Visual Effects (VFX) Market Trends

Growth Drivers

• Widening VFX capacity through innovations: Virtual moviemaking is a metamorphosis of digital technologies in filmmaking, enabling creative experimentation and transforming previously cumbersome, alienating, and complex processes into more interactive and immersive content.  It has aided in bridging the gap between digital performers and set locations, with its extensive scope in previsualization to virtual cinematography.
  
  In August 2023, Pixar, NVIDIA, Apple, Adobe, and Autodesk, together with the Joint Development Foundation (JDF), revealed the Alliance for OpenUSD (AOUSD). It is dedicated to promoting the development, standardization, and evolution of OpenUSD by advancing the platform’s 3D capabilities. AOUSD is aimed at supporting content creators and developers to simulate large-scale 3D projects and build a range of 3D-enabled services and products. OpenUSD caters to the components including cameras and lighting needed to build 3D worlds. It has become a de facto standard for VFX and animation using 3D modeling for other industries such as robotics, architecture, and manufacturing.
  
  In June 2023, Southpaw launched a SaaS artist and resource management tool called TACTIC Resource for VFX studios to seamlessly plan, track costs, bid, and generate financial reports. This VFX project budget planning platform allows the comparison of bid rates and original cost rates, thus, providing necessary insights into project profitability. Furthermore, in April 2024 DNEG gained exclusive license to Ziva, a VFX toolset. This strategic investment is anticipated to enhance DNEG’s solution pipeline, in turn, supporting artists in animation projects. The technology will support the DNEG IXP division, rendering the creation of interactive digital humans for gaming, virtual concerts, and next-generation headsets including the Apple Vision Pro.
• Increasing usage of streaming platforms: Customers are spending more time streaming digital content on platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+. There is an increasing demand for high-quality media, which has led content providers to use significant visual effects to enhance their storylines and create immersive experiences that are appealing to audiences from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. The number of users in the media market's over-the-top video (OTT Video) segment worldwide was predicted to rise steadily between 2024 and 2029, reaching around 996 million users..

Challenges

• Data management and budget constraints: Managing quality, accuracy, and consistency of data is one of the VFX industry's toughest challenges. VFX production is frequently beset by constrained funding and timeframes since a production pipeline for visual effects (VFX) is intricate and involves numerous steps. Moreover, people with years of training and experience who have honed extremely precise talents are needed to create visual effects that can command a hefty price.