Tim Moore Talks About the New Vu One Virtual Production Studio

Welcome to another edition of VP Land, your guide to all things video tech.

As a non-Unreal Engine pro, I’m excited about new tech that makes VP quicker and easier. Vu just launched a new product that does just that, and we’ve got an interview with CEO Tim Moore explaining the thought process and goals behind the new Vu One.

I’ve also got a request for a bigger story I’m working on: if you know of any companies or projects that are doing interesting things and using tech from Nvidia and a cloud service provider (AWS or Google), reply back and let me know. 

Alright, let’s jump into the issue:

📦 Vu’s new virtual studio in a box
🪂 GoPro’s new HERO 12
🚤 AI at Venice Film Fest

and more! Let’s dive in.

MAIN STAGE

Vu’s Virtual Studio in a Box 📦

As mentioned at the top, Vu just announced a new virtual production kit: the Vu One.

It has two parts.

One part turnkey virtual production studio in a (very, very, big) box. That’s cool, but you could obviously put a setup together yourself.

The second part is where things get innovative: Vu’s Virtual Studio, a software platform that makes creating and running virtual scenes a lot easier.

Let’s break down both parts.

What’s in the box?

Vu One offers a complete, configurable VP setup, which includes:

• LED Wall by Unilumin

• Media Server by Puget Systems

• LED Processor by Megapixel

• Stereo camera tracker (more on that below)

• Optional camera tracker by Vive Mars or Stype

It’s a fully configurable setup. Base size starts at 13x9 ft but can go much bigger (as pictured above) and be configured flat or curved.

The stereo camera tracker is quite clever. You can use gestures to manipulate objects in the scene, such as a light or chair, Minority Report style, without having to deal with Unreal Engine or a computer.

While this covers your background and camera tracking, you may have noticed one component missing - lighting. The key to selling a VP shot is getting your subject lighting to match your virtual environment.

“In November, we're releasing a number of new features and integrated lighting is a big part of it,” says Vu CEO Tim Moore. Basically, the stereoscopic camera will also be able to track and measure the amount of practical lights in the real world, and adjust the lighting in the virtual scene to match.

“That allows you to intelligently understand where the light is motivating in the scene, and then use wireless lights for that.”

Now what brings the stage together (and makes the tracking possible) is with Vu’s Virtual Studio software.

Vu’s Virtual Studio

One of the biggest challenges with virtual production isn’t the hardware but the technical knowledge and crew needed to run the equipment and Unreal Engine.

This was a continual problem Tim would keep encountering as they built custom installs around the country.

Vu’s Virtual Studio is an App Store of sorts for virtual production. Running off a smartphone or tablet, it has a library of 2D and 3D assets and built-in tools such as:

• SceneForge

• Remote VP 

• Vu.ai 

• Unreal Engine 

• Volinga

• Storia.ai 

• and more

This enables a variety of workflow options, from something as simple as loading a 2D image or using a text prompt to create a 2.5D plate, to more technical setups such as scanning and loading a NeRF of an environment or loading a complete Unreal Engine scene.

“Our thought is that by aggregating all of the best tools, we can let the user decide what their workflow is,” says Tim.

Rising Trend: Easier Virtual Production

The creation of simpler, more accessible tools for running virtual productions is a rising trend we noted at NAB, such as the ARFX StudioBox from ARwall and the budget-friendly Vive Mars tracker (and recently released lens encoder).

The Vu One offers monthly payment options starting at $5600 for the base model (or you can buy it outright for $249k). It’s projected to start shipping in Q4 of 2023.

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SECOND UNIT

GoPro Launched HERO12, Adds More Pro Features

GoPro just announced version 12 of their iconic action cam. While the design has pretty much stayed the same, they managed to pack in some new pro-level features that make the camera easier to use on professional shots.

What’s New

• TimeCode Sync: No more scratch track syncing. Using the Quik app you can sync all your GoPro cameras.

• Bluetooth Audio Support: Connect Airpods or any Bluetooth mic for better audio quality. Plus dual channel audio support

• Standard ¼“ tripod mount. No more adapters.

• 10-bit color with GP-Log Encoding

• HDR support

• Vertical capture. Field of view expands up to 48%

What’s Improved

• Up to 2X longer runtime. 70 minutes of recording time in 5.3K60 (previously 35 minutes)

• Hypersmooth 6.0 upgraded

• Max Lens Mod 2.0 - swap out lenses for 177° field of view (normal view maxes out at 155°)

• Cold weather enduro battery included

Available at the same standard price: $399

VIDEO VILLAGE

This video took a 3D scan of St. Ives and then added water to photorealistically simulate what sea level rise will look like in the town. Check out the full video here.

h/t Rob Sloan

AKS

🌐 Around the Web

• The Venice Film Festival 2023 is optimistic about AI's cinematic potential

• Is Meta collaborating with LG on upcoming Quest Pro headphones?

• Epic releases Unreal Engine 5.3

• Schedule posts and track your social media with Metricool*

• New plug-in for Unreal Engine 5.3 enables machine learning for NPC training

• ARRI's new virtual production studio in New York focuses on commercial content production

  * Sponsored Link

CALL SHEET

📆 Upcoming Events

September 
Studio Arts - Technology for Entertainment Creatives
Unreal Engine and virtual production online courses

September 12 (other dates and cities available)
Sony’s Professional Display Solutions Roadshow
Legrand - AV Headquarters, Minneapolis
Meet Sony’s sales and engineering teams to experience hands-on demonstrations of unrivaled display and AV technologies and solutions

October 3
XR, Virtual Production & Beyond
St Martins Courtyard, Coney St, York
Engage with experts and industry leaders on the latest trends in film and TV production, games, and software.

October 23 to 27 (other dates available)
Planar Studios Virtual Production Workshop
Planar Headquarters, Hillsboro, OR
Learn about VPXR technologies from industry experts.

October 24 to 26
10th Edition Augmented Enterprise Summit
Houston, TX
World's biggest companies leveraging XR/Metaverse today and preparing for the future of work

—

Istituto Marangoni Visual Design Courses

Visual Design
Multimedia design for integrated communication
Milano - Sept 2023 to Jul 2024
London - Oct 2023 to Jun 2024

Digital Design for Immersive Experiences
Bridging physical and digital worlds and leveraging the power of immersive installations
Milano - Sep 2023 to Dec 2024

Have a film-related event to share? Just reply back to this email and let us know the details.

ABBY SINGER

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