AI startup unveils new tool to empower filmmakers and storytellers to make CGI and VFX movies on a budget; currently being used on upcoming Russo Brothers film, Electric State

Wonder Dynamics, an AI film company co-founded by Tye Sheridan—actor/producer known for Ready Player One—and VFX supervisor/filmmaker Nikola Todorovic, today announced the official launch of Wonder Studio, an AI tool built for the film and TV industry. Wonder Dynamics is making the visual effects (VFX) process more accessible and affordable by developing AI and machine learning tools that allow filmmakers to produce VFX and CGI elements faster and at a significantly lower price point.

Wonder Studio is a web-based AI platform that enables artists to create films with CGI characters with just a few simple clicks of a button. No complicated 3D software, no expensive production hardware—all the artist needs is a camera. The company’s mission is to open access to CGI-heavy films and allow more voices to create visually big films at a lower price point.

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Wonder Studio empowers storytellers through a number of features:

• No production hardware/equipment needed. Not even a MoCap suit (short for “Motion Capture”), which is required for actors to wear in order to drive the performance of a CG character in an industry-standard performance capture system (used in films like Avatar and Planet of the Apes).

• No need for heavy frame-by-frame VFX work. Instead, the AI analyzes the footage from a single camera and captures many elements, including the actors’ performances, lighting, compositing, camera motion, etc. Then, it automatically animates, lights and composes the CG character directly into the live-action scene.

• Adaptive to the existing post-production workflow. The system automates 80% – 90% of the “objective,” frame-by-frame VFX work and leaves the artist with the remaining “subjective” work, which can be exported into the software they already use (such as Maya, Unreal, Blender, Nuke, etc.).

In film production, the final VFX delivery relies on several iterations and collaborations between thousands of artists and multiple vendors. Most existing generative AI solutions on the market lack the “editability” artists need while working on high-level productions. Wonder Studio was built with artists and the existing filmmaking process in mind. Whether it be lighting, camera, or animation, the artist can make detailed edits to each element in the VFX process in 3D space. Wonder Studio streamlines the filmmaking process while still allowing the artist to maintain control.

“We are just filmmakers who, like many other artists in our industry, didn’t have a budget for the kind of sci-fi films we wanted to make, so we set out to make AI tools that eliminate huge cost barriers,” said Nikola Todorovic, co-founder and CEO of Wonder Dynamics. “The tools we developed have enhanced collaboration and broken through the black box we tend to see in generative AI that limits control of the finest details in each shot.”

Wonder Dynamics’ technology has already been adopted by big names in Hollywood. Wonder Studio is currently being leveraged by The Russo Brothers on the upcoming film, Electric State, starring Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt, which Joe and Anthony Russo are co-directing and producing through AGBO.

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“It’s been fantastic working with the team at Wonder Dynamics on Electric State. It’s highly engaging and incredibly efficient to use state-of-the-art AI on a movie about advanced technology,” said Joe Russo, filmmaker and Wonder Dynamics advisory board member. “Wonder Dynamics’ technology is a game changer for filmmakers, and it’s the right step towards a future in which AI can be a powerful and additive tool in an artist’s repertoire. I’m excited to see how this impacts the next generation of filmmakers.”

“I may be biased, but making movies has to be one of the coolest jobs you could ever have. We are storytellers at heart, and we’re only building technology as a means to help us tell better stories. AI presents a huge opportunity for more films to be made and for more voices to be heard,” said Tye Sheridan, co-founder of Wonder Dynamics. “We spent three years building Wonder Studio as a foundational technology, and we’re developing some exciting new features that we’ll be unveiling in the next few months.”

The company has quietly been building foundational technology for the past three years, and in recent funding, they’ve racked up an impressive set of investors, including Horizons Ventures, Founders Fund, Epic Games, MaC Venture Capital, and Samsung NEXT. Wonder Studio cloud computing is powered by NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstations with A10G Tensor Core GPUs running on AWS EC2 G5 instances.

Wonder Dynamics Co-Founders Tye Sheridan and Nikola Todorovic will be discussing Wonder Studio further in the featured SXSW panel, Understanding the Role of AI in Reshaping the Film & Television Industry, on March 14, 2023.

As a member of NVIDIA Inception, a global program that nurtures cutting-edge startups, Wonder Dynamics will also be presenting on AI Powered Visual Effects and the potential of AI in the film and television industry at NVIDIA GTC, a global conference for the era of AI and the metaverse, on March 23, 2023.

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