VFX Scanning
3D scanning for visual effects, from one experienced team. Visualskies captures cast, sets, locations and props as production-ready data for film and TV: cyber scanning, volumetric capture, LiDAR, photogrammetry and drones. We work on set alongside the unit and deliver data your VFX vendors can use straight away.
What is VFX scanning?
VFX scanning is the 3D capture of everything a visual effects team needs to rebuild, extend or replace in post: the cast, the sets, the locations and the props. The scans become digital doubles, set extensions, CG environments and assets that match exactly what was shot on the day.
Because it happens during production, VFX scanning has to fit around the shoot. Our experienced crews work between set-ups, during turnarounds and at wrap, and check every dataset on set before we leave, so nothing has to be reshot later.
Visualskies has scanned for productions including Napoleon, Project Hail Mary, Paddington in Peru and The Dog Stars, delivering data to vendors such as Framestore and ILM. Want the detail on the methods? Read our guide to photogrammetry for VFX.
What we capture
- Cast and doublesFull-body, head and FACS scans of actors, stunt performers and extras.
- Sets and locationsLiDAR and photogrammetry of stages, interiors and landscapes, by ground and drone.
- Props and vehiclesHero props, costumes and vehicles, down to fine surface detail.
- Performances4D volumetric capture of a performance, frame by frame.
VFX scanning services
Cyber scanning
Digital doubles of cast, stunt performers and extras, captured in our portable multi-camera cyber rigs on set or on location.
Cyber scanning →Volumetric capture
Full-body, head and 4D performance capture, for digital humans that move exactly like the performer.
Volumetric capture →Environment scanning
Sets, interiors and landscapes captured with LiDAR, photogrammetry and drones, for set extensions and CG environments.
Environment scanning →Object scanning
Props, costumes and vehicles scanned as textured, production-ready assets for your VFX vendors.
Object scanning →On-set VFX support
Capture kit and the crew to run it, integrated with your VFX team and shooting schedule.
VFX support →VFX scanning in production
Napoleon
Ridley Scott, Apple Original Films
Sole scanning provider across the UK, Malta and Italy: 3,278 cyber scans, around 7,000 LiDAR positions and more than 100 digital replicas.
Read the case study
Project Hail Mary
Framestore and ILM
188 environment scans, 161 cast scans and 373 asset scans, delivered to Framestore and ILM.
Read the case study
Paddington in Peru
StudioCanal
Environments scanned across Peru and Colombia, including Machu Picchu, with drone photogrammetry and Leica laser scanners.
Read the case study
The Dog Stars
Ridley Scott
Environments across Italy, plus the hero plane, 13 props and the cast.
Read the case study
Another Simple Favour
Cinecittà Studios, Rome
We drove our mobile cyber rig to Rome for full-body, head and FACS scans of the cast.
Read the case study
The Gorge
Skydance, Apple TV+
Landscape assets in Norway and the Scottish Highlands, captured with drone photogrammetry and LiDAR.
Read the case study
House of the Dragon
HBO
Scanning and drone work across two episodes, including the Dragonstone bridge, with VS Scout used to plan the season one bridge scenes.
Read the case study
The Marvels
Marvel Studios
LiDAR geometry and textured environment assets for the Marvel Studios VFX pipeline.
Read the case study
Bob Marley: One Love
Paramount
22 environments in London and Kingston, Jamaica, plus 28 props and cyber scans of cast and extras.
Read the case study
Ted Lasso
Apple TV+
Seven football grounds scanned, including Stamford Bridge, the Emirates and the Etihad.
Read the case study
1899
Netflix, Framestore
Scottish Highland landscapes optimised in Unreal Engine for the Dark Bay LED volume.
Read the case study
Bridgerton
Netflix, Outpost VFX
Location scanning on every season for Outpost VFX, including the Season 4 backlot at Shepperton Studios.
Read the case study
Queen Charlotte
Netflix, Outpost VFX
All the location scanning for the Bridgerton spin-off, including Hampton Court and Blenheim Palace, for Outpost VFX.
Read the case studyWhat your VFX vendors receive
Digital doubles
- Up to 142 cross-polarised cameras for full body, 52 for head and FACS
- High scan (35 million polygons) and low scan (1 million) as OBJ, with polarised colour maps
- Captured in RAW and processed in ACEScg, with a colour chart per camera
- Cleaned and retopologised to our base mesh or yours
Environments
- Raw high (35 million polygons) and low (1 million) meshes as OBJ
- UDIM or UV colour maps, plus normal maps
- Optimised meshes and Unreal Engine project packages
- NeRF and Gaussian splat captures alongside LiDAR and photogrammetry
Props and vehicles
- High scan (12 million polygons) and low scan (1 million)
- PBR material maps from our cross-polarised booths
- Hard-surface assets retopologised, with metallic and roughness maps
On-set reference
- HDRIs: seven bracketed exposures merged into one 32-bit HDRI
- ST maps and undistorted images with a Maya camera file
- Colour and grey reference renders, and a 1 m scale cube
Need a different naming convention or pipeline? Tell us and we will deliver to it. Building for an LED volume? See virtual production.
Built around your shoot
There is no fixed menu. We plan kit, crew and schedule around the production, from a single prop to a whole town, and our rigs travel to wherever you are shooting.
Brief
Tell us what you are shooting, where and when. We recommend the right methods, kit and crew.
Plan
We read the call sheet and fit capture around the unit, so we never hold up the shoot.
Capture
Our crew scans on set and on location, checking every dataset before we leave.
Deliver
Processed, production-ready data delivered to your VFX vendors in the formats they need.
Ready to Brief Us?
Tell us what you are shooting, where, and when. We will come back with the right methods, crew and schedule for your shoot. No obligation, no spreadsheet to fill in.