Live Vibe breaks into the Virtual Reality market with their own Digital Doubles scanned and finished by us at TNG Visual Effects. They will be able to use these avatars to represent themselves in future demonstrations and help to grow their brand. The ladies at Live Vibe are creators and curators of the world's best art, music, fashion, and technology to unite dreamers and forward thinkers so they can experience existential bliss. 

As time goes on, I believe we will all have Avatars of ourselves that will represent us in certain genres. We will also have assistants on our phone, computer, car, and home that we can just quickly turn to and ask questions. This assistant will have Artificial Intelligence (AI) and be able to access different databases for information. Of course, it will be secured with multiple levels of firewalls and anti-theft software to protect the owner.

At your service

You have probably seen the early stages of development for avatars already. It's a very exciting time in a very exciting market! We are looking at many new markets now that will address the presence of owners, statements of commitment, better customer service and more. The list goes on.

The bottom line for this technology is to have better communications with companies to buy services or to, simply, get better maintenance and support. It can get frustrating over the phone, computer and through trees and mazes just to get a human only to find out the info you already typed in did not get through and you need to explain the situation all over again. I gladly welcome this change!

How can I help you?

We are looking for better solutions to live with and to provide for our fellow humans.

3D-scanned assets can be utilized as multiple layers in compositing. For example, if you have a 3D-scanned character , they could appear in live-action, or in 3D animation, or just a static render.  Sometimes only the head is needed as a 3D asset, but if the production wants more flexible options, we can provide a 3D-scanned body. And as we keep getting deeper into the layers and options to offer production - the next step would be 3D-digitalized environments, albeit with different scanning technology (Lasers versus Light or Camera-based). Having an environment in 3D allows for manipulation using 3D effects.

Aside from 3D-scanning, another method to attain a digitalized prop or object is to 3D-model it based off photographs. This is a more affordable solution, but it is not uncommon for an artist to accidentally miss some details that may not create a digital counterpart that is 1:1 for a smooth transition from CG to live-action. And even beyond matching the real-life prop there is the actual proportions and accuracy of the prop's construction which will either keep the viewer suspended in disbelief, or will rudely pop them out of their immersion.

 

We recommend having your props and objects 3D-scanned so that you have completely matching props. It is important to acknowledge that 3D scan data can have varying quality. The process of capturing this asset is important in that the 3D-scan data has full coverage (think of any object as a 3D cube which has all of its sides and a top and bottom) and that the scan data can align with a high accuracy, resulting in minimal deviation from the actual product.

 

Each 3D scanning technology has certain accuracy parameters in millimeters or, more preferably, in micrometers. It is ok to scan large environments with a looser tolerance for accuracy because of the time constraints it would take to get that same data at a higher accuracy as well as it not being noticeable. Whereas smaller objects tend to require a higher accuracy - a human head especially. And what you will notice in addition to mere accuracy in point resolution, there is also the amount of depth captured, which will vary wildly between 3D scanning technologies. A human's ear for example has a deep cavity, and many scanning solutions will not accurately capture the inner shape. You may think the inner ear doesn't matter, but the same can be said for the depth of the eyes, nostrils, and lips. And these are the main components to a face - the more depth and resolution, the more impressive and photorealistic the final look.

Mobility is important to a lot of companies or projects that need you travel to a location to capture content. Maybe you need something scanned in another state, another country or just on the other side of the city.  Perhaps a decision is made to add prosthetics to your talent or for a last minute costume and makeup change. Maybe the talent is stretched so thin that there are challenges with availability. Or, if you're shooting in LA there's that dreaded traffic to deal with. Now, do you see why it is so much more convenient to have your vender on site? But of course, if you are doing any LiDAR work, having your vendor on site is the only way to go.

The other issue is time or, better yet, discovering late in your project that you need a scan of something or someone. And, then the scramble starts. Last minute on site, how easy is this to deal with? The upside is we are in a very resourceful city and industry where we can make things happen in light speed. Does the phrase, "time is money" sound familiar? Well, we fix "problems" quickly as the pop up.

We continue to do our best to serve this "problem". It is not our primary way of doing business but, we have found that though 3D Scanning is the smaller part of the job, we are able react quickly. It takes a real load off of the producer and coordinator when we can make this "problem" vanish after the oversight.

So, if you find yourself in a changing world and need this kind of service "Who you gonna call?"

"On my way"

How about you give us at TNG a try?