What’s in store for 2025?
Posted on Jan 23, 2025
Industry leaders reveal the game-changing trends & hot topics set to dominate the conversation in the year ahead
Neal Romanek | Co-Founder, The Flint
This will be a make-or-break year for sustainability in our industry. As climate impacts continue to diminish production days and push up insurance rates, we’re in a race against physics to stop the use of fossil fuels across all sectors and maintain a manageable future. Global film and TV production remains very much affected by what goes on in the US. The UK film industry largely provides services for US-based producers, with some pioneering practices.
While sustainability got a bump under President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the newly elected US president is flooding the incoming government with science deniers and fossil fuel executives. High-profile strategy documents are prioritising the closing of major scientific offices like the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This could radically impact the way businesses approach sustainability.
The president has promised to go after media outlets, so they’re starting to tread carefully. Even prior to the election, top media companies – including The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times – went out of their way to show friendly faces towards the president. In December, he brought a suit against ABC News, which the company immediately settled. We shouldn’t be too surprised to see major media companies roll back sustainability conversations. DEI and sustainability policies are being considered vulnerabilities – targets for the incoming administration.
Legislation can create business changes very speedily, but the reverse is true too – if businesses aren’t required to invest in our common future, most won’t. Big workshops for US productions, like the UK and Canada, will need to do some soul searching in the months ahead. It’s going to be easy for the global industry to use the imminent changes in the US as an excuse to backtrack – the old ‘if [insert country] isn’t bothering, why should we?’ excuse. But this year will provide an incredible opportunity for production centres outside of the US to become hubs for sustainable innovation.
Stephen Nakamura | Senior Colourist, Company 3
An interesting trend that I’m seeing in colour grading is filmmakers wanting elaborate film looks for their digitally shot movies. It’s something people have been requesting for years, but I’m finding it’s more frequent now than ever, especially with younger filmmakers. We also have much more sophisticated tools now, so we can do a more thorough job of it. There was a time when a LUT and layer of grain was all that went into a film look, but I’ve spent lots of time on major movies finessing those effects, with tools for grain, halation, glow and even gate weave – which was something film shooters always wanted to fix in the past. New filmmakers want all the traits that were traditionally seen as flaws – even dirt and scratches! For the newer generation, it adds a painterly look or retro feel to the work, which is helping some movies stand out from the rest.
Lee Griffin | VP Product, Marketing & Development, Editshare
AI and cloud workflows are reshaping how media teams work, making tasks faster and easier. At EditShare, we see AI as a powerful tool that can speed up the creative process, instead of replacing it. By automating repetitive tasks like tagging, logging and searching for media, AI allows creators to focus more on the storytelling aspect. It can automatically label content, helping find the exact shot needed, which simplifies the management process.
Cloud-based workflows allow easy collaboration, no matter where you are. With fast, secure sharing and editing, filmmakers can work together online, in real time, saving time and money. Swift Link – our core technology – enables users to work from anywhere. EditShare’s NVMe EFS Field unit brings advanced tools on-set, so filmmakers can ingest, edit, manage and sync footage back to base using Swift Sync technology. This reduces delays, ensures quick decision-making and avoids costly reshoots.
Security is also a key focus. With audit technology protecting important scenes, creators can concentrate on telling their stories without worrying about content leaking out. As new AI and remote tools continue to improve, the film industry is becoming more efficient and flexible, allowing for smarter, faster workflows.
Owen Riseley | Creative Producer, CUBE Studio
The future of filmmaking isn’t just about technology – it’s about reimagining what’s possible. Virtual production is more than just a tool; it’s a canvas for bold ideas, blending artistry and innovation. At CUBE Studio, we’ve seen how VP can accelerate the creative process. For Nokia’s The Exponential Era with Hannah Fry, produced in collaboration with Bloomberg Media Studios, we built an immersive world to visually represent Fry’s thoughts, ideas and the key topics she discussed with Nokia’s thought leaders. In Stormzy and Dyson’s 55 hours in the mind of a rockstar, created with Park Village, VP was used similarly for a cinematic exploration of Stormzy’s mind.
VP also redefines accessibility. It enabled emerging talent to produce Afterglow, a high-concept sci-fi project that previously would have been out of reach for a team just out of university. The Boundary and RD Content used VP for The Residences at Mandarin Oriental – transporting buyers into a yet-to-be-built luxury sanctuary – showcasing its transformative potential beyond film. Heading into 2025, the path is clear: make VP accessible, accelerate its adoption and empower creators all over to use it. The studio of the future is here, and it’s redefining the limits of creativity!
Paul Silcox | VFX Director, Lux Aeterna
2024 started with the impact of the SAG-AFTRA strikes affecting all aspects of the industry – especially VFX – and this signalled the new post-Covid era, as productions saw a reduction in the number of commissions and reduced budgets. I see this continuing into 2025, as VFX companies aim to improve efficiency and speed up workflows to enable the quality to continue improving despite budget changes. AI became a hot topic in 2024, which will continue into 2025 with lots of innovation maturing into disruptive technologies throughout the pipeline.
Ethical discussions about ownership and authorship will need to be assessed more clearly, and the impacts on artists better understood. Creative vendors must address these issues with their clients and establish legal, regulatory and ethical clarity so they can compete with confidence. From 1 January, we’ll see an enhanced rate of 39% (from 34%) on the amount productions can claim on VFX produced in the UK, as well as removal of the 80% cap on qualifying costs. This will mean more productions staying in the UK for VFX – as well as filming – and will benefit larger productions and vendors.
VFX is a tech-focused business, and the only constant is change. At Lux Aeterna, we’ll continue to surf these shifting sands, and I look forward to the creative opportunities that come our way.
Krishna Prasad | CTO, FutureWorks
Emerging technologies in VFX and post-production are set to redefine the industry in 2025. VP will play a transformative role, improving previsualisation and optimisation costs. By adopting parallel VP workflows across multiple VFX studios, production houses can explore diverse creative looks during pre-production, gaining deeper insights and enhancing project outcomes.
AI-driven storyboarding is another game changer, fostering much closer collaboration between film directors, cinematographers and pre-production teams. VFX studios that integrate robust AI pipelines at the storyboard stage will enable earlier tie-ins with production houses, streamlined workflows and enhanced creative synergy.
Universal Scene Description (USD) is poised to revolutionise multi-project workflows. It will standardise processes and boost efficiency, especially in fast-paced studio environments. GPU computing advancements will also bring hyperrealism closer to reality. Improved GPU integration will enable more efficient computing; a pivotal trend for 2025.
However, technological adoption requires addressing resistance to change within teams. Studios will need to prioritise adaptability and foster a culture of openness to thrive in this evolving landscape. Embracing innovation while cultivating a forward-thinking mindset will define the industry’s success when it comes to technological advancement.
This story appears in the January 2025 issue of Definition
