Unlocking Spatial Computing: Volumetric Synergy

On the evening of June 5th, I found myself, much like many others around the globe, tuning into the Apple conference. Settling down to watch from our new Berlin studio, ready to make notes on every nuance that might go on to define our industry’s roadmap at Visualskies.

In the realm of Hollywood and beyond, we have carved out a significant role for ourselves, serving many esteemed clients from the film industry.

As I watched the Apple conference trailer, I was happily surprised to see two major productions we had worked on prominently showcased – ‘Napoleon’ and ‘Ted Lasso.’ A testament to our impact and growing influence in the industry.

The ‘Napoleon’ production represented a growing trend we’re observing – an incredible surge in the use of 3D scanning across all major film productions. These aren’t small-scale operations anymore; we’re regularly scanning hundreds of sets, environments, landscapes, props, and even thousands of costumes and cast members for each production.

This is a marked change from just a few years ago, attributable, we believe, to three main trends:

With Apple’s introduction of an integrated feature to capture memories in full volumetric media with 3D spatial audio, it’s clear that the era of volumetric media, which I have eagerly anticipated, is genuinely on the horizon.

In many ways, the journey from the iPhone 1 to the Vision Pro encapsulates a significant chapter of my professional life.

In the period preceding the 2007 introduction of the iPhone 1, I was carving my path as a TV editor. My focus was on documentaries, aiming to present narratives in their most authentic, objective form. However, I soon realised the innate limitations of my beloved documentary medium.

This awareness brought to mind a core tenet of Cubism – that reality exists not merely from one viewpoint but from all simultaneously. This art movement taught us to acknowledge our subjective limitations, urging us to perceive beyond the singular perspective.

Could we capture and deliver the experience of our world dimensionally?

It seemed to me at the time that it might be the key to crafting more objective, truthful media. Whilst searching for solutions I discovered the work of Takeo Kanade at Carnegie Mellon University. His development of depth-sensing cameras in the mid-90s, culminating in the deployment of the EYE vision system in 2001, it was a revelation. It felt possible.

Unity had just been launched a couple of years earlier and was also hinting at the potential of a more spatially oriented web experience. While the iPhone 1 wasn’t quite equipped for augmented reality (AR) at its launch, it was clear that it was setting the direction for future devices. That spatial computing and spatial experiences could eventually become mainstream. By capturing the world dimensionally, we could create candid moments that can be revisited from various perspectives. Providing not only a more immersive experience but also a more authentic one, free of the singular subjectivity imposed by traditional media.

To achieve this I looked to 3D scanning technologies at the time, but none of them could capture a candid moment in an instant or in a sequence of instances as a photograph or a movie could, nor was the quality up to where it needed to be.

So in 2008 my colleagues and I dove headfirst into what was at the time a fairly obscure objective.

Pioneering one of the first camera array solutions to use off-the-shelf cameras specifically designed to scan in an instant and to create volumetric media experiences. We began to prove in our own modest way that the 3D scan was not just a valuable tool to fit within a toolchain, but was a valuable content experience in its own right.

Apple’s Vision Pro is a big leap forward, but it’s still just the beginning. As the world of volumetric media evolves, we will continue pioneering and perfecting our craft, ready to capture the world in its full dimensional glory, and eager to see where this journey takes us next.

Here’s to a future filled with dimension, depth, and the promise of new horizons.

Visualskies is proud to offer our expert Photogrammetry services for VFX across multiple locations worldwide. Our presence in key cities enables us to provide prompt and efficient service to our clients. You can find us in the following locations.