Indeed there are multiple formulas for quick success but things are now vastly different for some labs over others. How many really exciting new discoveries only have a couple of authors? Times are changing quickly.

Some impressive teams e.g. gcamp, microscopes, vision research & neural circuits

Individual PI's can be vastly faster depending on funding or institution support. eg. Researchers at HHMI janelia, Max Planck Institutes etc. where great ideas can be tested/published without delays in getting grants or teaching. Exceptions to this exist & should be highlighted + collab teams right.

Here is a sneak peak of some of the animation using the motion capture pipeline for body and face expressions.