Studios are open to everyone for the first time. Join a crew or found your own studio, make films, take on group crimes, and build your reputation across Viva Ponata.

This is the first public pass. We are open to changing things as you play, especially crew progression, payouts, rental rewards, and how long activities take. Tell us in this thread what works, what feels slow, and where you get stuck.

Find or start a studio

Open Studios to search and sort the directory. Studio profiles show their cover, emblem, Fame, roster, and recruitment requirements. If a studio is recruiting and you qualify, you can apply with a short message, track the application, or withdraw it. Invite-only studios accept members through invitations. You can also found a studio from the directory if you want to lead your own.

My Studio, Members, and announcements

Current Priorities on your Overview brings together joinable film casting, active training and its progress bar, wars, studio crimes, and studio announcements. Recent Activity records what your studio has been doing. The Members tab shows the roster and ranks, and is where you can choose to leave. Use Announcements from the Overview to catch up on messages posted by your studio.

Movies and premieres

Producers choose one film at a time. Each title shows its crew size, filming time, cost, and potential cash and Fame. Casting calls go to studio members. Pick an open crew slot, then once the roster is full, a producer can start filming and pay the production cost from Studio Funds. Follow the countdown in Movies and return to see the premiere, quality, payout breakdown, and filmography.

Velvet Confidential is the four-hour starter film with three slots and no Director required. Midnight Alibi, The Last Guest, Velvet After Dark, and Neon Getaway use the full five-role crew. Crew effectiveness and luck shape the premiere. Half the proceeds go to Studio Funds and half are shared equally by the crew, with studio Fame awarded at release.

Studio Training and film careers

• Production Assistant is open to all members and earns qualifying credits from released films.
• Supporting Performer and Camera Operator each require 20 Production Assistant credits, followed by Screen Acting or Camera & Lighting respectively.
• Lead Performer requires 25 qualifying Supporting Performer credits and Advanced Screen Acting.
• Director requires 30 qualifying credits combined across Lead Performer and Camera Operator, followed by Film Direction.

Courses take four hours, one at a time. The Training tab shows each role and how close you are to its requirement. You can still take an open specialist slot as Untrained. You receive an equal crew share and appear in the film credits, but contribute 25% of your usual impact on quality and earn no qualifying credit for that appearance.

Film Rentals

Anyone can browse the Film Rentals catalogue, including players who have yet to join a studio. Each rental costs $100. You can rent up to five different releases per game day, once per release. The poster cards show the exact gains for Manual Labor, IQ, and Shine. A film rolls its reward once at premiere and keeps that amount for every rental. Good films award 1–50 in each stat, Very Good films 51–100, and Excellent films 101–200.

Studio Funds

Studio Funds is your shared treasury. Members can contribute from their own cash, request money with a reason, and track the decision. The Leader can approve or decline requests, pay one member or everyone, and make deposits or withdrawals. Movie proceeds and successful crime bonuses also feed the treasury. Use the activity and history views to see where the money went.

Studio Crimes

Take a crew role in After-Party Shakedown, Compromised Guest List, Missing Premiere Reel, or Rival Deal Intercept. Each operation shows the level requirement, crew slots, duration, and potential rewards. Fill the crew and have an organiser launch it. A successful job shares cash among participants and earns the studio Fame and a Funds bonus. A failed job costs some studio Fame.

Warfare

Players with the Warfare permission can declare war or handle surrender offers. After the short preparation period, a war lasts up to one hour. The first studio to 50 qualifying attack victories wins, or the higher score wins when time runs out. The winner takes the Fame shown at stake, calculated from 10% of the smaller studio’s Fame up to 500. The Warfare tab shows the score, time, eligible rival targets, your contribution, and past results.

Running a studio

Studio leadership can review applications and invitations, manage Members, Officers, and Co-leaders, and set rank permissions for recruitment, membership, films, crimes, wars, announcements, and identity. Management is also where you set recruitment requirements and visibility, customise the studio profile with a tag, accent, emblem, cover and description, set the icon shown on members’ name tags, and post announcements for members.

Open Studios and let us know how your first production, crime, or war goes.