Nov 04, 2020 22:58:00

We have taken a look at 'Virtual Line Studio', which enables real-time CG composite shooting on Japan's largest green backstage.

About 50 square meters of green back stage a permanent, AR, VR,

MR , such as XR corresponding to the photographic largest CG synthesis dedicated studio Japan ' Virtual-line studio is' Nikkatsu Chofu studios in the October 12, 2020 It was opened in. With a system based on Unreal Engine, I have actually peeked at what kind of studio the virtual line studio, which can synthesize live-action and CG space in real time with unprecedented accuracy, is really.

Virtual Line Studio Co., Ltd.
https://vls.co.jp/

I came to Nikkatsu Chofu Studio in Chofu City, Tokyo.

This virtual line studio was set up in STAGE 4st (4th studio) of Nikkatsu Chofu Studio. The size of the studio is 150 tsubo, and a green backstage with a depth of about 11m x width of about 9m x height x 5.4m is installed in the back. Ten large and small lights are installed on the ceiling, and there is a space for checking the camera and shooting results in front of the green backstage.

The state of the ceiling.

Ten SkyPanel S60-Cs and four SkyPanel S360-Cs are installed under the wooden scaffolding that has been installed since the completion of the studio in 1954. Also, although it is very difficult to see in the image, the scaffolding is equipped with a tracking tracker for mapping.

The camera in the studio is

Blackmagic Design 's Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 with a Fujinon ZK 19-90mm lens. Also, the black cylinder mounted on the camera is RedSpy, an optical camera tracking system. This built-in camera and tracking system is already optimized for virtual line studios, so you can do real-time CG synthesis right away. It seems that you can bring your own camera and take pictures, but in that case, optimization work is required separately.

In front of the green backstage, there is a booth for synthesizing live-action video and CG shot in the studio in front of you in real time.

The stage made of CG was projected on the monitor installed in front of the green back stage.

When Mr. Tadashi Tanaka, President of Virtual Line Studio, stands in the green backstage ...

On the monitor, Mr. Tanaka, who was combined with the CG studio, was shown. At Virtual Line Studio, people and props on the green backstage can be combined with the background created by CG on the spot and checked on the monitor.

Real-time compositing is made possible by

Zero Density's Reality . Reality is a standard software for real-time synthesis developed based on Unreal Engin, which is known as a game engine, and it seems that it is so common overseas that it is called 'Reality when it comes to real-time synthesis'.

The so-called

chroma key composition is performed in the green backstage, but unlike the conventional chroma key composition, the composition performed in the virtual line studio is different from the conventional chroma key composition, using Reality to 'map the green backstage and 3D data. We are doing the work of 'importing as.' Therefore, it is possible to handle video cropping that cannot be handled by a normal green backstage.

For example, a translucent object such as a shadow that is difficult to cut out on a normal green backstage ...

It is reflected firmly in the real-time synthesized video.

Also, Mr. Tanaka's PET bottle with water ...

It is difficult to cut out a transparent object with normal chroma key composition, but by recognizing the difference in 3D data using Reality, it is possible to cut out a transparent object with ultra-high accuracy in real time.

In addition, thanks to camera tracking by RedSpy, it is possible to grasp the position coordinates of the camera shooting in the green backstage as data. With RedSpy, it is possible not only to synthesize the background with the live-action film, but also to adjust the perspective and focal length of the CG background according to the shooting direction and position of the camera, and to superimpose it on the live-action film without any discomfort.

In addition, Softron's M | Replay, which allows multiple recordings at the same time for a long time, has been introduced, making Virtual Line Studio a studio that can handle a variety of shootings.

You can see how awesome the real-time composition possible in such a virtual line studio is by watching the following movie.

Composite studio 'xR compatible studio' --YouTube


When a woman acts on the greenback stage, a composite image is displayed in real time on a monitor installed in the studio. Since you can check the completed video on the spot, you can reduce the process of creating the video.

Reality technology allows you to depict and synthesize a woman's face reflected on a glass surface made of CG in real time, like the part surrounded by a red frame. In addition, small parts, such as hair, in the conventional chroma key synthesis clean

keying it is very difficult, but by synthesis Reality Are you keying at a level that does not feel any presence of the green back.

Not only the background can be synthesized in Virtual Line Studio, but it is also possible to synthesize CG in front of the cropped object without any discomfort. For example, nothing is placed in front of the man in the image below ...

As you can see in the image below, there are few unnatural parts on the desk in front of the man. RedSpy's camera tracking adjusts the angle and appearance of the CG desk, depiction of out-of-focus, etc. according to the direction and position of the camera that projects the subject, so it looks as if you are shooting with a set that actually exists. It is possible to synthesize images like this.

With Redspy, you can accurately follow the position of the camera even if you do intense camera work in the green backstage, so even if you move the camera violently, the background can be synthesized naturally.

Also, you can shoot while checking the composite result in real time, so even if you want to change the CG to be composited during shooting ...

It can be easily changed on the spot. You can create an image close to the finished product at the shooting site, which leads to a reduction in man-hours.

As long as you have the background image, you can shoot the image as if you really shot it on the spot without actually going to the scene. Furthermore, since the green background studio is mapped and keyed, even if there is green grass at your feet as shown in the image below, only that part will not be unnaturally keyed.

In the winter of 2020, live distribution will be possible while performing real-time composition, and it will be possible to utilize it for face-to-face events restricted by the corona disaster.

Virtual Line Studio uses Japan's largest green backstage and the latest equipment to not only shoot images that were not possible with conventional CG synthesis, but also to perform shooting work more efficiently and reduce man-hours. can also do. And with the built-in camera, you don't have to optimize the lighting or camera before shooting, which reduces preparation time and allows you to spend more time shooting. In addition, you can bring your own camera and lighting to shoot, although it needs to be optimized.

Since the Reality used is developed based on Unreal Engine, it is also a big point that assets compatible with Unreal Engine can be used as it is. It is a studio that seems to be very useful not only for large-scale movie shooting but also for shooting commercials and music videos, so it can be said that we can expect enough in the future.