A new motion capture studio – which is apparently the largest commercial facility – has been built in Canada. Vancouver Film School (VFS) and Mimic Performance Capture have jointly invested to build this new facility in Gastown neighbourhood’s Vancouver Film School which has been leased from the City of Vancouver.
The studio will capture both motion and performance, a technology that is increasingly being used in movies set in fantastical worlds or other planets (think The Hobbit, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avatar, Warcraft). With a capture volume of 32,000 cubic feet, the set-up involves 40 Vicon Vantage cameras, three 40-foot stunt beams, four head-mounted cameras from Standard Deviation, four HD reference cameras and audio recording devices.
Other facilities include a foley stage, green screen room, green room for actors, an on-site workshop, prop storage, and office space. The capture stage is located three stories underground and is therefore away from traffic or weather noise.
A view of the Vicon cameras
“If you talk to the collection of visual effects and animation companies around town, of which Vancouver has one of the largest in the world, they are scrambling for talent,” said VFS, managing director, Jon Bell. “They can’t fill positions quick enough.”
The performance capture studio came about after VFS explored several options for an industry collaboration to provide motion capture at the film campus. The chosen partner, Mimic Performance Capture’s president Graham Qually, who had worked in motion capture for several years at Rainmaker Entertainment and Ubisoft said, “We’re excited to be collaborating with VFS; the school produces the highest calibre of graduates, and we’re looking forward to helping shape these future industry leaders.”
The location will also be available for students from VFS to use while also operating as a commercial motion capture facility for film, gaming development and other performance capture-related projects. Already a number of companies have booked to use the space.
Qually also stated that qualified VFS alumni will be employed by Mimic on commercial projects for several roles (for example: camera operator, video editor, motion editor).
Workstation set-ups adjacent to the volume
“Unquestionably, both the film and gaming industries are booming, both here in Canada, and globally,” VFS, vice president of education, Ted Gervan told Cartoon Brew. “In the history of filmmaking and game design, there has never been a better time to build a career. As a result of the boom, the demand for trained VFX and game designers is at an all-time high and this unique partnership with Mimic, which is the first of its kind ever for any film school in the world, was created to capitalise on this. We want to expose our students to cutting-edge technology that the film industry is going to rely on for tomorrow’s future blockbuster film, TV, and gaming products.”
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