By CHRIS McGOWANShgun (Image courtesy of FX Network)Despite the lingering effects of 2023s writers and actors strikes, the streamers continue to disrupt the industry. Streaming has increased the demand for VFX work and accelerated the growth of all parts of the production and post-production industries, says Tom Williams, Managing Director of DNEG Episodic.Among the leading streamers, Netflix had 277.65 million paid subscribers worldwide as of the second quarter of 2024, according to Statista research, an increase of over eight million subscribers compared with the previous quarter, and Netflixs expenditures on content were expected to stabilize at roughly 17 billion U.S. dollars by 2024. Also, by 2024, the number of Amazon Prime membersin the United States was projected to reach more than 180 million users. In Q2 2024, the number of Disney+ subscribers stood at around 153.6 million, according to Statista, while the combined number of subscribers to Warner Bros. Discoverys Max (formerly HBO) and Discovery+ services surpassed 103 million. Apple TV+, Hulu, Paramount+ and Peacock are among the others with significant viewers.Such subscriber numbers have bankrolled a lot of visual effects and animation. Streaming has been a game-changer for the VFX industry. It has significantly increased demand. With platforms constantly producing new content, visual effects studios have more opportunities than ever before, comments Valrie Clment, VFX Producer at Raynault VFX Visual Effects & Environments. The rise of streaming has also shifted the focus from traditional films to high-budget series, which has diversified the types of projects we work on at Raynault. Jennie Zeiher, President of Rising Sun Pictures (RSP), remarks, The advent of streaming had a huge impact that were still feeling today, not only for global consumers,but studios, production companies, TV channels, post houses, VFX studios; the entire industry was impacted. [It was a major disruption in the industry] that changed how content was consumed.The Last of Us (Image courtesy of HBO)BUDGETS & MODELSStreaming changed the way the industry was divided up and took away market share from broadcast and theatrical, according to Zeiher. She explains, In 2017, RSPs work was still wholly theatrical. We predicted that over the course of that year, we would be progressively taking on more streaming projects and that the year following, our work would be distributed 50/50. This indeed played out, and it tells the story of how a disruptive change can affect a business model. Fast forward to today, the industry is more complex than ever, made more so by the fact that streaming opened up distribution to a global, multi-generational audience, which is more diverse than ever.Everyone is more budget-conscious at the moment, which is not a bad thing for VFX as it encourages more planning and the use of previs and postvis, which helps everyone deliver the best possible end product, Williams says. We are a technology-driven industry that is always moving forward, combined with incredible artists, so I think we will always see improvements in quality. Zeiher adds, I think studios are still trying to settle on their model. There are fewer big hits due to diversity in taste, and there are more risks around greenlighting productions at a higher price point. What made a hit five or 10 years ago isnt the same as it is today. Thereis more diverse product in the pipeline to attract more diverse audiences. The streamers are producing high-end series, but they are more concentrated to a handful of studios.3 Body Problem (Image courtesy of Netflix)House of the Dragon (Image courtesy of HBO)Foundation (Image courtesy of AppleTV+)The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Image courtesy of Prime Video)The Boys (Image courtesy of Prime Video. Photo: Jan Thijs)SHARING WORKProductions normally split work between multiple vendors, Zeiher notes. This work can be sensitive to timing and schedule changes. Therefore, VFX vendors need to have a plan on how they manage and mitigate any changes in schedule or type of work. Besides capability and the quality of the creative, this is the biggest singular challenge for VFX vendors and is the secret to a successful studio! Zeiher adds, Studios have always split work between multiple vendors, and only in limited scenarios kept whole shows with single vendors, and this continues to be the trend. The studios are splitting work among their trusted vendors who have the capability in terms of crew and pipeline to hit schedules and manage risks.The increase in work has meant that more shows than ever before are being shared between different VFX houses, so that will add to the cooperation. Being a relatively young industry, it doesnt take long to find a mutual connection or 10 when you meet someone else from VFX at an event, Williams says. Comments Wayne Stables, Wt FXs VFX Supervisor on House of the Dragon Season 2, Im not sure that Ive seen a big change [in businessand production models]. We bring the same level of creativity and quality to everything we do, be it for feature film or streaming, and use the same tools and processes. I approach it the same way asI would working on a film. I think episodic television has always pushed boundaries. I remember when Babylon 5 came out [and] being amazed at what they were doing, and then seeing that ripple through to other work such as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.Fallout (Image courtesy of Prime Video)In Your Dreams. Coming in 2025. (Image courtesy of Netflix)The Wheel of Time (Image courtesy of Prime Video)HIGHER EPISODIC QUALITYWorking with the VFX studios, the streamers have set the visual effects bar high by bringing feature film quality to episodic television. Game of Thrones comes to mind despite starting before the streaming boom. It revolutionized what viewers could expect from a series in terms of production value and storytelling. Laterseasons had blockbuster-level budgets and cinematic visuals that rivaled anything youd see in theaters, Clment says. Netflix has also made significant strides with shows like Stranger Things, which combines appealing aesthetics and compelling storytelling, and The Crown, known for its luxurious production design and attention to detail. Also, series like Westworld and Chernobyl both deliver sophisticated narratives with stunning visuals that feel more like feature films than traditional TV. These are just a few examples, of course. The range of projects that have made a significant impact in the streaming world is vast.Zeiher also points out the streaming titles The Rings of Power, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Shgun, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Loki Season 2, Fallout [and] the Star Wars universe, with recent series such as Andor, Ahsoka and The Acolyte as having brought feature-film quality to episodic. Stable comments, As the techniques used on big visual effects films have become more common, we have seen more high-end work appear everywhere. Looking at work in Game of Thrones and then, more recently, Foundation and through to shows like Shgun. And, of course, I am proud of our recent work on House of the Dragon Season 2, Ripley and The Last of Us.EXPECTATIONSThe expectation of quality never changes showrunners, writers and directors can spend years getting their visions greenlit no one is looking to cut corners. We all want to do our best work, regardless of the end platform, Williams says. Regarding the delivery dates for series episodes, Stables comments, I havent ever found the timeframes to be short. The shows tend to be very structured with the fact that you have to deliver for each episode, but that just brings about a practicality as to what is important. As with everything, the key is good planning and working with the studio to work out the best solution to problems. Clment says,While the compressed timelines can be challenging, the push for high-quality content from streaming platforms means that we are constantly striving to deliver top-notch visuals, even within tighter schedules. This is always exciting for our team.Sakamoto Days. Coming in 2025. (Image courtesy of Netflix)A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. Coming in 2025. (Image courtesy of HBO)CHANGES IN THE STREAMER/VFX RELATIONSHIPI think that showrunners and studios are seeing that it is now possible to create shows that perhaps in the past were not financially feasible. So, we are developing the same relationships [with the streamers] that we have had with the film studios, seeing what we can offer them to help tell their stories, Stables states. Relationships can be reciprocal, or they can be transactional, Zeiher observes. In VFX, we very much operate in a reciprocal relationship with the studios and their production teams; its a partnership at every level. Our success is based on their success and theirs on ours.Knuckles (Image courtesy of Paramount+ and Nickelodeon Network)GLOBAL COOPERATIONStreaming is enhancing global cooperation among VFX studios by creating a greater need for diverse talent and resources. Clment says, As streaming platforms produce more content, studios around the world are teaming up to manage the growing amount and complexity of VFX work. Advances in remote work technology and cloud tools make it easier for teams from different regions to collaborate smoothly and effectively. Zeiher explains, RSPs work on Knuckles is a great example of global, inter-company collaboration. Instead of using a single vendor, the work was split between several, mostly mid-size, vendors. The assets were built to a specification and shared using Universal Scene Description, allowing asset updates to be rolled out simultaneously across vendors and providing a consistent look across the characters. Paramounts approach to Knuckles was very smart and could be indicative for future workflows.The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep. Coming in 2025. (Image courtesy of Netflix)VFX is a tumultuous industry and, off the back of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, weve entered a time of consolidation, says Zeiher. Studios, often backed by private equity, are acquiring small to mid-size studios. This is helping them to distribute work globally across many jurisdictions. Dream Machine is an example of this new collaborative model with its recent acquisition of Important Looking Pirates and Cumulus VFX, joining Zero, Mavericks and Fin Design. Likewise, RSP has its sister studios FuseFX, FOLKS and El Ranchito under its parent company Pitch Black; its a new form of global collaboration, mid-size studios, with different offerings across brands and locations who can collaborate under one banner.I think that the streaming distribution model was the first disruption, and that distribution continues to evolve, Zeiher comments. The production model may now be disrupted through the use of GAI. Combining the distribution evolution, audience consumer changes and using GAI in production, were in forlots more changes in the year(s) to come. Clment states, As streaming platforms experiment with new content formats and distribution methods, VFX studios will adapt to different types of media and storytelling approaches.