Spotlights
January 8, 2020
RealityScan provides solograms for Ghost in the Shell
To create the unique "solograms" for the film Ghost in the Shell, Digital Air built a photogrammetry rig powered by RealityScan.
We are proud to announce that RealityScan helped with the creation of the Hollywood movie Ghost in the Shell.
Nowadays, photogrammetry is extensively used in movie production, as it helps create convincing visual effects, bring real environments to the movie, and blur the lines between what is real and what is not. The production team of the new Ghost in the Shell movie starring Scarlett Johansson decided to use photogrammetry as well, because they wanted to record actors’ performances in camera and did not want the movie to be dominated by greenscreen process work.
Nowadays, photogrammetry is extensively used in movie production, as it helps create convincing visual effects, bring real environments to the movie, and blur the lines between what is real and what is not. The production team of the new Ghost in the Shell movie starring Scarlett Johansson decided to use photogrammetry as well, because they wanted to record actors’ performances in camera and did not want the movie to be dominated by greenscreen process work.
If you've seen Ghost in the Shell, you've seen the “solograms” of people within the streets of futuristic Hong Kong. These solograms appear throughout the film’s cityscapes, and are meant to represent futuristic commercials. Forget traditional 2D billboards—these moving 3D elements are the ads of the future.
To create these solograms, Digital Air Inc., a VFX and camera-array-technology company, created a special motion photogrammetry camera system, a dome that consists of 80 Point Grey Grasshopper cameras. These cameras have an auto-synchronization feature, meaning that the timing of shutters of all the cameras are perfectly synchronized, which is very important for photogrammetry.
To create these solograms, Digital Air Inc., a VFX and camera-array-technology company, created a special motion photogrammetry camera system, a dome that consists of 80 Point Grey Grasshopper cameras. These cameras have an auto-synchronization feature, meaning that the timing of shutters of all the cameras are perfectly synchronized, which is very important for photogrammetry.
The overall hardware system, designed by Dayton Taylor, allows perfect synchronization at 24 fps. This means that each frame consists of 80 images, and from those images a unique 3D model with a completely new texture has been created using photogrammetry.
Performances of the film’s actors were recorded inside the dome of cameras, which enabled the team to not only capture actors' movements, but also their complete volumetric form, skin, face, and clothes—all the photographic details of the original performance.
Performances of the film’s actors were recorded inside the dome of cameras, which enabled the team to not only capture actors' movements, but also their complete volumetric form, skin, face, and clothes—all the photographic details of the original performance.
RealityScan was used for the reconstruction of scans from the dome on set and during the production. As Dayton Taylor, president of Digital Air, says, “It was a pleasure working with the software, and we couldn’t have done the project without it.”
Download RealityScan
RealityScan is free to use for students, educators, and individuals and companies with an annual gross revenue below $1 million USD.Above the $1M threshold? Visit our licensing page to find out about your purchasing options.
Download the launcher
Before you can install and run RealityScan, you’ll need to download and install the Epic Games launcher.
Install Epic Games Launcher
Once downloaded and installed, open the launcher and create or log in to your Epic Games account.
Having trouble? Get support, or restart your Epic Games launcher download in Step 1.
Install RealityScan
Once logged in, navigate to the RealityScan tab in the Unreal Engine section and click the install button to download the most recent version.