Centroid is attending Games Connection 09 San Francisco

Studio Services

The studios technical credentials are very impressive. Utilising an impressive 18m L x 9m W x 4.5m H volume, the studio is equipped with up to 150 available Motion Capture cameras. Add to that the impressive ability to pre-visualise all motion capture, with or without virtual goggles, as well as all the home comforts any production could ask for. Production offices for clients, green room, changing and shower facilities.... it’s all covered.

Full Performance Capture

Centroid offers a state of the art full performance capture volume of up to 8 x 6m, capturing face, body and fingers simultaneously. Our abundance of high-resolution digital cameras will allow us to set-up a flexible configuration meeting the needs of the most demanding projects.

Body Capture

The volume has the capability of capturing 10+ performers simultaneously, which is suitable for the most demanding of cutscenes, stunt co-ordination, crowd simulation and sports applications.

Facial Capture

Centroid have a number of facial solutions and can offer bespoke systems for client specific requirements, any of which can capture multiple faces enabling flawless interaction between performers.

Plowman Craven, industry leaders in 3D imaging, have teamed up with motion capture specialists Centroid to create a unique service pipeline which includes pre-visualisation for film and TV directors as well as video games developers. For the first time, the combination of human geometry and motion capture solutions offer animators a new level of 3D model accuracy and detail in what is an increasingly sophisticated and discerning market.

Using state-of-the-art head and body laser scanning technology, Plowman Craven have earned a reputation as market leaders in capturing a subjects geometry to sub millimetre accuracy; but although it is in 3D form, the figure is a static model. Centroid's motion capture techniques take a human form and by attaching optical markers to various points on an actor body, provide motion tracking data. This in turn plots accurate and life-like human motion to create an animated representation onto the scanned model. By combining these two processes, the companies' joint offering will provide higher quality animation than previously available and also provide directors with a unique pre visualisation service so that they can see what a sequence of a film will look like in a very cost and time effective manner.

"Technology has been able to capture human geometry and human motion for some time, but until now, no one has combined this into a single environment in real time with any high degree of accuracy," says Duncan Lees, head of Emerging Markets for Plowman Craven.

"By scanning faces and bodies and adding motion, everything works to scale. If the motion was based upon the actions of a 5 foot 6 inch man, but the facial characteristics are those of a 6 foot man, the proportions would be wrong and the new generation of demanding consumer would notice" "We can bring quick and accurate body scans to life," says Lees, "and to our knowledge no one else can offer a full 3D pre visualisation service in such an efficient manner".

Mike Stilgoe, Centroid's director of operations had this to say of the new partnership and its current market position; "For a long time Centroid has advocated the idea of real time character and environment pre-visualisation and our own software developments have served us well. This new position with Plowman Craven adds another element to the pipeline that is so badly needed for production processes in todays markets. It offers an integration of two processes, a one-stop-shop enabling clients to start seeing and using the service as a more rounded solution".

As both companies have extensive experience working in all these areas of expertise, they understand the need to work quickly to provide a variety of tools to use when planning and shooting. It enables directors to use 3D models of actors or body doubles to see what a sequence will look like, which in turn helps them to plan their camera angles for shooting. Although the service requires an extra "up front" cost, it can really save money in the long term by speeding up production, reducing expensive "set up" time as well as reducing the need for extensive post production work.

Plowman Craven and Centroid previewed this concept at Pinewood studios recently to an audience of Studio heads, VFX directors, Television producers and games developers and all were very excited at the prospect of the greater efficiencies on offer. Stilgoe said of the demonstrations "the rapidly expanding markets for virtual reality characters has created a more demanding client, who wants to see characters look more human and move like a human before committing to final production processes and we feel we now have a more complete solution".

Centroid Online provides a Motion Capture Library which is second to none. Frequently updated with new content so it's worth while coming back and paying us a visit!

We also offer you the Centroid Online - Motion Processing Pipeline which gives you a cost effective way to outsource your Motion Capture Data processing needs!

Alternatively why not contact us directly for additional services. We have a number of industry professionals and we aim to provide the best end-to-end Motion Capture solutions!

Built using the latest Microsoft Technologies by industry professionals for industry professionals. Implemented using ASP.Net, C#, MS SQL Server. Designed with extensibility in mind using the latest SOA design patterns.

Centroid is now proud to launch their new Website.

At Centroid we have been working hard over to create a new website to showcase our clients and offer our visitors a clear representation of the professional business, that resides behind the website, in Pinewood Studios.

The new Centroid website gives a glimpse of the wide ranging portfolio of clients we work with both at Pinewood and on location. Our clients range across Film, TV and the Games market. Our new website also gives an insight into our team, the facilities and the services that we provide.

Links on the site also now take clients directly to the Centroid Youtube page, Centroid Blog and the all new Centroid online store.