Technicolor’s Rennes Research & Innovation Lab Summons High-Tech Future
The virtual reality room, where work around visual effects is done, has that crazy-scientists-at-work feel. Among the advanced tech tools developed there is Interactive on-set PreviZ, a prototype augmented-reality plug-in for Maya delivering real-time image compositing and rendering during shooting, haptic feedback for actors, depth-maps for 3D and more, all in a single software package.
The Rennes lab is working on tech for consumers, too. One eye-opening experiment: The Immersive Experience, used to enhance movies, combines 360-degree stereoscopic video, 3D audio (sounds that seem to emanate from specific points in space, no matter how they’re played back), haptic feedback (which engages the sense of touch) and augmented reality.
“End users today have a real appetite to get effects and augmented reality into the content they consume, so we are going to see more and more professional and consumer technology blending together,” says Cristina Gomila, head of the Rennes hub.
The Rennes lab is also been focusing on “the Internet of things” — specifically, connected home services. Among its innovations: Ultra HD 4K set-top boxes which deliver more pixels, a high-dynamic range (HDR) and 3D audio technology simulating a 5.1 sound ambiance with a simple pair of speakers Although basic HDR is already available on iPhones, Rahier said the HDR technology which will soon be standardized will better handle contrast and will be combined with 4K.
See the full story here: http://variety.com/2014/film/news/technicolors-rennes-research-innovation-lab-summons-high-tech-future-1201346615/