Imagine a future where anyone, anywhere can create amazing 3D media and entertainment experiences. We’re well on the way to making this future a reality, with innovative new techniques like volumetric video. That’s why we’re excited to be part of an $11 million investment in Arcturus volumetric video editing and streaming technology, along with Cloudtree Ventures and Epic Games.

With Arcturus, content creators can edit live-action 3D performances, and stream those files to any screen—including mobile devices and XR platforms—through the HoloSuite platform. This means that artists who spent hours creating digital humans can simply modify and capture real people and more quickly populate a scene with live-action performances. Going one step further, someone using Autodesk Maya can place volumetrically captured digital humans directly into virtual worlds to expedite their workflow.

Here an artist uses Maya to add a prop to the volumetric character, which can be baked and exported. This is made possible by the Maya plug-in for HoloSuite.

I’m passionate about nimble, efficient workflows. This is powerful in that it helps artists capture natural movement quickly so they can focus more time and energy on creating content vs. manually trying to simulate what humans already do better. Our collaboration will help make volumetric video more accessible to all artists, and lead to deeper interoperability between HoloSuite and Autodesk tools to accelerate content production.

Volumetric video contains nuanced human performance, just like film, with the added benefit that it is in full 3D. Interestingly, beyond its use in the media and entertainment industry, retailers like Anayi are setting a new standard for e-commerce by using volumetric video with shoppers. Using technology, Anayi has doubled engagement with customers online.

With continued need for engaging content fueled by emergence of the metaverse, demand for volumetric video will continue to grow to an estimated $21 billion by the end of the decade. Studios and content creators under pressure will welcome the cost and time savings high-end volumetric capture will bring. We’re thrilled to collaborate with Arcturus so creative teams can access next-gen technologies to innovate, and accelerate their projects.

See the announcement from Arcturus here. For more information on volumetric video technology, visit: https://arcturus.studio/.