Not all glitz and glam
To be sure, there are challenges associated with being runts in an industry of top dogs. For one thing, the budget for these types of projects can be scant, and it’s up to the startups to make ends meet. “For a company of our size, the challenge is resources,” suggests Frechette. “The film industry is very much boom or bust, so we are either dealing with a lot of resources, or we don’t have any work and are still trying to pay our staff.” The Lidar Guys have been able to make it work so far, however, growing revenues by roughly 10 percent annually.
Another challenge is the investment of time that’s required to bring a project to life, which often doesn’t match up with corporate deadlines. “Release dates tend to be inflexible,” explains Soles. “That’s why these days filmmakers are relying more on post-visualization technique in order to get to their director’s final cut.”
Ultimately, the strategy for both firms is to continue building and leveraging relationships. Rodeo, which recently won an Oscar for its work on Blade Runner 2049, is already hard at work on new projects including Disney’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, as well as Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, forthcoming in November. The Lidar Guys, meanwhile, hope to expand beyond film services to launch a commercial 3D scanning service. “I firmly believe that the best tools are built by people who use them everyday,” says Frechette. “Development will become a significant portion of our revenue stream.”
Article Appeared @https://www.inc.com/zoe-henry/visual-effects-startups-a-wrinkle-in-time.html?cid=mustread2