DNEG is a world-leading visual entertainment services company for the creation of feature film, television, and multiplatform content, with worldwide offices and studios across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. To learn more, Pulse 2.0 interviewed Josh Mandel, Managing Director of DNEG IXP (Immersive Experiences).
Formation Of DNEG Immersive Experiences
How did the idea for DNEG Immersive Experiences come together? Mandel said:
“Technology has always driven advances in filmmaking and the way we tell stories on the big screen, especially in the realm of visual effects. Now more than ever, technology is giving us the opportunity to take DNEG’s deep pool of filmmaking and VFX knowledge to support other mediums of storytelling, whether that be branded content, games, or immersive location-based experiences. We now have the opportunity to leverage our creative and technological prowess to create new, emotionally resonant experiences for audiences the world over. This is how DNEG IXP was born.”
Core Services
What will be the company’s core services and offerings to your clients and partners? Mandel explained:
“From early iteration of a creative concept all the way to final pixel, DNEG has the best artists and technologists to bring any creative vision to life. Along with this breadth of production and technological expertise, we’re now supporting our partners with market science and audience research. This seamless combination ensures that the content that DNEG IXP creates is not only visually stunning, but also strongly resonates with audiences in the way that brands desire.”
“We’re utilizing these services to create resonant experiences in Gaming, Virtual Concerts, Theme Parks and location-based experiences like Retail and Museums/Education.”
Benefits Of Working With DNEG IXP
Who might benefit from partnering with DNEG IXP on a project? Mandel shared:
“We are experts at feeding the passions of fans. When a brand or IP owner has an audience that cares deeply about something, DNEG IXP will create an experience to feed that passion. The opportunities for brands and IP holders are really limited these days only by their ambition, as people have shown that they will show up for an experience that answers their passions, and this is true across game platforms, virtual concerts, theme parks, summer festivals and the like.”
Evolution Of The Industry
How has the industry’s technology evolved since its first use? Mandel noted:
“I’d say that platforms and technologies have evolved, together, to provide a much broader tool-set with which to really affect people. From two screens – film and television – we’ve evolved to hundreds of shapes and sizes of screen on which to tell stories. Immersive platforms like AR and VR are changing what we mean when we talk about ‘stories.’ And the engines that get us there are enabling a speed from idea to execution that is only increasing.”
“If we start from the premise that we’ve got a story that will move an audience, we can now ask ourselves where and how that story should be told. Big screen or small screen, yes, but now also as an AR experience that plays out over time, or an immersive VR experience that brings you into a new reality of the story. We can build visual and auditory experiences into a brand’s retail spaces or create a ride that transports you physically along a journey.”
“Things like AR and VR can also be used as communications platforms internally amongst teams and clients to communicate creative ideas and what an intended experience will feel like. The limits are increasingly down to our own imaginations rather than technological in nature.”
“While Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning can be controversial topics in the creative arts, we believe this largely comes about when they are touted as “replacements” for creative human input, rather than as another tool in the artist’s toolbox. Philosophically, we believe that the technology exists to help bring the creative vision to life, and we approach every technology challenge accordingly.”
Challenges Faced
What challenges have Mandel and the team faced in building the company? Mandel acknowledged:
“Every day! 10 years ago, there were only a few platforms and formats you needed to target when making branded storytelling content. Now, we’re surrounded by screens of all shapes, sizes and resolutions, enabled with gaming, AR, VR and other platforms for experiencing content.”
“One area in particular that concentrates the opportunities and challenges discussed is Virtual Concerts for music artists. Each project is a mix of creative desire, technological opportunity (and limits), physical fabrication, and audience insight. The human eye is increasingly good at seeing the seams and cracks in computer-generated images – finding the uncanny valleys – which requires that our teams put even more detail into every frame we create. We’re increasingly able to use engines like Unreal to get from idea to final pixel in our VFX work, and our Advanced Technology team is constantly innovating the tools we can use to support the creative vision, whether machine learning, real-time engines, or advanced creature pipelines.”
“Our recent acquisition of the exclusive license to Ziva will accelerate our work in these spaces. Ziva’s toolset, and its future development at DNEG, will help us push our visual art through the creation of real-time interactive digital humans and creatures across all our work, and in next-generation headsets such as the Apple Vision Pro.”
Benefits Of Immersive Marketing
Why might brands pursue immersive marketing over traditional marketing and where do you see DNEG’s role in those decisions? Mandel affirmed:
“I think every brand needs to consider immersive marketing as a part of their marketing portfolio. The media landscape is rapidly changing and traditional marketing pipelines simply don’t reach the right audiences with the same level of emotional resonance as before. The traditional platforms will still be relevant and important, but there are other ways to effectively engage audiences now, and a 30-second linear advertisement will not be enough.”
“DNEG IXP can help brands and businesses not only execute on an immersive marketing campaign, but also build the initial concept, ensure the right market-fit, build the technology needed to ship the content, work with partners on distribution, and ultimately make the magic that emotionally engages relevant and important audiences.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Mandel affirmed:
“DNEG IXP’s approach is steeped in over 25 years of DNEG’s experience in creating Academy Award-winning visual experiences for some of the world’s most innovative and visionary directors and a history of technological innovation at the cutting-edge of what is possible in filmmaking. We set a very high bar for all our creative product.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future goals? Mandel concluded:
“With DNEG IXP we want to evolve beyond being known as a world-leading visual effects and animation studio. We are becoming a full creative shop – whether for filmmaking, marketing, games, or any other sort of immersive content – using audience and market science to develop creative ideas that drive real emotional connection. We intend to achieve this by enabling our world-class talent to continue to innovate, both on and off the silver screen, and by continuing to make content that inspires and awes audiences, whatever the medium.”
