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Hungarian Edition
In a remarkable technological advancement, DIGIC, the Hungarian animation studio renowned for its high-quality animations, is among the first to test and use cutting-edge 4D photoscan technology. This innovation promises to significantly improve quality associated with the animation process, marking a pivotal moment in the industry.
The technology, spearheaded by Marcell Erdődi, Senior Photoscan Technical Director at DIGIC Services, and Dániel Molnár, Character Division Lead at Digic Pictures aims to address one of the most time-consuming and expensive aspects of animation: facial movement capture and tweaking. Traditionally, after a standard photoscan, animators painstakingly adjust facial muscles’ movements by several softwares and fine tune them by hand. This new 4D photoscan technology revolutionizes this process, making workflows and more efficient leading the final product to a higher quality.
How It Works
The 4D photoscan process begins with an actor covered in facial markers, spending a few minutes making various expressions. The actor has to perform several Harvard sentences with different emotions, while speaking and facing the vertically arranged cameras.
This 10-minute-long preliminary scanning and training session, combined with the power of this software and a stereo Head-Mounted Camera (HMC) system, generates nearly real-time results, creating a staggering 36,000 models of the subject’s face. The software “learns” the actor’s facial shapes, establishing a digital profile that allows for efficient and high-fidelity facial performance capture.
Once the actor’s digital profile is established, the actual performance capture can occur at any time with almost real-time processing. Remarkably, no additional markers are required for subsequent captures, and even a single-camera HMC setup is sufficient. The system automatically tracks high-fidelity jaw and eye movements, ensuring that the captured facial performance is detailed and accurate.
These models are stored in a digital library for reuse, allowing any actor to “inhabit” any previously scanned face. Unlike other technologies that require readjustments for each new use, DIGIC’s technology seamlessly translates new actors’ facial movements into the scanned face’s framework with minimal manual tweaking. This innovation not only simplifies the animation process, but also allows for quick and effective retargeting to other digital doubles or fully CG-generated characters, for both human and creature animations.
Cutting-edge quality
This automation makes the technology highly time-saving, allowing studios to achieve high-quality results efficiently. Besides the standard photogrammetry works, DIGIC already used this process – which took about 1.5 years to develop – in a high-profile project: in Dune: Part Two, filmed in Hungary at Origo Studios back in 2022.
Another significant advantage of this 4D photoscan technology is its compatibility with motion capture (mocap). This combination ensures that not only facial movements but entire body movements can be captured and animated in nearly real-time, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in digital filmmaking.
Industry Implications
The introduction of DIGIC’s 4D photoscan technology heralds a new era for the animation and film industry. By drastically reducing the time and creating high-quality animations, this technology allows for greater creative freedom and the ability to deliver more complex and realistic animations faster than ever before.
As the industry continues to evolve, innovations like these set new standards and open up endless possibilities for filmmakers and animators worldwide. DIGIC, with its commitment to advancing animation technology, is undoubtedly leading the charge into this exciting future.
