“The Wheel of Time” IP owner iwot Studios and VFX company Framestore have signed an agreement to launch an AI-enabled platform that provides brand asset management tools to facilitate collaboration on projects across multiple platforms.
The first IP to utilize the platform will be Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time, and iwot currently has at least three projects in development: one animated film, one live-action film, and a AAA video game.
According to iwot and Framestore’s new service description, the joint venture will “build a breakthrough platform for premium entertainment franchises that will enable studios to unify production environments across film, television, video games, animation, advertising, immersive experiences, social platforms, and user-generated content.”
The companies said: “By unifying assets, standards and governance on a single foundation, the platform enables production across all media formats to work together rather than as independent silos. As fans demand engagement with IP across multiple formats, studios must accelerate production across these formats while maintaining reliability.”
While “The Wheel of Time” will be the first IP to utilize the platform, iwot chief operating officer Larry Mondragon said the venture is intended to serve a wide range of brands, with Mondragon citing Coca-Cola and the New England Patriots as examples that could benefit from a “uniform master definition of brand that applies to all projects.”
“All of these IPs have a common challenge: As technology evolves, reaching customers requires an incredible amount of investment and very different strategies for how to reach them,” Mondragon said.
Currently, iwot is developing at least three projects based on “The Wheel of Time.” One animated movie, one live-action movie, and a AAA video game. Mondragon said asset management across these projects spurred the joint venture with Framestore.
“It used to be that if you did a TV show, you took a year off and then you did it again,” Mondragon said. “Right now, the standards for premium-quality television programming are so high that the cost of a movie, the cost of a triple-A video game, or the cost of a very high-quality animated production is staggeringly expensive, creating a real friction between what companies are trying to do, which is save money while trying to get their product to market. But doing so creates fragmentation, and we sometimes lose customers over the course of a few seasons before we can launch a new series and start a new turn on the show.And we recognize this as an IP owner, that the problems the market has are exactly the same as the problems we have ourselves. ”
Mr. Mondragon added, “Currently, there are many ‘Wheel of There’s a triple-A open-world game in development in Montreal. There’s also a live-action feature film in pre-production, directed by Kari Skoglund. And there are more projects to come. The challenge is that each one of those projects takes millions of dollars to produce at once. Once a movie or TV show is finished, those assets are basically put away in a drawer and the next project starts from scratch. So, with our own projects, our own challenges, and a business model that seemed increasingly unsustainable, we asked ourselves, is there a better way? ”
“Fans don’t have to wait to experience their favorite world in the format they want,” said Rick Selvidge, CEO of iwot Studios. “‘The Wheel of Time’ will be the first IP to benefit from the platforms our joint venture is developing, so we can put ‘The Wheel of Time’ everywhere our fans are – in film, television, video games, immersive platforms, social platforms and more. We can meet our fans wherever they are while maintaining discipline control, creative consistency and security.”
Framestore CEO Mel Sullivan added, “Our award-winning technologists are experts in creating tools and platforms to accelerate the production process. Framestore already supports all media formats and brings that experience to the joint venture. This is a great addition to our rapidly growing technology services business.”
