Nikola Todorovic always wanted to make films, but encountered a familiar problem: the sci-fi screenplays he wrote would require $200 million budgets. Aiming to reduce this cost, Nikola co-founded Wonder Dynamics with Ready Player One actor Tye Sheridan to develop Wonder Studio, a platform that simplifies the time-consuming tasks involved in adding CG characters to live-action plates.
Nikola breaks down the creation of Wonder Studio, how it ingests and analyses scenes to allow for easy export to software, including Unreal and Maya, and how it generates 3D characters. He also talks through the process of setting up Wonder Dynamics, from its beginnings as a startup company to its acquisition by Autodesk — and what this means for its user base.
Links:
Nikola Todorovic on LinkedIn >
0:05:23 Rewinding to Nikola's youth in VHS stores
0:09:23 What inspired him to start the company
0:15:23 What the product is and how it shortcuts to the fun stuff
0:21:23 Trimming the fat of VFX processes
0:24:23 The pain of rigging
0:27:23 The ethics of AI
0:33:23 How he trained his LLMs
0:36:23 The importance of tracking cameras
0:37:23 Starting the company and launching the software
0:42:23 The process of using the software
0:45:23 Criticisms of the software
0:47:23 Giving voices to new filmmakers
0:52:23 Autodesk acquisition
0:56:23 How to sign up for the software, passing the Russo test
1:00:23 The importance of sharing industry knowledge
Chris is a CG industry veteran and Director of Chaos Labs. He can also be heard regularly as the host of the CG Garage podcast which attracts 20,000 weekly listeners. With a background in both VFX and Design, Chris has worked for Gensler, Digital Domain, Imageworks and Method Studios. His credits include Maleficent, Oblivion and Tron: Legacy.