vETC at SIGGRAPH2022

ETC hosted its 6th vETC virtual conference at this year’s Siggraph 2022 in Vancouver, BC, Canada, August 9th, 10th and 11th.

vETC highlights significant presentations of emerging technologies and their impact on the M&E industry. This year, speakers will present concepts, workflows, business models, case studies, etc., as it applies to virtual production and the concept of “fix it in pre”. Many of the companies that worked on ETC’s latest R&D film project, “Fathead” will discuss their discoveries in sessions that are recorded and posted on ETC’s YouTube channel.

Support with key resources came from AWS, Planar, Blackmagic Design, B&H, Voluminous, Zeiss, Silverdraft, MBS, ARRI, Disguise, SmallHD, Orbital, and AnnexPro.

The LED wall will be a 1.9 Planar powered by SilverDraft Supercomputing. The system is built and operated by Voluminous.com with Blackmagic and ARRI, with a 12k Ursa camera from Blackmagic and tracking by OptiTrack. All additional supporting gear was donated by B&H and MBS. Onset lighting assisted by Orbital and Arri and local resources supported by AnnexPro.

Scheduled presenters included Sony Pictures Entertainment, Disguise, Planar, NEP Virtual Studios, ICVR, PacketFabric, Technicolor, AWS, Unity, 5thKind, Netflix, Arri, Voluminous, SMPTE, Foundry, Lux Machina Consulting, Perforce and Move.ai.

Led by Erik Weaver, director of ETC’s Adaptive and Virtual Production project, this vETC is a restart to the virtual conference, a concept implemented by ETC in 2015 to address the overflow of speakers and topics atNAB. The last program before the pandemic, “vETC | The Grand Convergence 2019: Innovation and Integration” recorded across two days at Technicolor and Google (August 27 and 28), is available online.

The 3-day program, along with speakers, bios and gear are below.

vETC at SIGGRAPH2022 - Tuesday, Aug 9th (Day 1)

Time • Session • Company(s) • Speakers

10:00 am - 10:30 am • Reducing Complexity on Set Powering a VP stage with Disguise simplifies technical challenges and puts control back into the hands of storytellers. An overview of Disguise ecosystem and real world use cases. • Disguise • Addy Ghani

10:30 am - 11:00 am • How to Push the Capabilities of Filming on an LED Wall In choosing a virtual production solution for filming, there are key factors for success. We'll discuss the advantages & challenges to shooting with a LED wall. At Orbital Virtual Studios, we're expanding what's possible on a soundstage. From controlling the positioning of the sun and time of day, to bringing any location, real or otherwise-into the studio. Learn more about this powerful production tool from the team advancing it into the future. • Planar • Carl Cummings Chris Cope Leonidas Jaramillo Leah Robson

11:00 am - 12:00 pm • LED Volume Design Panel • NEP Virtual Studios • Moderator: Phil Galler Panelists: Barbara Ford Grant Kris Murray Wyatt Bartl

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm • Creation through Automation: How Engineering Empowers Creatives We truly believe that Engineering Empowers Creatives and Creatives empower Engineering to innovate. Majority of these innovations come either to achieve a specific crazy idea or from a ridiculously tedious, and repetitive process to achieve necessary results. With pipelines getting more complex and convoluted that became our reality but there are ways to solve. With modern production pipelines growing increasingly more complex, we’ll explore some firsthand examples of how specialized tools can revolutionize production and allow creatives to spend more time creating. Learn how engineering and automation can be used to empower creatives, how creatives drive engineers to innovate, and how synergy between these two disciplines leads to better overall products. • ICVR • Ihar Heneralau

1:00 pm - 1:30 pm • Worlds Collide - Virtual Production in Film, Advertising, Animation & Games MPC is well known for big productions such as The Jungle Book and The Lion King, however, is not common knowledge that Technicolor Creative Studios is a powerhouse of brands, including companies such as The Mill, Technicolor Games and Mikros animation. This means we are involved in a myriad of different types of projects, for advertising, animation and games using real-time technologies for visualization, virtual location scouting, performance capture, AR set extensions, virtual sets, and more. Virtual Production has played a vital role in reinforcing Technicolor’s leading position in the industry as the preferred creative partner for storytellers globally. • Technicolor • Mariana Acuna

1:30 pm - 2:00 pm • Update on "The Rise of the Microstudio" As the world creates more content that needs to be stored for longer periods of time, today’s technologies are struggling to keep up. How would you store a zetta-byte of information? Our research advances the state-of-the art, creating Glass and DNA storage technologies allowing content creators to store massive volumes, at low cost, for – quite literally – ever. Join us to hear more about these cutting edge technologies and the work we are doing today, to make for a better content tomorrow. • AWS • Hasraf ‘HaZ’ Dulull Paul Judkins Jack Wenzinger

2:00 pm - 2:30 pm • Unity Professional Artistry Tools During this session, Ron Martin from Unity Technologies will present an overview of the Professional Artistry Tools including Virtual Production, Speedtree, Ziva Dynamics, and UDAM. Ron will outline the educational program for Universities and Colleges called The Unity Academic Alliance, with a focus on EdLab, the online portal for Educators. • Unity • Ron Martin

2:30 pm - 3:00 pm • 5th Kind: 2D/3D Collaboration Hear how film and gaming studios are setting up the foundations for a more integrated 2D/3D pipeline starting with the VAD and how metadata can drive the orchestration of aws services. • 5th Kind • Steve Cronan

3:00 pm - 3:30 pm • Final Pixel in the Cloud AWS/ETC will discuss what new technology initiatives and challenges we are seeing for VP, how we are doing final pixel today with partners and customers, and how we put together the end to end SIGGRAPH demos to illustrate these workflows. • AWS • Kon Wilms Scott Cler Erin Dusseault Erik Weaver

3:30 pm - 4:00 pm • Jointly Optimizing Color Rendition and In-Camera Backgrounds in an RGB Virtual Production Stage While the LED panels used in virtual production systems can display vibrant imagery with a wide color gamut, they produce problematic color shifts when used as lighting due to their peaky spectral output from narrow-band red, green, and blue LEDs. In this work, we present an improved color calibration process for virtual production stages which ameliorates this color rendition problem while also passing through accurate in-camera background colors. We do this by optimizing linear color correction transformations for 1) the LED panel pixels visible in the field of view of the camera, 2) the pixels outside the field of view of the camera illuminating the subjects, and, as a post-process, 3) the pixel values recorded by the camera. The result is that footage shot in an RGB LED panel virtual production stage can exhibit more accurate skin tones and costume colors while still reproducing the desired colors of the in-camera background. • Netflix • Chloe LeGendre

4:00 pm - 4:30 pm • Connecting Virtual Production to the Cloud Virtual Production is advancing, and new methods for collaborative workflows and data mobility are shifting in support. The infrastructure for production stages and VFX companies is adapting to allow for secure, high bandwidth and “invisible” means of bringing optimized tools to sets and creative teams. Learn how cloud services are reflecting the needs of content creators, and how on-demand connectivity is bridging the gap. • ETC, PacketFabric, AWS • Lisa Gerber Matt Herson Tom Thudiyanplackal

4:30 pm - 5:00 pm • Challenges of Volume Control Virtual Production is currently deployed on major film, event and television productions around the world. Learn from the creators and operators themselves on real-life challenges, advantages and workflow recommendations for ongoing virtual production sets. • ARRI, Voluminous • Cassidy Pearsall Sam Slade Jay Spriggs Sarah Thomas Moffat JT Rooney

5:30 pm - 6:00 pm • Cinecode: PreVis for TV’s Tightest Schedules, Oddest Challenges & Most Complicated Budgets Cinecode, the virtual production division of DigitalFilm Tree (DFT), has served story tellers on Ted Lasso, Dave on FX, The Umbrella Academy, NCIS: Los Angeles and many more. In this presentation Andrea Aniceto-Chavez, Cinecode’s Lead Producer, will unpack the differences and varied needs across PreVis, TechVis and beyond. From Cinematography to Stunts, Costume to Set Design, Cinecode by DFT re-imagines the power of PreVis for Television schedules and budgets, opening a new world of possibilities to all. • DigitalFilm Tree • Andrea Aniceto-Chavez

vETC at SIGGRAPH2022 - Wednesday, Aug 10th (Day 2)

Time • Session • Company(s) • Speakers

10:00 am - 10:30 am • Achieving Final Pixel Join Final Pixel CEO and co-founder Michael McKenna as he shares how they successfully realise 'Final Pixel' on-set by delivering a global real-time Virtual Art Department for clients - including the new partnership with Hogarth, the WPP global creative content production company. Learn about the consolidated end-to-end pipeline and workflow in pre-production that combines a new, unique, creative process with a deep understanding of virtual production stage technology & possibility - all supported by remote workflows underpinned by AWS. Gain insight into how the Final Pixel Academy is inspiring the next generation of talent to support this, including teaching 500 students aged 11-18 how to build their first metahuman. • Final Pixel • Michael McKenna

10:30 am - 11:00 am • Mapping Resources for Camera & Lens Metadata About a year ago SMPTE started an industry collaboration around On-Set Virtual Production. Jim will give a brief overview of its progress to date with a focus on the group he chairs on improving the interoperability of camera and lens metadata. Then Sam will give an update on closely related work a group in the VES has been doing on a survey and his work on an OpenEXR mapping for camera and lens metadata. • SMPTE RIS • Jim Helman Sam Richards

11:00 am - 12:00 pm • Comandante: Near Real-Time Workflows for Virtual Production This talk presents our Near Real-Time (NRT) workflow to immediately improve the quality of a In-Camera VFX (ICVFX) shots, bridging on-set and post-production, allowing VFX to start on-set as soon as the director says ‘cut’. The NRT workflow brings together key advancements in lens calibration, machine learning and real-time rendering to deliver higher quality composites of what was just shot to the filmmakers, in a matter of minutes. • Foundry • Dan Caffrey Mairéad Grogan Niall Redmond Dan Ring

1:00 pm - 2:00 pm • Fathead: End-to-End Workflow An overview of novel virtual production pipeline innovations and technology interoperability tests for the short film Fathead conducted by the Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) at the University of Southern California (USC) and a deep dive into the virtual humans' pipeline. • ETC • Tom Thudiyanplackal

2:30 pm - 3:00 pm • Transforming Version Management and Collaboration for Film and Television The rise of virtual production has suddenly introduced the world of VFX to the importance of version control and the most innovative studios are learning to fully leverage it's potential. By combining over 25 years of refinement in the gaming industry with the creativity and innovation of VFX and virtual production teams, version control and asset management is revolutionizing the way we create and collaborate in the film industry. This session will look at real-life workflows that leverage Perforce to version and organize their digital assets, speed up iteration, and enable cooperation across teams and studios. • Perforce • Jase Lindgren

3:00 pm - 3:30 pm • Final Pixel in the Cloud AWS/ETC will discuss what new technology initiatives and challenges we are seeing for VP, how we are doing final pixel today with partners and customers, and how we put together the end to end SIGGRAPH demos to illustrate these workflows. • AWS • Kon Wilms Scott Cler Erin Dusseault Erik Weaver

3:30 pm - 4:00 pm • Delivering Markerless Motion Capture at Scale: How to capture performances - from a sports game, a concert, or a stage performance - in high fidelity, and what does it mean for the media & entertainment industry? • Disguise, Electronics Arts, Move.ai • Jamie Allan Chris Battson Addy Ghani Niall Hendry Vincent Hung

4:00 pm - 4:30 pm • XR Studios Join XR Studios President J.T. Rooney for a discussion on executing interactive productions using immersive technologies. XR Studios is a leading-edge digital production company specializing in immersive technology for entertainment. Known for producing Extended Reality (XR) and Augmented Reality (AR) workflow solutions, XR Studios executes innovative experiences for some of the most renowned artists and brands across the globe. From concept to completion, XR Studios is a premier, full service solutions provider led by a network of creatives and industry leaders at the core of mixed reality technology for broadcast, live, and virtual productions. Find out more at xrstudios.live. • XR Studios • JT Rooney

vETC at SIGGRAPH2022 - Thursday, Aug 11th (Day 3)

Time • Session • Company(s) • Speakers

10:00 am - 10:30 am • From ICVFX to Games - Bridging two worlds Narwhal Studios (formerly Happy Mushroom) will break down assets of FatHead and how assets can transaction between VAD and game engines. • Narwhal Studios • Felix Jorge

11:00 am - 12:00 pm • VP - Technology and Creative Supervising A discussion on VP. How real-time technology and art are changing rapidly and how Lux Machina is approaching the use of tools and techniques to make VP projects more successful. • Lux Machina • Phil Galler Junaid Baig Jason Bayever Kristin Turnipseed

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm • Killians Game - Sony Virtual Production Strategy Sony will break down the making of Killans game, tools, tech and strategy around virtual production for on set Virtual Production. • Sony Pictures • Daniel De La Rosa

1:00 pm - 1:30 pm • HaZimation X Wacom X Unreal • HaZimation, Wacom, Unreal • Hasraf 'HaZ' Dulull

The SPEAKERS

Speaker • Bio

Jamie Allan Media, Entertainment & Broadcast Industry Lead - EMEA NVIDIA • Jamie spent his formative years as a photographer and director, collaborating with many multimedia artists and music producers before shifting into technical consultancy roles for the media industries. After a decade of designing and implementing solutions for post-production, broadcast and visual effects facilities, he moved to NVIDIA where he now leads efforts to accelerate and innovate within the media, broadcast and entertainment sectors across the EMEA Region. He works with world-leading organisations to help bring their visions to life. Jamie remains an avid photographer and is highly passionate about working at the intersection of graphics, accelerated computing and AI.

Andrea Aniceto-Chavez Lead Producer (Cinecode) DigitalFilm Tree • Andrea Aniceto-Chavez is a graduate of NYU and the lead producer for Cinecode, the virtual production and pre-visualization effort of DigitalFilm Tree. Andrea, and Cinecode, are focused on serving the needs of productions to prototype their stories from pre-development to physical productions. Cinecode leverages game engine technology to quickly, affordably iterate their stories in the virtual environment, making physical production planning and efficiency exponentially better than current methods. By lowering the cost of pre-visualization and virtual production, Cinecode democratizes and empower creators, writers, and directors to craft their narrative with our proprietary, accessible story engine.

GEAR ITEM • RESPONSIBLE PARTY

Production Tables + Chairs • Convention Center

Set Decoration • Convention Center / Set Dec

LED wall • Planar

Brompton SX40 • Planar

Brompton XD10 • Planar

Tactical fiber cable • Planar

SilverDraft Director Server • SilverDraft

SilverDraft Render Server • SilverDraft

Silverdraft Laptop • SilverDraft

Evertz 5601 • B&H

Blackmagic Design ATEM 4 M/E • Blackmagic

Blackmagic Teranex HMDI to 12G SDI • Blackmagic

Blackmagic Teranex 12G to HDMI • Blackmagic

Blackmagic Teranex Mini SDI to HDMI 8k Convertor • Blackmagic

Blackmagic Design Hyperdeck Studio 4k Pro • Blackmagic

Blackmagic Design Web Presenter 4k • Blackmagic

Blackmagic Rack Shelf • Blackmagic

SmallHD Cine 24″ 4K High Bright Pro Monitor • B&H

SmallHD OLED 22″ 4K Reference Pro Monitor • B&H

SmallHD Vision 24″ 4K HDR Pro Monitor • B&H

SmallHD 702 Touch 7″ On-Camera Monitor

24″ 4k Computer Monitors • B&H

Rackmount Power Strip • B&H

40 RU Rack • B&H

20A Rackmount UPS • B&H

2TB SSD Recording Media • B&H

10G Managed Switch • B&H

1G Managed Switch • B&H

Presonus StudioLive 16R • B&H

Presonus Stage Box • B&H

Sennheiser Wireless Combo HH/Lav kit • B&H

Sennheiser Wireless LAV Kit • B&H

Sennheiser Wireless LAV Kit • B&H

JBL EON 10″ • B&H

JBL EON 12″ • B&H

M10 Bolts (3pk) • B&H

M10 Bolts (3pk) • B&H

Safety Cables • B&H

Audio Cable Trunk • B&H

*Ambient Master Lockit w/ Cables for Ursa 12K

*ZEISS CP.3 XD 4 lenses (15mm, 21mm, 35mm, 50mm)

Blackmagic Ursa 12k • Blackmagic

Zeiss CZ 28-80 • B&H

Zeiss LWZ 21-100 • B&H

Batteries for camera (Vmount) • B&H

Anton Bauer Dionic XT 150Wh V-Mount Lithium-Ion Battery • B&H

Anton Bauer Titon 150 V-Mount Lithium-Ion Battery • B&H

Core SWX HyperCore 150Wh 14.8V V-Mount Battery

Anton Bauer LP4 Quad Battery Charger (V-Mount)

V-mount for BMD Ursa • B&H

Blackmagic Shoulder Kit • Blackmagic

Cartoni Focus 22 • B&H

Tripod dolly • B&H

SmallHD Cine 7″ • B&H

Cine Arms • B&H

ARRI Hi-5 Hand Unit Basic Kit without Batteries • B&H

Hi-5 Hand Unit Body Set • B&H

ARRI RF-EMIP Radio Module 2400 MHz DSSS • B&H

ARRI LBP Battery Charger • B&H

Neck Strap • B&H

Hi-5 Hand Strap • B&H

ARRI Hi-5 PanzerGlass • B&H

Batteries for Hi-5 • B&H

ARRI cforce mini RF Basic Set 2 • B&H

K2.0016802 1x cforce mini RF Motor Unit • B&H

K2.0036610 1x cforce mini Clamp Console 2 19/15mm • B&H

K2.0003753 1x CLM-5/cforce mini Gear m0.8/32p, 40t • B&H

K2.0002007 1x 2400Mhz Antenna RPSMA, straight • B&H

ARRI cforce Plus Motor Basic Set • B&H

K2.0008819 1x cforce plus Motor Unit • B&H

K2.0008678 1x cforce plus Clamp Console 19/15mm • B&H

K2.0009335 1x cforce plus Gear m0.8/32p, 60t • B&H

ARRI cforce mini Motor Basic Set

K2.0006354 1x cforce mini Motor Unit • B&H

K2.0006176 1x CLM-5/cforce mini Clamp Console 19/15mm • B&H

K2.0003753 1x CLM-5/cforce mini Gear m0.8/32p, 40t • B&H

UMC 4 MDR • B&H

Angelbird 512GB • B&H

Ambient ANC-CL • B&H

Media Management – Blackmagic Cloud Pod • Blackmagic

(Lighting subject to change based on DP recommendation)

Aputure LS 600C PRO • B&H

Aputure LS 300x • B&H

Lightdome 150 • B&H

LIGHT OCTADOME 120 • B&H

Lantern 90 • B&H

Spotlight Mini Zoom • B&H

1 Ton Grip pacakge or closest eqivielent (c-stands etc.) • B&H

Ranger (WiFi) • Amazon

ARRI Skypanel S60C • MBS

ARRI Oribiter • MBS

800W K5600 Joker Bug Lite • MBS

Med Lightbank ARRI Skypanel S60 • MBS