315 Contemplation
KiShin Pictures was still in the filming stage of "Spiderman".
But while filming the superhero movie, KiShin Pictures in the UK was also evaluating and may prepare to film the recently well-known book in London literacy, and that is "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone".
The book was actually quite well known to literacy fans in London; high school or college students, or even elementary kids in school, would read the book once in a while.
One of the reasons why the book is quite well known, even to some elementary students who are literacy fans, was because of the fact that KiShin Foundation donated it to their schools.
And teachers would tell the story to the kids once in a while, and because of that, the book influenced the kids quite a bit.
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Amidst the great popularity of "Toy Story" in animation and the ushering in of a new era of filmmaking, many animation studios also tried to attempt computer-generated 3D animation.
Companies such as DreamWorks Animation and Blue Sky Studios.
The animation studios were already expecting the time-consuming and budget demands of 3D animation films, yet a few of them, especially the two mentioned, such as DreamWorks and Blue Sky Studios, and a few more were willing to take on the risks for 3D animation.
Meanwhile, Pixar, the first animation studio to delve into computer-generated 3D animation, is now utilizing the KiShin software "Unreal Engine."
Unbeknownst to them, Pixar played a significant role in enhancing the "Unreal Engine." As Pixar animators faced specific challenges and needs in their animation workflows, they established direct communication with KiShin software developers. Through this collaboration, they conveyed issues to KiShin "Unreal Engine" developers, guiding feature development and improvements.
Through collaboration between Pixar and KiShin companies, Pixar worked directly with KiShin engineers. They provided feedback, tested new tools, and suggested enhancements based on their real-world experience.
Pixar also contributed to educational materials, tutorials, and documentation, fostering a broader understanding of "Unreal Engine" for animation.
However, it wasn't only Pixar providing assistance in the improvement of "Unreal Engine"; Microsoft also played a significant role in contributing to these advancements.
So far, only a select few companies like Pixar and Microsoft have been granted full access to the "Unreal Engine." Other studios, whether in the video game or animation industry, upon learning about the capabilities of this software used by Pixar and Microsoft, expressed their eagerness to utilize it, even willing to pay a substantial price for access.
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Shin recently received a report from Orio Masayoshi highlighting the strong desire among various animation studios and influential film studios in Hollywood to also adopt KiShin's "Unreal Engine," the same software employed by Pixar and Microsoft.
While KiShin aimed to preserve the exclusivity of the "Unreal Engine" to retain control over its direction and quality, Shin recognized that exclusivity might restrict the engine's impact and growth. Competing solutions could emerge over time from other companies. Despite the broader access of the "VG Engine" aiding in the improvement of the "Unreal Engine" software, Shin noted that the "VG Engine" was predominantly utilized by video game companies. Consequently, the animation features didn't progress as much as those in the "Unreal Engine."
Despite the ongoing improvements in both the VG Engine and Unreal Engine with the help of the data from VG Engine, the enhancements in the "Unreal Engine" stemming from collaborations with Pixar and Microsoft were exclusive to the "Unreal Engine." This was because the direct agreements through partnerships with Pixar and Microsoft only pertained to the improvements of the "Unreal Engine" and did not encompass enhancements for the "VG Engine."
Shin could potentially lift the exclusivity of the "Unreal Engine" at KiShin, offering broader access to companies and developers. However, the dilemma lies in the possible repercussions, particularly in alienating Pixar and Microsoft. While alienating Pixar wasn't a concern for Shin, given his significant ownership stake of 24 percent in the company, the prospect of alienating Microsoft prompted Shin to contemplate further.
The reason for potential alienation is clear. Opening up the "Unreal Engine" to other companies would diminish the unique advantages currently enjoyed by Pixar and Microsoft in the market. The software plays a pivotal role in propelling them ahead in CGI, animations, and various other aspects compared to companies using the VG Engine.
Shin weighed the pros and cons of maintaining exclusivity for the "Unreal Engine." The advantages included KiShin retaining exclusive access to advanced features developed in collaboration with Pixar and Microsoft, providing a potential competitive edge. There was also less risk of alienating current partners like Pixar and Microsoft.
However, the drawbacks of maintaining exclusivity were apparent. It limited the reach and potential revenue of the Unreal Engine by excluding most studios, potentially generating negative PR or antitrust concerns. There was also the risk of missing out on potential advancements from a wider pool of users and developers.
On the other hand, opening the "Unreal Engine" software to wider access, even to the public, presented its own set of pros and cons. The benefits included increased revenue and market share through licensing fees and wider adoption, a broader developer community contributing to its development, and an improved public image by promoting open access and collaboration.
Yet, the drawbacks included the possibility that studios using advanced features developed with Pixar and Microsoft might feel they've lost their competitive advantage. Maintaining separate codebases for advanced and basic versions of the Unreal Engine could be resource-intensive, and there was a risk of competitors using it to create better games or animated films, challenging KiShin's market position.
