Lauren Brady, Author at REALTIME

Making the real unreal

The games industry has always strived to be on an equal footing with Hollywood. Over the decades, the battlegrounds have always been fought on the playing fields of graphics and visual effects as games fought to be taken seriously as a valid medium in their own right. With games having now financially eclipsed the movie industry, the journey has been a long road to achieve the lifelike cinematic experiences we enjoy today.

A critical step in reaching this level was delivering life-like digital replicas of actors – the opportunity to add ‘star power’ to a game was once the holy grail in competing with Hollywood and one that the games industry would not give up on lightly. However, it was a rough journey – just ask Pierce Brosnan’s digital double from the N64’s GoldenEye or Max Payne from the eponymous series, a man who looked like he had been hit in the face with a shovel. But as technology developed so did our ability to generate more detailed likenesses which, in turn, has allowed us to create emotive characters, leading to the opportunity for more emotionally engaging narratives.

The past

While digital doubles in video games are nothing new, it’s only since the advent of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 that the technology has become powerful enough to move beyond badly pixelated representations of action stars in (usually) poorly received licensed games based on the latest blockbuster. It was during this generation of consoles that motion capture technology came to the fore, ultimately opening the doors to more nuanced ‘performance’ capture techniques that are so prevalent today.

Master of performance capture, Andy Serkis, brought his acting talents to the PS3 exclusive Heavenly Sword, and later multi-platform title Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. Having already forged a solid reputation for his captured performances as Gollum in The Lord of The Rings, being able to attract such heavy-weight acting talent added a new level of gravitas to the medium of games. These games proved that Hollywood and movies did not have a monopoly on cinematically-driven narrative and that there was a role for not only great acting in games, but that it could compete for the best star talent. But, of course, Hollywood is driven by ego, and in order to attract the ‘star’ names, the technology would need to advance to the point where actors would not only be ‘acclaimed’ for their performance but also ‘recognisable’.

Advances in photogrammetry, as used to great effect in this War Thunder: Heroes trailer, have enabled the likenesses of real-world actors to be digitally re-created. As in this case, the actors were scanned in order to digitally transport them to another world that would have otherwise been too costly to recreate – World War II. In this instance, the technology was used to capture freeze-framed emotion but can be used effectively to deliver more performance-driven pieces that leverage the star power of known actors. Even in the absence of photogrammetry, it’s still possible to recreate the likeness of famous talent. The Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming Trailer (which RealtimeUK produced for Yoozoo Games, just sayin’) was created using assets that had been created from photo-reference by our talented team of in-house artists.

The present

The use of performance capture in video games is continuing to increase, as has the use of Hollywood actors. Ellen Page, of Juno and Inception, was the main character of Quantic Dream’s Beyond: Two Souls. 2015’s horror-hit Until Dawn recruited the likes of (now Oscar-winning) Rami Malek, Hayden Panettiere, and Peter Stormare – all of them instantly recognisable within the game.

Perversely, the lines between games and movies and TV continues to blur, with the technology being taken to a new level in the highly anticipated new game from Hideo Kojima, Death Stranding. The game’s trailer not only features heavy-weight acting talent in Norman Reedus and Mads Mikkelsen but also features Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro making an appearance in the trailer – surely a Papal blessing for games as a medium.

Games are coming full circle – Whereas once games were trying to emulate movie experiences, they are now arguably leading and driving movies and TV forward – something so evidently demonstrated by Netflix and their Black Mirror ‘Bandersnatch’ episode which allowed the viewer (or ‘player’) to determine the outcome of the story.

The future

The ability to digitally recreate an individual’s likeness and have them give a convincing performance is leading to all kinds of opportunities – some exciting and some daunting. Again, as ever, it is games technology that is driving the way forward, with all (square) eyes now on UE4. Once the preserve of games, UE4 is being used to create digital doubles that are closer to real life than ever before. 2018’s demo of Andy Serkis performing a monologue from ‘Macbeth’ is shown to use both his own likeness and that of an alien – both rendered in real-time using UE4. Nothing so expertly demonstrates the flexibility and potential for captured performance.

For a long time, games were viewed as being a poor cousin to that of TV and film. However, the advances in technology, initiated and driven by the games industry, are now challenging that of TV and film. Just as games now push into the boundaries of TV and film, RealtimeUK is actively pursuing its own future in this rapidly evolving and exciting area. The recreation of lifelike digital doubles that take advantage of the technologies we have been exposed to over our many years in working with the games Industry is just one of a number of exciting opportunities that our clients can now take full advantage of.

RealtimeUK can turn the real into the unreal, with stunningly-accurate recreations of famous faces. Our expertise with the Unreal Engine and various other methods makes us the obvious choice for your next project. Get in touch with me today at [email protected] to discuss more.

Are technological developments set to disrupt the automotive industry?

The automotive industry is at an interesting point. Consumers are in the literal and figurative driving seat; their habits are shaping the car production process from initial concept through to retail purchase. As EY put it, we’re heading towards a customer-centric world.

It affects the technology put into our vehicles. A more environmentally-conscious world will want eco-friendly, electric vehicles. A 24/7, ever-connected lifestyle demands cars that are digitally capable. And upcoming generations, who have it all in the palm of their hands, will want a simplified, mobile buying experience. How will these trends evolve in the future and what potential technology could we see rise to the top in the automotive industry in the years to come?

Better tech

While consumers want cars that are good for the environment, they will always put their own convenience first. The power of the engine isn’t as important to people as the car’s safety, phone connectivity, space, or comfort. What they would love, according to Deloitte, is a car that keeps them up to date on traffic or the state of their car.

This could manifest in future cars as an AR dashboard. All relevant information would be displayed on the windscreen, Minority Report style. It’s been a concept in the works since at least 2012 when Mercedes-Benz showed the tech off at CES.

Cars connecting to mobile devices isn’t new, but there’s definitely room for further integration. Using AI and machine learning, predictive vehicle technology can automate the setting up process and automatically adjust application preferences based on the driver. It can also be used to predict collisions and when the vehicle needs maintaining.

All of this sounds great, except consumers aren’t necessarily willing to pay for it. Whether it’s an issue with the price or the ethical implications of giving an automotive manufacturer your information (especially in the case of biometric enhancements), people are reluctant to cough up the cash. But are they the only people buying cars?

The Uber effect

Could we see a trend where car purchases come less from everyday consumers and more from ride-sharing businesses? In 2015, Marc Winterhoff predicted that the rise of autonomous drive vehicles would see mass market brands fall behind. In his vision, the market would be split in two: those cars and vehicles that offer a premium experience.

Given that worldwide car sales are expected to hit almost 80 million this year, we can’t quite see Marc’s idea coming true anytime soon. But you can’t deny the rise of ride-sharing apps like Uber or Lyft which might affect overall car sales. The “Uber effect” is more likely to hit more metropolitan areas where owning a car is seen as a hassle. It isn’t necessarily about the environment – when ride-sharing was banned in Austin, Texas, 45% of people went back to using their own cars, compared to just 3% who moved to public transit. And with driverless technology, we could see autonomous taxis. Finally, no more pesky human interaction!

If we did see a shift towards further ride-sharing, the people buying cars would be doing so from a business standpoint. It would be less about fancy bells and whistles, and more about efficiency and reliability. It could potentially lead to a shorter car lifecycle; app users would want their driver to use a more modern vehicle because of the implied safety upgrades, so drivers would need to change every couple of years.

The Millennial Wave

Anyone who predicts the death of traditional car-buying habits is more than likely a sensationalist. The market’s shift is glacial, but – to the sensationalists’ credit – one worth paying attention to. While car sales aren’t likely to tank anytime soon, the generational shift will play its part. What Millennials look for in a car will differ to Baby Boomers, which will need to be kept in mind when designing the vehicles of the future.

This will affect auto retailers too. We mentioned it at the start – many are already changing to a customer-centric approach. The car-buying process begins online, so your technology needs to be up to date not just in the car, but on your site too.

From VR to AR, at RealtimeUK we push the boundaries of what technology can do for the automotive industry. Bring your vehicles to life with the best car configurators on offer. Reach out to me at [email protected] to talk about your next project.

GDC 2019

GDC 2019 remains one of the Games Industry’s most important global events in which the great and the good of interactive entertainment descend en masse to the San Francisco’s Moscone Center and surrounding hotel lobbies for a frantic week of networking and learning. As well as providing an opportunity to preview the future vision of gaming from some of the biggest names in the industry, it’s also a great way of seeing some of the more obscure and esoteric creations. Whilst some of these may not go onto enjoy huge levels of commercial success, they nonetheless remain a showcase for the industry’s huge appetite for innovation and creativity.

2019 was a stellar year, kicking off with a huge fanfare from Google who have laid bare their vision to seemingly disrupt the $135bn USD (and growing!) industry. They have bet big on Streaming, presenting a vision in which the ‘middleman’ of advanced hardware is removed, and ‘AAA’ games are streamed pretty much instantaneously to any device. Billed as the ‘Netflix’ of gaming, the ‘Stadia’ presentation painted a bold picture for the future of gaming which seemed to suggest the death-knell of consoles. Its slick presentation was technically impressive, building a solid case for what could potentially be the biggest disruption to the gaming since pong. Phil Harrison, Google’s Vice President and the man charged with leading the way with ‘Stadia’ demonstrated the platform with great aplomb, moving seamlessly from device to device, each of which was running Ubisoft’s ‘Assassin’s Creed’ at an impressive 1080p at 60 fps and with no lag. With the games being streamed from its data centre, the platform promises ubiquitous gaming experiences with the ability to switch between devices mid-game.

With no hardware acceleration needed, the only device you seemingly need is the simplistically designed controller which looked minimalistic in design, if not a little bland. Once the dust had settled, a degree of scepticism began to creep in, with concerns about the level of wi-fi connection the player would need to enjoy the full experience. Google have been quick to point out that as the service is streaming from its own data centres, it won’t be subject to the same problems of other cloud-based games streaming services that have fallen by the wayside. To help bolster confidence, Google claim that if you can enjoy a good YouTube experience, then this will work for you. Indeed, Youtube integration will be a key selling point and benefit to the platform, with players able to click on a link following a game trailer (one of ours preferably ? ) to instantaneously experience the full game for themselves.

The platform is the holy grail of gaming, and one that builds on the continuing digitalisation of entertainment. First Music, then Video, the promise of being able to enjoy ‘AAA’ gaming experiences without the need for expensive hardware is a real game changer and one that may promise to further blur the lines of entertainment. In the last year, REALTIME’s automotive team has made its own small contribution to the building of assets for Amazon’s ‘Grand Tour’ game in which viewers of the popular TV show can jump into a game and virtually experience the cars that have just featured in the episode they have just watched. ‘Stadia’ can potentially take this idea to the next level, leveraging the world’s most popular video streaming site to provide viewers with experiences that extend the worlds and stories beyond those they have just experienced as a TV show or film.

It’s a premise that was seen in the indie game ‘Stranger Things 3: The Game’, which was also announced at GDC 2019. Realised as a beautifully retro ‘80’s style isometric game, its style is a perfect fit for the show and one that you could imagine a non-gaming TV viewer being tempted to play (at the click of a button) at the end of each episode. In light of the 4K quality that Stadia is promising to deliver, It’s not difficult to see how the entertainment sector could further benefit from ever growing alignment between Games and TV & Film. Assets created for TV & Film could easily be adapted for Games and vice versa. Given some of the exciting projects our own Film and TV division have been working on of late, we for one hope this will eventually become a reality.

Assuming they overcome the scepticism of connectivity that many people shared, Google’s Stadia and game streaming, has the potential to dramatically move the Industry forward. It’s a further democratisation of games and has the potential to welcome an entirely new audience who had hitherto been daunted by the need to invest in expensive hardware. With the potential to further blur the lines between ‘Video’ and ‘Games’, the ‘AAA’ gaming experience looks set to blossom further in a new age of expanded visual storytelling.

How CGI can save you time in the long run

CGI vs photography is still a fierce debate. One side argues that nothing can replace the way real-life photography captures tangible objects. The other claims that CG looks better than the real thing and photography can’t match its perfection.

Both sides have their merits. There was a time when the debate was digital photography vs traditional photography – similarly, they both had a point, but it was digital that stood out as the best solution. It’s history repeating itself, and, like digital photography, CGI can’t be matched. It can save you a lot of time.

Lights, camera, action

We’re not suggesting photography goes the way of the dinosaur, nor are we saying that rendering CGI happens in the blink of an eye. But, in the long-term, CG will save you time and money. Take the simplest scenario: photographing a car. Just the car, a white background, and a DSLR. Hours are spent getting the perfect lighting, multiple shots, different angles. And, at the end of the day, you have your shots. Job done. For CG, modelling alone would take longer.

But, say you get back to your desk, you look over the photos from the shoot. You can’t find the right angle or the trim level of spec of the car needs to be different. You need the car – which you have poured your passion into – to look perfect. Yet now you face the laborious process of rescheduling the shoot and setting everything up again, and, at the end of that, you’re still not guaranteed to be satisfied with the end product. Roads need reclosing, the weather might be awful, you might not be able to get your hands on the car; the list of potential roadblocks is extensive.

With CG, if you want to see it from a specific angle, you just move the car or the virtual camera.

The quick approach

Now imagine that scenario, but multiple times over. If the car comes in many colours, trim, and spec levels for example. That’s where else CGI saves you time. you won’t have the time to photograph every possible combination – in fact, it’s impossible. With CGI, these changes can be made instantly. So while the initial creation might take time, it will save you time in the long run.

The same problem presents itself when shooting on location, but includes the added hassle of making sure the product and appropriate people are in the right place. But combine the two scenarios and you have your solution.

Film on location to create your backgrounds and insert the key visuals later on. It allows you to keep a flexible schedule. If the car’s design isn’t ready in time for the shoot, it can be sculpted digitally and change as the real-life car does. The time between conversations is shorter as CGI can react much faster to alterations.

Photography will always have its place in the world. But much like in film and TV, there are times where CGI makes more sense, and the automotive industry is no different. So if you’re worried about time not being on your side, put your mind at ease. Choose the computer.

At REALTIME, we have the experience you need to make your next project run fluidly. Take our work with Infiniti, which is an example of what we talked about above. It’s just one of the many projects we’ve brought to life using CGI. If you’re interested in potentially working together, get in touch with me at [email protected].

Geneva 2019

A few words from me on Geneva 2019.

Twenty years ago, amid massive consolidation in the industry (think Premier Automotive Group, the Renault Nissan Alliance and Daimler-Chrysler to name but a few), the general consensus was that there would, before too long, be just five automotive concerns the world over. An American one, a couple of Europeans, a Japanese and then perhaps a Korean one. Its seems at the time journalists had not picked up China on the radar screen back then.

Fast forward to now and this year’s Geneva Show, the underlying trend of electrification was ably supported by a number of new start ups. The barriers to market entry for these new concerns twenty years ago (a major one being the lost-count-of-the-zeros level of investment required to develop a unique powertrain) are simply gone. If you combine that with the latest generation of car buyers being less and less attracted to the traditional brands then you have a perfect revolution taking place before our very eyes:

Twenty years ago, Mate Rimac, founder of Rimac Automobili was still in short trousers but now, his EV Hypercar C_TWO, all 1,914hp and $2m of it and oh-so-close to production was a clear star of the show. Twin brother under the skin and with equal top billing was the Pininfarina Battista; the long-established design house launching its first full car as an EV.

Further down the price range but with a still-impressive 396hp was the Polestar 2, follow up to, you guessed it, the Polestar 1. This Tesla Model 3 rival is dripping with crisp Scandinavian Design and, as always with Polestar, housed at the show in a particularly airy whitespace-type lounge.

Not to be outdone by the upstart start-ups, Audi was out in force with the beautifully-resolved E-Tron Sportback.

Even further down the price range was Citroen, resurrecting the ‘Ami’ name for a two-seater EV study for future mobility

So, we’re five cars into the review without even mention of an internal combustion engine. Must be the trend of the show then…

Reassuringly perhaps was Bentley, with the Continental Number 9 Edition by Mulliner, housing the Crewe-built W12 petrol engine. Celebrating Bentley Boy Sir Tim Birkin’s Blower Bentley and including 18 carat gold organ stops, this is perhaps one of the last great internal-combustion-driven Grand Tourers from Crewe, for whom electric power is also just around the corner. I suppose that the CO2 impact of just 100 cars is minimal…

Roughly, roughly (but who’s counting??) at the same point in the pricing chart is Ferrari, showcasing the new and very pretty F8 Tributo. Not to be outdone by its British rival, Its 720PS is now an exact match for the McLaren 720S. Who’d have thought it?

Over on the Aston Martin stand it was difficult not to be impressed by the continuing onslaught of new, beautiful and highly desirable new metal in the forms of the son-of-Valkyrie AM-RB 003 Hypercar (pictured), due on sale in 2021 and the Vanquish Vision Concept; a 2022-ready mid-engined Supercar rival to McLaren, Ferrari and Lamborghini.

Towards the entry-level of the market were two launches of new models with stalwart nameplates; the new Peugeot 208 and the new Renault Clio. The 208’s fairly chunky styling lending the car perhaps more road presence than its predecessor, whereas over at Renault the new Clio’s revolution was apparently on the inside, though, to my eyes, that wasn’t a problem at all. Renault clearly didn’t need to fix what wasn’t broken here.

So, a great show, packed full of significant debuts. Geneva remains resolutely the place to be for the industry, with no sign of that trend abating. I’m sure that there will be a time in the not-too-distant-future when electrification ceases to be a ‘thing’ too and we all stop talking about it. I think that point in time will be sooner than we think…