Hasta La Motion!

WildBrain, a global kids and family content and brands company, has appointed Steve Manners to drive a new business development initiative designed to maximise opportunities for brand licensors and content creators to reach consumer audiences through YouTube.

In the newly created role, Manners will work with clients to build brand management programmes that leverage the blended expertise of WildBrain’s established consumer products licensing agency, WildBrain CPLG, and its leading digital network and studio, WildBrain Spark. The initiative reflects WildBrain’s unique position to offer a fully integrated 360° approach to brand management and monetization through its expertise in consumer products licensing, content creation, and digital distribution.

 WildBrain CPLG EVP and managing director Maarten Weck said: “We have been working closely with our colleagues at WildBrain Spark as the licensing industry becomes increasingly attuned of the potential of YouTube and other digital platforms for launching, supporting or reinvigorating IP. Steve is the ideal person to spearhead business initiatives that help inform and support our clients as they look to navigate the digital landscape, and his new role will help maximise the synergies across our businesses.”

Steve Manners

As VP, Business Development WildBrain CPLG and WildBrain Spark, Manners will report to Weck and Jon Gisby. He has nearly 30 years experience in Consumer Products. Since 2010, he has been a key member of the management team that has seen WildBrain CPLG become one of the world’s top consumer products licensing agencies. Manners has played an integral role at the agency in overseeing the successful programmes of key licensors and also securing new representation. Prior to CPLG, he held senior positions at 20th Century Fox, Universal and Beanstalk.

“There is a huge opportunity for IP owners in harnessing the expertise, tools and reach of both WildBrain CPLG and WildBrain Spark – it’s a very exciting time to be at the forefront of this bold new world. We are uniquely positioned to offer combined expertise and services that benefit those coming from the AVOD-first space to consumer products, as well as those licensors looking to leverage YouTube as a tool,” Manners noted.

 WildBrain Spark MD Gisby added, “WildBrain Spark’s expertise in digital distribution and content creation can help IP owners and their licensees engage audiences across the world, and maximise the return on their marketing investments. With approximately four billion views per month on our YouTube network, we have an abundance of insights and data that can drive consumer products strategies and campaigns. In addition, we assist licensors in creating ‘always on’ content delivery on YouTube to further engage consumers and support brand activity, so it’s a natural step to harmonise our offering for IP owners. Manners’ experience and relationships in the licensing world will enable us to enhance our services and forge expanded and new partnerships.”

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Shine Saha

The cosplay at Mumbai Comic Con 2019 saw enthusiasts dressed up as their favourite characters. The competition saw some mind-blowing, creative cosplays from various arenas like comics, movies and games. Shine Saha, popular as Kaiserwolfe became the cosplay winner at the Mumbai Comic Con 2019.

Talking to AnimationXpress, Saha shared his views about this rapidly growing culture.

How was it winning at Comic Con?

It was like a dream come true and a milestone achieved that I’d set since I started cosplaying. Over the years, I’d attend Comic Con and see professional cosplayers up close right on stage and that would motivate me to level up every time and create something that’s beautiful (and of course a winning material, though that’s secondary). Winning at MCC was the first step though; right now I’m excited about the Indian Championships of Cosplay that’s due in some time.

What inspired you to become a cosplayer?

I’ve always been into arts and craft. Cosplaying opened up a whole new world for me where I could not only build any character I liked but also wear the costume and perform or role-play (Cosplay = Costume + Play)! What really got me hooked was the amount of intricate work, detailing, craftsmanship, use of a wide variety of materials and electronics. There are so many things one can do; it’s pretty challenging and I love that!

What characters have you explored till now? Which is the best character you dressed up as?

I’ve cosplayed as characters from DC like Nightwing, Robin, Green Lantern and from Marvel like Punisher, Crossbones. I’ve ventured into gaming and cosplayed from PUBG and also as Oracle from DOTA 2. I love movie and sci-fi cosplays. My favorite cosplays so far have been Gipsy Avenger from Pacific Rim Uprising and Jetfire from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Jetfire remains as the best character I’ve cosplayed as and I won this year with that character.

What are your thoughts about the cosplay culture in India?

I would say the cosplay culture in India is still at a growing stage; though the rate has definitely been a rapid one lately. We have more events now that are hiring cosplayers and there are many more competitions too. There are cosplayers currently from all walks be it anime, gaming or other areas. The community is pretty well knit and people are becoming more aware about ways to grow together.

How do you see it growing in India?

The way in which the cosplay culture is growing in India is tremendous. Every once a while I come across cosplayers from different parts of India and from all age groups and it’s a treat to watch them cosplay. The variety of cosplays is growing, so is the level of craftsmanship. Indian cosplayers have begun making a mark in the international scene. And the biggest change has been the growing acceptance among the general crowd regarding cosplay as an art form and as a professional domain as well.

Who is your favorite cosplayer? Why?

My favourites have to be Kamui Cosplay, Kinpatsu Cosplay, Ali Cosplay Props, CowbuttCrunchies Cosplay, Maul Cosplay, Lighting Cosplay and some amazing craftsmen like Evil Ted, Scythe Skunkworks amongst others. Each one has something unique to bring to the table like working with foam, worbla, prosthetics, resin work, painting, fabric work and other such materials. There’s always something new to learn from them every time.

What cosplays would like to do in future?

Gaming characters from DOTA 2, Final Fantasy, Warhammer 40K and some more Marvel and DC characters like Iron Man.

How was the experience of getting into the attire of Jetfire? Why you chose this character?

Jetfire was a very difficult character to build and had a lot of details. The entire build required making a custom skeleton plus a lot of detailed armour work. Also, there have been no movie-accurate, true scale cosplays of him anywhere and it’s one of my favourite characters from the Transformers movie franchise. It was a pretty unique and challenging build and that’s why I went for it.

For some exciting cosplays, check out Kaiserwolfe on social media. Take inspiration, build up your own costume, ComicCon and other such events are waiting for you. And so are we!

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Pixel Digital Studios recently welcomed Govardhan Vigraham as creative head.

With over twenty years of experience in the VFX industry, Vigraham will prove a valuable addition to the rapidly-evolving studio. Over the course of his career, Vigraham has been associated with VFX studios in various capacities across the AVGC landscape.

Speaking about his appointment at PixelDigital, he shared: “It’s a great opportunity. It’s a full-fledged

Govardhan Vigraham

facility and its made a good name over a period of time. It’s an opportunity for me to take the place further from what they already have achieved. It’s a very meaty role. The sort of thing that gives someone like me an opportunity because of the years that I have put in. I needed a facility that gives me the platform to bring out the best in me. I see a tremendous scope for a creative person like me as this facility houses various tools and services under one roof. With the number of platforms going up, the demand for VFX work has also risen tremendously. So we are gearing up for all that. Correspondingly, even the challenges have gone up. The market is in a flux and I am looking forward to play a role in enhancing the storytelling of this golden age.”

Having lent his VFX prowess and creative skills in big-ticket Bollywood projects like Skyfire. Fitoor, Rangoon, Haider, Cocktail, Mohanjodaro, Vigraham brings an impressive breadth of experience in the field of VFX filmcraft.

Primarily a post-production VFX studio, PixelDigital has made a name for itself for providing a variety of creative services across platforms.

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Gaming in India is a burgeoning market. Even with the recent figures in GDP decline, this particular ecosystem seems to be thriving. With multiple aspects to it, the industry seems to be attracting more and more indigenous aspirants.

While development studios are popping up by the day throughout the country, in some places it might be lacking investment. Many indie studios open-up and shut due to lack of investors while others make it by surviving on service-based work rather than IPs.

One of India’s largest gaming company, Nazara Technologies, has invested in a number of companies throughout the country and plan to keep it going. The CEO, Manish Agarwal gave us some insights on what they look for before investing in a company.

“That (investment) totally depends on the company’s stage at which it is”, says Agarwal.

If the product has been launched, it depends on how much BAU it has and how many installs have already been completed. Then the obvious KPIs become retention, engagement and hopefully monetisation.

“What you have is a simple framework of acquisition, attention, engagement and monetisation”

In acquisition – you look at how much is your paid and how much is your organic virality, engagement and time spent. While on engagement you look at short-term, long term, mid term and monetisation.

In terms of a company which does not have a live product, it doesn’t matter what the scale is, the higher the share, the higher the chance that it is able to achieve better metrics and stronger it is for investment. Now say, a company which doesn’t have a product, then its purely a function of what is the addressable size of the market…what kind of ideas, consumer understanding and insights does the founding team have. Also, the fun element in the prototype that is to be launched.

India being a mobile-first country, only a few developers are looking at developing games for PC or console. Investing seems to be a problem there too in some cases. In recent times, indie studio NoddingHeads went in to kickstarter for their upcoming projects Raji, where they failed to meet the desired amount, but have since continued work on a steady pace. Says the team, “Unfortunately it is. We are one of the few Indian Indie Dev teams developing for the PC and console market. So naturally, this seems to be a bone of contention with Indian investors. The thought of investing funds for more than six to twelve months seems too much of a risk and dare we say that this may be considered unnaturally long term for them. This is why we are looking further afield. Currently we do not have plans to develop for mobile, our focus is to make Raji the best we can within the time constraints we have and for future projects, create compelling games for this PC and console/market.”

Somewhat similar about the market was shared by Agarwal himself, “It’s because there are no publishers of PC in India and the publishing market is a mobile-first market. So people like me who are looking at investment are looking at mobile-first companies.  For us, we are very focused on a  domestic market and other emerging markets which are also mobile-firsts. Anybody who is working for the PC means they are predominantly catering to the western markets and I don’t have that understanding of the consumer there. So for me it’s not of strategic interest and I can’t really put my finger on whether it will succeed or not and hence I will not get into it.”

Shares another indie studio, Pocket League, “There needs to be cohesion or strategy with the types of products being made in a games company, for example targeting one specific genre, very deeply understanding the audience, creating a brand, and also, needless to say, having a data-driven approach. Investors are looking for an exit at the end of the day, and a gaming company has to focus on creating enough value to get there. They have to be able to sell their story to investors and show a clear path to creating a multi-million dollar business. Having said that, bringing in investment is just one approach.”

While investment for mobile gaming in the country seems to be on a brighter path, according to Agarwal these are the things that a studio looking for funding should keep in mind.

“If you are looking at an idea which is being funded, then you need to have KPI’s which have to be outlandish.” He further states, “if you are in your top five percentile whether in your long term retention, your virality, your monetisation or your engagement then you will be able to create a confidence in the investor that this game has legs to go.”

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Disney released the new trailer for The New Mutants today. The film draws inspiration from Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz’s The Demon Bear Saga, one of the best-known New Mutants stories. In 2016, The New Mutants director Josh Boone explained that he pitched The New Mutants as a trilogy beginning with The Demon Bear Saga.

The film is described as an original horror thriller set in an isolated hospital where a group of young mutants is being held for psychiatric monitoring. Together they’ll try to figure out what’s happening as  strange occurrences begin to take place, and they try to make it out alive.

Fox first made plans to develop the movie in 2015, and production started in 2016. Filming originally ended in September 2017, but things only went downhill. In January 2018, Fox moved the release date back to February 2019.

A lot of Marvel fans are taking to social media to share their praise of the new footage from the film. After cast change, rewriting of script, re-shooting extensively, after almost five years after the deal to make the movie was signed, The New Mutants will now be opening in theaters on 3 April 2020.

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