We work with public art installations where we are considering using UE4 as an interactive renderer that would act in conjunction with a media server. UE4 would take in variables from a media server and send the rendered texture back (via Spout for example). The media server then sends this texture to screens, projectors or lights.
My question is this:
on what part of the overall fee do we need to pay the 5% royalty? Am I right to assume that on the part of the fee which goes to content creation inside UE4 and not for the hardware (media servers, lights, projectors etc.) or for the programming of that hardware (projection mapping etc.)
These installations are usually created for a one-time fee. The fee are for:
hardware and programming.
content creation. For this part, we would like to use UE4 (instead of coding the visuals ourselves with, for example, Cinder or Open Frameworks).
Often part 1 and part 2 is done by different companies/providers. Think of it as this: an av rental company would take care of point 1 and a production studio would take care of point 2.
I hope this makes it clearer. If you need more info, just ask.
Assuming the work is unique for a single client, those work-for-hire fees are royalty free. But does the client monetize the work afterwards? If so, how?
They usually don’t as a matter of fact. These installations can be, for example, a permanent interactive projection in a shopping mall, or an interactive video wall in a hotel lobby or things like that.
So I understand the key question is whether this work/content is monetized afterward in any way?