Previsualisation technologies for the movie industry – CineViz

The goal of this joint laboratory named Cineviz is to propose the Film industry a set of new previzualisation tools that (i) ease the creation of cinematographic sequences in virtual environments before the shooting (previzualisation stage or previs), and (ii) prepare the technical implementation of these sequences during the shooting (technical vizualisation stage or techvis). These tools stand in starking contrast with existing ones essentially based on generic 3D modelers, which are complex to use, not easy accessible to film professionals, and not adapted to specific needs in the movie industry.


This labcom ambitions two major shifts in the field: (i) merging the stages of shooting and lighting for the rapid and creative exploration of cinematographic sequences in 3D environments and (ii) merging the previs and techvis stages for a better preparation of the shooting stage. The expected impacts are a reduction of the production costs through a better preparation, and a support for creativity through a rapid exploration of possibilities.

This labcom is organized around three research axes to conduct the proposed shifts : (i) the design of an automated framing model that relies on the formalization of cinematographical knowledge and an integration of constraints related to real cameras and real rigs, (ii) the design of an interactive model to create camera trajectories which are also related to real camera rigs, and (iii) the formalisation of lighting knowledge from the film industry in a computationally efficient model to assist not only the placement but also the smart interaction with light sources.

The advances will be integrated in the SolidFrame software, the result of a on-going technological transfer between INRIA and SolidAnim. Each advance in the axes will correspond to a software milestone in SolidFrame and will be proposed to his clients.

To reach these ambitions, Cineviz proposes to share resources, technologies and knowledge from the INRIA team-project Mimetic, on one side, and the SME SolidAnim on the other. Mimetic team-project is a joint team between Inria – Rennes Bretagne Atlantique, laboratory UMR 6074 IRISA and laboratory M2S. The team is world-leading challenges related to cinematography in virtual environments and publishes in the leading scientific events of computer animation (Siggraph, Eurographics, Siggraph Asia, Symposium on Computer Animation), artificial intelligence (AAAI) and Mutlimedia (ACM Multimedia).

SolidAnim is a French SME in located in Angouleme,, Ivry and now in Los Angeles. The SME is specialized in developing numerical preproduction tools for the film industry, more precisely in motion capture for special effects. It develops the SolidTrack software that integrates in real–time on the shooting stage virtual and real images (on-set previs). SolidAnim works for many productions including the next episodes of James Cameron’s Avatar.

The advances will be integrated in the SolidFrame software, the result of a on-going technological transfer between INRIA and SolidAnim. Each advance in the axes will correspond to a software milestone in SolidFrame and will be proposed to his clients. The proposed innovations will allow SolidAnim to extend the range of services the company can propose on a film preparation, and to address new markets, typically those which do not use rely on previsualisation techniques.