their appeal lies in their ease of access and free availability. Committing to these games costs nothing but the player’s own time and most in-game purchases are merely cosmetic or completely optional. But therein lies the issue – if there are so many high-quality F2P games, what separates yours from the rest?

 

Watch and learn

The biggest F2P games have one thing in common – they know how to foster a community. Most of the dominant F2P games on the market were once newcomers themselves and had to build their community from the ground up. While word of mouth works wonders – you’ll struggle to find a man, woman, or child who hasn’t heard of Fortnite today – how do you convert those people to regularly playing – and paying – customers?

What can help attract more attention is a cinematic trailer. Cinematic trailers grab the imagination of the audience, weaving a story filled with intense action that plays out in a matter of minutes. It’s even more important in the mobile gaming market. Competition is fierce as you vie for the limited time of the average smartphone user.

What people crave is a community they can feel a part of. With a F2P game, you’re expected to update regularly, and people search for the in-jokes and easter eggs that reward their time investment. Look at the way Fortnite holds its audience with a changing map and sly winks to those in the know.

So if you’re looking to enter the F2P market, ask yourself what your community will be – why is it worth joining? It’s all too easy to fade into irrelevance. So how are you going to make your mark? The best way to do it is through a trailer that lets people know you’re here to stay.

At RealtimeUK, we have perfected the art of creating cinematic trailers that deliver on all fronts. We have worked with free-to-play games in the past, including Paladins and RuneScape. If you would like to discuss your trailer needs, get in touch with me today at [email protected].

TV VFX for dummies: what are 3D VFX?

We are in a golden age of visual effects. CGI visuals have never been more in demand. Your expertise in the industry may lie elsewhere so you might not realise the actual breadth and depth of what a VFX supplier like us can provide.

3D VFX are more than an alien invasion or a superhero fight. VFX is a multi-faceted process, one that we will break down over the course of our ‘CGI for dummies’ series! With our three-part adaptation of War of the Worlds looming, we couldn’t think of a better time to dive into the world of 3D visual effects for TV.

 

What is VFX for TV shows?

At its most basic, visual effects (VFX) are the imagery created, altered, or enhanced for a production. They accomplish that which cannot be done during live-action shooting. They aren’t to be confused with special effects (SFX) which are usually done on location during filming. Explosions are a common example, though they are also being replaced by digital recreations as these are safer and cheaper.

On a large scale, they can create the impractical or impossible, such as new background environments, props such as planes, trains, or boats, or life-like animals and creatures. But they are also frequently used for small, simple fixes and to save time and money.

As we said, they aren’t limited to your big-budget action flicks. Today, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a movie, TV show, or advert that doesn’t use VFX in some way. In the coming months, we’ll be covering everything VFX. Here’s what you can expect in our upcoming series.

 

Demystifying industry terms

Like any industry, the VFX sector has its own dictionary of jargon. It can make the VFX process seem like a Gordian knot, but every term has a simple definition. In this blog, we’ll break down the ABCs of VFX in an easily digestible way. You can learn terms like keying, which is where you replace the green from a green screen with whatever background you like.

 

How to plan your CGI elements

Creating your CGI elements is one thing; planning them is a whole other process. From concept art to pre-visualisation, we’ll guide you through the process of planning the integration of your assets. You can’t expect to direct your show if you don’t know where your assets will be and when. Look out for our simple step-by-step guide in the future.

 

Asset building

This might be the first thing you think of when you think ‘VFX’ – creating 3D assets for the production. You can create anything you can think of: from a squadron of planes to a giant three-legged machine and a simple crate, whatever you need. But even this aspect has multiple parts to it. We’ll save the details for a future blog, so keep your eyes peeled.

 

Particle effects

3D modelling can cover even the tiniest details, including particles like smoke or dust. Particle effects – or particle systems – are made up of tiny particles that, when combined, create the illusion of a greater entity. They will also have their own ‘lifespan’ of sorts, so you can realistically create something like embers in a fire or droplets of rain. The smallest details can make the biggest difference, so look out for a blog on this in the future.

 

2D vs 3D

If you read 2D and thought we were talking about animated cartoons, then this blog will be for you. Because when we say 2D, we’re talking about visual effects that can be achieved in a 2D space, as opposed to a 3D one. For example, your backgrounds might be 2D matte painting backdrops placed behind your actors. While 3D VFX are great, you can achieve an awful lot more cost-effectively with 2D VFX. We’ll dive into this topic more in a future blog.

 

CGI vs practical effects

How do you know when to use practical effects or CGI? Is a practical explosion better looking than a CG one? Hopefully, we’ll be able to break down the pros and cons of both for you, so you can figure out how to save yourself time and money during production. Look out for that blog in the near future.

 

Creating realistic, seamless 3D visual effects takes time and effort. Over the coming months, we hope you’ll find a new appreciation for this art. Check back regularly for another taste of the world of VFX. We hope to see you soon!

At REALTIME, we have the staff and expertise to carry out everything we just talked about. So if you have an exciting project in the pipeline and would like to discuss your visual effects needs, please get in touch with me at [email protected].

An interview with Paul McSweeney on the future of the automotive industry

We recently had the pleasure of sitting down with our very own Paul McSweeney to pick his brains on the future of the automotive industry. Paul is our Automotive Account Director and undeniable fan of all things four-wheeled.

So what does Paul think of the continuing rise of electric vehicles? What will happen to traditional petrol and diesel models? And is ride-sharing going to change how we buy cars?

 

Thanks for joining me, Paul. Let’s jump right in: as an expert in the industry, why is now an exciting time for the automotive industry?

We’re at a turning point in the industry, both in terms of propulsion technology and the retail model. With the advent of the electric vehicle and how many manufacturers are challenging the retail model, it’s exciting to see where it’ll be in five or ten years when these things have settled down and the trends have established themselves.

I guess what’s most exciting for me personally is the powertrain change. EVs are gaining more traction – if you’ll pardon the pun – as the range increases and the cars themselves become more and more exciting with each launch. 

 

On the topic of electric vehicles, do you think there will be mass adoption of the technology?

Well, my kids are car fans like me, and they take an interest in every single car that drives past. And to them, electric vehicles are just a part of the overall landscape. That might not be the case for my generation, but for the younger ones, they aren’t a trend – they just are. So yes, I think we will see mass adoption.

New legislation and general demand will drive sales. As batteries become denser, lighter, and more powerful, the packaging challenge of batteries will decrease and will drive more and more new concepts and more and more interest. It will happen from a customer and legislation perspective, I’m sure.

 

Then what about traditional petrol and diesel cars? Do you think they will go the way of the dinosaur?

Ultimately they will. Fossil fuels are a finite resource after all, so they will run out and we will have to find other ways. But I think we’ll see them hang around for a long time yet. And really, we don’t know how the industry will innovate. So it will happen, but I think it will be a slower process than some predict.

For the car enthusiast, the feel, the noise, the feedback, the engagement of an internal combustion engine is something that EV manufacturers aren’t able to replicate, even if the likes of Lotus, Rimac, and Pininfarina are indeed developing some very exciting looking EV hypercars. It might be, in the end, that vehicles with an internal combustion engine become a small – but stable – part of the market for customers wanting that particular feel on a track day or something like that. EVs would take 95-98% of the market for people who simply want to get from A to B.

 

How will this affect traditional manufacturers and their classic lineup?

They’re all pretty much developing their own EV strategy, which is great to see. Every single manufacturer has released some sort of communication about how and when they’ll be fully electrified, or at least partially so. I guess the thing the mainstream manufacturers need to look out for are the new “startup” manufacturers, like Rivian. They will make very convincing, properly funded and developed vehicles that will have a credible, world-class reputation straight off the bat.

Companies like Dyson haven’t completely shown their hand yet but you can bet your boots that will be the same. Both organisations have recruited the right people who wouldn’t be working with them if they weren’t doing something game-changing.

So the mainstream manufacturers have their strategies but EV design and manufacture are allowing startups to join the game more easily than if they had to sort out an internal combustion engine, for example, by themselves.

 

These new companies, how do you think they’ll fit into the market?

They’ll probably start off with a fairly low-ish volume in comparison to the biggest players, but I think customers tend to be less brand loyal these days. Media plays its part in that it’s much easier to establish a reputation for reliability – it can happen much quicker today. So if they are strong competitors – and I think they will be – they’ll be adopted reasonably quickly.

 

So Tesla might be one of the most well-known examples so far.

Yeah, exactly. A few years ago it was a small name but now they’re mainstream in their own right.

 

One technology that Tesla and others are working on is self-driving cars. Do you think they will change the landscape?

I’m not sure about self-driving cars. I think full, level five autonomy is a long way away. We can’t be mixing fully autonomous cars with self-driven vehicles – I don’t know how that would even work. It’s good that the world is having this debate, though. Traffic is getting worse and worse, there are more and more cars, so something has to give.

 

How about ride-sharing apps? Or services where you basically rent a car? Will they have an impact?

Yeah, those I do think will have an effect. I think the general ownership model of cars is going to change over the next 20 to 30 years as people become less brand loyal. And the idea of having a big hunk of metal sitting on your drive six days a week doing nothing becomes less desirable, so instead, you would hire a car just for the journey you’re taking.

If I were to be bold, I’d predict manufacturers would be worried about that. A lot of car purchasing is based on emotion, desire, and want as opposed to need. I think it might be a worry to manufacturers who think it will become less of an emotional decision. But I still think we as humans will find a way to add emotion into any ride-share transaction, as it continues to make a statement about you and manufacturers will indeed ultimately benefit from that.

 

I’m putting you on the spot here a bit: if we did this interview again in ten years, what solid prediction can you make about the automotive landscape?

If I had to stick my neck out and guess, I’d say electric cars will have a significant portion of the market but diesel and petrol will still be around. It’s tough! I don’t know if I can see a whole lot of progress in the autonomous process, but I do think ride-sharing could well be the new big thing. So progress in two out of the three topics we’ve talked about isn’t bad!

What I will say about electric vehicles is they’re much quieter than petrol cars; you can’t hear them coming. So that has safety implications that I don’t think the industry has quite solved yet. So if you’re about to cross a road you might listen for an engine, but with an EV it doesn’t have that. Will EVs beep as they go along? Do we create an artificial engine sound? I don’t know, but there’s definitely a discussion to be had about what noise these cars should make to herald their arrival around the corner.

It was a very strange experience to go to the Goodwood Festival of Speed recently and see a drifting demonstration. The first car the driver used was a Jaguar F-Type with a V8 engine, so you had the roar of this engine and the screeching of the tyres. But then he did the same thing in an electric car and there was just the screech of the tyres, which was very strange to watch!

 

I guess it’s a bit ghost-like.

Yes, exactly! You’re almost looking at the car thinking, “how’s that moving along the road?” You’re so used to seeing cars one way through your whole life. It’s a weird sensation.

 

Well thanks for your time, Paul. It’s been enlightening. Before we go, one last question. And it’s another difficult one: if I had to make you choose, what’s your one favourite car of all time?

That’s the impossible question! People who like cars and dedicate their life to cars never have just one. So the only way I would answer that is, if I had unlimited funds, I would enjoy making that choice. I can’t give you a straight answer I’m afraid!

 

Good answer; I’ll let you off. Again, thank you, Paul.

Like the entire automotive team at RealtimeUK, Paul is a lover of all things automotive. It’s just one of the many reasons we’re a trusted partner with many well-known manufacturers. You can find examples of our stellar work here. If you would like to discuss your latest project, feel free to get in touch at [email protected].