Issue #18
Progress unmoored | A24: The Rise of a Cultural Conglomerate | The sky as a canvas: the artistry and science of drone shows | +3 bonus articles | Free Resources - Title Drops
Alpine Lake Scene by Theodor Nocken
Est. Reading Time: 6 minutes
Transportation 🛳️
Progress unmoored
Works in Progress | Dec 2024
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Between the late 19th century and the first commercial jumbo jet flight in 1969, ocean liners were the primary mode of intercontinental travel. Though often luxurious, they mainly served as means of transportation.
The introduction of modern passenger jets in the late 1950s reduced transatlantic travel time from days to hours. By the late 1960s, as jet travel became more affordable, ocean liners faced declining demand and adapted by offering cruises in warmer waters, visiting tourist destinations with ships full of amenities, leading to the rise of leisure cruises.
Unlike new buildings, airplanes, bridges, and trains, which are often similar to their decades old versions and more costly, the passenger cruise industry has continued to innovate and improve performance.
Source: Works in Progress
The record for the world's largest passenger ship has been broken nine times this century, with three instances in the last five years. In January 2024, Icon of the Seas, the largest passenger ship ever built, set sail from Miami, Florida. It is five times bigger than the Titanic and can carry nearly 10,000 people across 20 decks.
Modern cruise ships can be more cost-effective to build than past flag carriers when measured per gross ton in 2024 dollars. Continuous improvements in European shipbuilding indicate that infrastructure costs in Europe are due to flawed regulations and institutions, not technological challenges or material prices.
Industries are typically regulated based on the negative impacts they have on people, especially if those affected are concentrated in a specific area. Affected parties often resist such projects or demand regulations, leading to restrictions like zoning laws and bans on onshore wind generation, which increase costs by creating artificial scarcity.
Cruise ships, spending most of their time at sea or temporarily docked, impose minimal local negative impacts, thus reducing the need for national regulation. Cruise ships avoid regulation through the flag of convenience, sailing under a nation's flag and adhering to its laws. They can choose which flag to fly due to their mobility. Many cruise lines register in countries with favorable regulations, such as the Bahamas or Liberia, to benefit from lower taxes and relaxed labor standards.
Cruise ships could grow larger and more numerous, but their size is limited by land-based infrastructure like ports, bridges, and canals. Port depth restricts the maximum draught of cruise ships, while bridge height limits their sailing height. With these constraints, modern megaships have expanded outward, resulting in their distinctive wide profile.
Entertainment 🎞️
A24: The Rise of a Cultural Conglomerate
The Generalist | Sep 2023
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In April 2022, A24 funded a film about a middle-aged Chinese-American woman who operates a laundromat. With a budget of just $25 million, "Everything Everywhere All At Once" exceeded $140 million at the box office and won seven Academy Awards. The film's success highlights both the talent of its creators and cast, as well as the strategic approach of the studio behind it.
A24 was founded by Daniel Katz, an expert in film financing, along with David Fenkel and John Hodges, both of whom had notable careers in the film industry. The trio brought together a powerful mix of financial, operational, and acquisition expertise.
Since its inception in 2012, the New York-based studio has taken an unconventional route to cinematic success. While major Hollywood studios have focused on superhero movies over the past decade, A24 has embraced creative risks. Instead of playing it safe, founders David Fenkel and Daniel Katz seek out true auteurs and fully support their visions.
A24 has supported visionary filmmakers behind hits like "Uncut Gems," "Hereditary," "Lady Bird," "Midsommar," and "Ex Machina." Alongside delivering strong returns and achieving a $2.5 billion valuation, A24's filmography has garnered critical acclaim and amassed significant cultural influence. Despite differing in subject matter and style, the films share a unique essence that has cultivated a dedicated fan base for the studio itself.
Major studios manage substantial budgets that must be utilized. Due to their size, it makes little strategic sense for companies like Paramount or Columbia to invest $5 million in a small, speculative project that might only gross $30 million. This is why they concentrate on high-budget productions with the potential to earn billions. To mitigate the risks of such investments, major studios have gravitated towards safer bets like sequels and reboots. In 1993, only two of the top twenty grossing films were based on “unoriginal” IP, but by 2013, this number had risen to fourteen.
Source: The Generalist
A24’s founders identified an opportunity amidst this trend. They recognized that while major studios no longer focused on indie films with strong viewpoints, there remained an audience craving such content, especially in a culturally homogenous landscape.
A24 implemented three key strategic decisions:
Operate like a startup: A24 fostered a unique culture, providing employees with equity in the firm and a flat organizational structure.
Make small bets: Despite its progressive culture, A24 adopted a conservative financial strategy by making small, intentional investments in projects.
Find outlier auteurs: They believed that unique creators with distinctive perspectives would attract younger audiences seeking alternatives to Hollywood’s repetitive sequels.
Technology 🛸
The sky as a canvas: the artistry and science of drone shows
South China Morning Post | Dec 2024
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On October 1, 2024, Shenzhen, China's tech hub, amazed the world by showcasing 10,197 drones lighting up the night sky for National Day. So, how does it work?
The process begins with identifying key locations, including the airspace for the performance and audience view points. These elements are modeled in simulation software to plan the show accurately.
A geofence is then established, creating an invisible boundary within which drones must stay, along with setting a maximum altitude for the performance.
The take-off area is chosen, and for safety, drones are arranged in a grid formation with about 3 metres of separation. The size of this area limits the maximum number of drones used in the show.
Drone shows are known for their smooth transitions between shapes, designed by 3D artists who create pixel art in the sky. Each drone acts as a point in 3D space to form the visuals.
To ensure seamless transitions, designers use keyframes from animation. For instance, morphing a square into a bird involves two keyframes, with software calculating intermediate positions for a smooth transformation and performing safety checks.
Once the design is complete, each drone is programmed with all the necessary data, including its precise position, altitude, and light color for every moment. This data is uploaded to the drones' flight controllers, enabling autonomous execution of the show.
Bonus 🎁
India Built a Perfect System to Ignore Its Deadly Air. (It's working.)
Source: The Plank
A pertinent and insightful article as more people seek to understand the issues surrounding air quality.
Is Google Maps fatally misleading drivers in India? It’s complicated
Source: Rest of World
Google Maps has radically altered how Indians navigate across cities and towns but it has its own pitfalls.
On the Great Nicobar island, why the future is fearful
Source: Scroll
An engaging article on the possible repercussions of the Great Nicobar Project on the residents and the environment.
Free Resources 💡
Title Drops: A title drop is when a character in a movie says the title of the movie they're in. The website showcases a large-scale analysis of 73,921 movies from the last 80 years on how often, when and maybe even why title drop happens.
For more such fun websites (200 websites and tools), check out Searching.