Animated recreations go mainstream for news?

Animated recreations have been all the rage in cable news lately, drawing the ire of “Saturday Night Live” and many media critics, but a French based company is hoping to bring legitimacy to the practice of reconstructions through an online animation platform.

Dubbed EasySim3D, the software from Virdys, allows fast and easy real-time 3D animation from “all angles,” lowering the barriers of entry to those outside the creative department.

The creators believe the technology will aid in storytelling, creating an interesting feature for broadcasters.

Now, we’re not going to argue the merits of having an “on call” 3D recreation service, but it does beg the question… how many times will the average station be able to use the tool?

Some international networks, such as France 2, have begun using the system as it looks for new markets.

For CNN, every story could involve a recreation, much as “SNL” lampooned a few weeks ago:

In reality, for a local station, only a high profile event would ever need this level of production. Sure, you could use it to cover a car accident or structure fire, but is it worth the investment? The real market for this technology seems to be court room reconstructions for lawsuits.

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