Eric Olsen

Why make just 1 commercial when you can make 600+? Uniquely tailored and targeting niche customer markets. Here's a workflow the #NVIDIA Creative team prototyped with the help of #OpenUSD, #Omniverse, and Gen AI to accelerate and scale the creative process. Including advancements in #virtualproduction using natural language interaction with 3D software via LLMs and machine vision - enabling creators to operate in virtual sets akin to live action sets.

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Loved this demo of Restream Studio 2.0 from Charles Quilley! Lots of great features that you can manage from your browser. For content creators, having the right tools is key. While Riverside.fm excels in high-quality recordings and post-production, Restream Studio 2.0 is a great option for live, real-time engagement across platforms. Together, they'll give you total flexibility—whether you need polished edits or live streaming power. Why limit yourself? Maximize your content impact with the best of both! #ContentCreation #Livestreaming #Restream #VideoProduction #Riverside

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Of the many notable experiences from #MDEV, the Producer Careers panel I did with Lilly Arredondo, Angela D., and Joe Truesdale was one of the highlights! Reflecting on the main points, here are three takeaways I wanted to share: 1. There is no single way to become a game Producer. "Origin stories" are varied and sometimes surprising! If you want to become a Producer, start being a producer where you are: organize your team, schedule milestones, coordinate and connect the dots with other people, be the one your teammates come to when they want to understand what's going on, what to prioritize, etc. because you have a solid grasp on whatever portion of the project you're responsible for. Or jump in on a game jam team - tight timelines need maximum efficiency and most teams don't have the benefit of a producer keeping track of the project. 2. Let curiosity and willingness to learn drive your career path. There are so many directions to take in production and there is always more to learn. Even when you think you've got things figured out, new teams, new people, changes in the industry, etc. will always present new opportunities to learn. Every new project will present different challenges and shifts that will force you to expand your production "toolkit". Lean into that need for flexibility to gain a wider understanding of the possibilities. 3. Look for mentorship wherever you can. There is always someone out there more experienced and willing to help. Reach out and ask for even a small amount of their time (I'm almost always open to giving a 1/2 hour to mentor budding Producers!). You never know how that relationship may grow or who they may introduce you to for additional help. You will need to drive this, so take the steps to make it happen - most professionals are friendly and open to helping, but they won't be reaching out to you (Amir Satvat's mentorship resources linked in the comments). What else did you take away from the panel? I'd love to hear your feedback, if you attended!

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Do you love Autochess? Of course you do. Do you love Arkanoid / Brick Breaker? Rhetorical question, everyone loves those games. Now what if someone were to combine those two things? Well I did that and it was pretty cool. BRKRX combines the shop mechanics of autochess, the physics gameplay of arkanoid, and some JRPG influences into a unique roguelite experience. Read the full design breakdown of the prototype, and try it out yourself, at the link below. https://lnkd.in/gr824QPq

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Work on the next Immersive Industry Report is underway! I am so delighted to help kick off this research effort as board member for The Immersive Experience Institute and inaugurating our collaboration with Gensler’s Entertainment & Experience Design division. The report will feature a multi-pronged research approach (i.e.: more than just self-reported surveys)… but it wouldn’t be complete without your voice. If you’re still reading this far, one of these probably applies to you: ** AUDIENCE: If you are someone who has visited or attended or played least one immersive experience, please take our audience survey:  https://lnkd.in/gqUhHwyZ ** PRACTITIONER: If you create, produce, work in, or have been employed by immersive experiences, check out the practitioners survey: https://lnkd.in/gSGcQHQG ** IMMERSIVE CURIOUS ORG: If you are at an organization which has considered creating immersive experiences but hasn’t done so yet, please take the immersive curious survey: https://lnkd.in/g53qz_vx After years of having the 2019 and 2020 reports help define the field – I’m excited for some fresh new data that helps describe the breadth and depth of this vbody of work world-wide. And best of all - the report will be available for FREE. Dunno about you, but I’m looking forward to having more actionable facts to share and build even better informed concepts and pitch decks.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 received FOUR nominations for next month's 2024 'The Game Awards!' 🎮✨ 🎧 Best Audio Design – For the explosive soundscapes that immerse players in every battle. Every reload, explosion, and stealthy footstep wouldn’t be the same without the genius behind the audio. 👥 Best Multiplayer Game – Redefining the multiplayer experience yet again with modes that bring players together and keep them on their toes. If you’ve squad-ed up, you know the magic. 🔥 Best Action Game – Where adrenaline meets flawless execution. Black Ops 6 doesn’t just raise the bar—it rebuilds it. 💡 Innovation in Accessibility – For making sure everyone can jump into the action. This one’s about breaking barriers and ensuring the joy of gaming is universal (shoutout to Steve Saylor!) Huge congrats to the incredible teams at #RavenSoftware, #Treyarch, and our many partners who made this possible. #TheGameAwards #BlackOps6 #CallOfDuty #GamingCommunity #GameAwards2024 #AccessibilityInGaming

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ACTIVATION MODE: ENGAGED! 🚀 After working on a lot of GREAT projects at Pixar, Todd Shaiman and I created Ryzo Studios with a mission: crafting animation that moves people and moves them to act. We call this 2nd part ACTIVATION, and it's in our DNA. (We both have 'changemaker' experience deep in our resumes) We believe animation has a superpower - it can tackle life's biggest questions with creativity and hope, reach across generations and cultures, and have a long and active life beyond the initial screen. That's why we're building a studio that combines fierce storytelling with real-world impact. After hitting our initial Kickstarter goal, we're launching a 100 x 100 stretch campaign - asking 100 people to contribute $100 (that's $10,000) to help launch our Activations - tools that extend our story's impact into gaming spaces, social platforms, and community conversations where young people live. Every contribution amplifies our ability to create meaningful change through storytelling. Join our 100 x 100 campaign and help us transform how animation drives impact! ALSO - should you be experiencing hardship and unable to contribute financially, please know the following: 1. Our hearts go out to you. This has been a catastrophic time for many in our industry, and we are sorry for what you are going through. 2. Shares help. 3. Take care of yourself. We appreciate you. [Link in comments] #Animation #Impact #GameDev #MentalHealth

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Horrible news last night with Humanoid Origin announcing shutting down the studio. "Despite efforts to shield the studio from broader challenges in the industry, an unexpected shortfall of funding left us unable to sustain operations", the message starts. You can read the full post here: https://lnkd.in/egmFZqqT To those impacted please check out the following resources: 🥇First, reach out to us at People Can Fly Studio, we have many roles open right now in Canada, the UK, Ireland and Europe, please check them out here: https://lnkd.in/eWpV5PbA 🥈Next, Discipline Games Jobs Resources: Over the past months I have created 10 (at time of writing) Games Jobs Resources to find jobs in a wide range of disciplines, and I would urge you to check them out, if anything just to see what would be available to you: https://lnkd.in/eGE2vzUt You can find over 5,900 jobs there. 🥉 Third, the Ultimate list of Video Games Career Resources: This should be your one-stop shop for all information. My dear friend Amir Satvat maintains these documents, he is a legend for doing this - please check them out: https://amirsatvat.com/ I urge you to check out the areas in particular about CV support and mentoring, as these will help you no matter what industry you are hailing from or are looking into going next. 🎖 Finally, do not give up. Ever. No matter how dark things may look right now, I KNOW you will get through this, you have got this! 👊 Remember you are not alone. If you need help, advice, or even an ear to listen, we're here for you. Always! ➡ A request to my community, please can I ask you to repost this post to your colleagues and friends, so that we can get as many into jobs as possible! And please comment if you or your studio are currently hiring - let's help each other! Much love ❤️ #humanoidorigin #layoffs

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DeamPlus Games Earned $12M+ IAP Revenue Amids “Hoa Hoa Hoa” Season 🍂 Game of Vampires: Twilight Sun, an empire-building RPG, is the ultimate vampire fantasy brought to life. 🌘 Gothic castles, luxurious dark interiors, a spooky atmosphere — and a ton of pop-culture references! From Twilight and The Vampire Diaries to Blade and The Addams Family — this game is packed with nostalgic nods that resonate with players through its ASO, ad creatives, and character design. 🧛‍♂️🏰 The right timing and a touch of luck drive this success even further: with the game’s global launch, the unexpected revival of the Twilight franchise came into play! Millennials are fueling it with nostalgia, while Gen Z is having fun with those cringy moments the old movies have. ✨🧛‍♀️ For a deep dive into this phenomenon and the insights game developers can draw from it, check out Diana Levintova's fantastic article for AppMagic. Halloween couldn’t be a better time to dive into the industry insights, spooky vibes, and, of course, “hoa hoa hoa” 🎃👻 Link in the comments! 👇

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You know the modeling industry, you know the entertainment industry, but do you know how BOTH of these industries are being changed on global scale... due to COSPLAY? Find out how. #Professional #Writer #Model #Cosplay #ReadNow #DontMissOut

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One of the most frequent (and sometimes panicked) questions I get is: Why does live-action video COST SO MUCH? It’s understandable—many believe that video budgets can be slimmed down to almost nothing with smartphones and inexpensive equipment. And honestly, for some projects? That’s true. But here’s the deal: just because something is inexpensive doesn’t mean it should look cheap. And trust me, your audience definitely knows the difference. INEXPENSIVE is smart business, CHEAP can irreparably damage your brand. Throughout my career, I’ve had the pleasure of shooting multi-million-dollar broadcast campaigns and the no-less-pleasurable experience of smaller-scale, micro-crew projects. I’ve seen firsthand where budget cuts work and where they lead to disaster. Here’s where you can’t afford to cheap out: LIGHTING. A DP once told me, “Cameras don't make things look cinematic—lighting does.” Bad lighting = bad video. You don’t need a full grip crew, but save room in your budget for good lighting and someone who knows how to use it. AUDIO. Bad video can sometimes be salvaged, but bad audio? That’s a nightmare you can’t fix in post. Even with great gear, you need a pro to handle sound. If the audio sucks, your audience will bounce. Period. PRODUCER/DIRECTOR. I’ve seen people try to self-produce to save cash, and spoiler alert—it rarely goes well. A good producer keeps things on track, stress-free, and on budget. And a skilled director makes sure you don’t end up with shaky, poorly framed, or just plain unusable footage. You don’t want to find out after the shoot that you’re missing key shots. Trust me. EDITING: If you love your audience (and your brand), meticulously edit your video. Not just trim it—edit it. A skilled editor can amplify your story, making sure it hits hard with your audience, even if other elements aren't perfect. Bad editing will have your viewers bailing fast. The takeaway: Go slightly over budget but deliver something great, and people might be annoyed for a day. Stick to the budget but end up with low-quality dreck, they’ll never forget it. And they’ll wonder why you didn’t spend the extra money to make it right. It’s all about knowing where to invest to get the best results. ** Need help getting the most bang for your buck on your video project? I’m here to help. Give me a sense of your project, and I’ll share how to get results that perform for your brand without breaking the bank. — JR **

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This is crazy. If you work (or are interested) in filmmaking, you need to listen to this TED podcast with Scott Mann of Flawless. Here’s how AI performance transfer works: 1. 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿’𝘀 𝗢𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲: The AI first analyzes an actor’s performance, mapping the facial expressions, emotions, and specific nuances, such as how their mouth moves when they speak certain words or deliver emotions like sadness or joy. 2. 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗲: Once the AI has mapped this performance, it can “transfer” it to a different shot or scene where the actor might not have performed the exact same way. For example, if the actor nailed the performance in one take, that performance can be applied to other shots without requiring additional reshoots. !!! 3. 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀: In the context of vubbing (visual dubbing), performance transfer can be used to preserve an actor’s performance even when their dialogue is translated into another language. The AI replicates the original emotional intensity and expression in sync with the new, dubbed dialogue. 4. 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: Performance transfer offers filmmakers the ability to fine-tune performances after the film has been shot. If changes to the performance are needed during editing, such as delivering a line differently or enhancing an emotion, it can be done digitally without calling the actor back for reshoots. As for 𝘃𝘂𝗯𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗴, it works by using advanced AI to sync the mouth movements of actors with dialogue in different languages. Here’s a breakdown of how the process works: 1. Analysis of the Original Film: The AI begins by analyzing the original performance in the film. It studies the actor’s facial expressions, specifically the movements of the mouth, and how they correspond to the spoken words. This analysis is deep and detailed, essentially creating a “map” of the actor’s facial performance . 2. Mapping New Dialogue: When the film is dubbed into a new language, the AI uses this performance map to adapt the actor’s mouth movements to match the new language’s dialogue. 3. Synchronization with Cultural Nuance: The AI doesn’t just sync lips; it also accounts for the nuances of different languages and cultures. 4. Generative Manipulation: The AI employs generative techniques to create new mouth movements that fit the new dialogue. 5. No Use of Pre-existing Data Without Rights: The AI strictly uses clean data (licensed and purpose-shot content) for training. It doesn’t pull from unauthorized sources to ensure that the actors’ rights are respected, and the technology is built on ethical foundations . 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗔𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗱𝘂𝗯𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗱 w/ Scott Mann https://lnkd.in/eeN9mHhB

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The worlds Animation workers and business is in a transition.

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Studios like Sony Pictures Entertainment are using AI to aggressively cut film costs. It's a hot topic amongst creatives, and our hope at Moonbeam Literary & Media is that AI can be embraced thoughtfully to enrich and expedite the creative process, enhance visual literacy, and increase story output in a way that allows us to see more ideas from different people for fresh perspectives. AI scrapes from data sets of the past, not the future--and existing patterns and trends do not lend themselves to innovation and diversity in artistic expression. We don't want to be using algorithms to cater to the most reductive versions of what a machine *thinks* we want. Instead, we like to look at what's possible with the democratization of creativity and visualization, with programs like ChatGPT Ai Midjourney and DALL-E Open Ai. This actually represents an opportunity for a new wave of creative expression and diverse voices, by bringing more stories into the marketplace and serving as a seed of inspiration. It means we can explore ideas faster, put together pitches quicker, and iterate more efficiently. AI cannot replace the human touch--the depth of human experience, ability to integrate cultural commentary with nuance, and forward-thinking means we will always have the upper hand to the 'bots when it comes to producing great works. And as Netflix boss Ted Sarandos said earlier this week - "AI is not going to take your job. The person who uses AI well might take your job." In our company newsletter this week, Jesse Byrd and I unpack Artificial Intelligence & the Democratization of Creativity, and what it means for both aspiring and professional creatives alike. Newsletter linked in the comments below. #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Creativity #DiverseStorytelling #DiverseFounders #KidLit #KidMedia #DiverseFilmmakers

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Just encountered a situation that serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing challenges many in our industry are facing. The landscape is tough out there, and we're all navigating it together. Whether you're in a precarious work situation, between projects, or unfortunately unemployed, the struggles are real. My heart goes out to all those grappling with uncertainty. For those currently employed, remember to stay proactive, provide value, and hold on to hope. Let's support each other by leveraging our connections and allies in times of need. The real challenge lies in the industry's employment structure, not with individual bosses. It's time we address the systemic issues that leave so many in vulnerable positions. The need for a more sustainable employment model is evident. Companies should consider planned layoffs, structured payouts, and equitable sharing of project funds to bridge the gap for individuals between projects. It's about time we come together as developers and implement changes that benefit us all. Stay strong, stay united. #gamedevelopment #industrychallenges #supporteachother

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If someone is not yet convinced that AI is the very close future of filmmaking, take a look at the first AI-generated music video. Commercial videos are next. Eventually, every company will have its own content-making factory, where you can produce an explainer on any topic with a single prompt. You just type: "Make a video about my product." The system will then research the topic, compose a script, and generate the video - all in just a matter of minutes.

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Color grading in Resolve, on my iPad. Unreal. Obviously not a replacement for desktop (or a real colorist), but I’ve been looking for an angle to learn more about color theory and execution. Maybe this is it! #resolve #davinci #davinciresolve #resolveipad #resolveforipad #resolveonipad #ipad #m4 #postproduction #post #color #colorist #colorcorrection #amateur #post #editor #videoeditor PXP Blackmagic Design Apple

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