LightStage is a technology for digitally capturing images of real objects, mainly people, and creating, based on the received data, their three-dimensional dynamic digital images. “LightStage” can create digital images of objects, mainly human faces, both in statics and in dynamics. Initially, this technology was developed by a team of researchers at the Institute for Creative Technologies at the University of Southern California under the direction of Ph.D. Paul Debevec . Subsequently, the development of the technology “LightStage” was started by the company of the same name, whose founder and CEO is Jules Urbach [1] . Currently, LightStage is positioned as part of the AMD Cinema 2.0 program and initiative, which is created and promoted by joint efforts of AMD , OTOY , LightScape and LightStage itself [2] .
Content
Description
| External media files | |
|---|---|
| Images | |
| Photo of a special room equipped with hundreds of high-speed cameras. (1,024 x 682 pixels , Joystiq.com website [3] ) | |
| An intermediate step in creating a digital model is the processing of surface normals. (640 x 479 pixels , website Joystiq.com [3] ) | |
| Video files | |
| Digital Emily CAF Video - the process of creating a digital dynamic facial image of actress Emily O'Brien (132 MB, ITC website) | |
"LightStage" is designed to create primarily digital images of the face, and subsequent modeling of facial expressions and speech. The process of creating a digital copy of a face consists of several stages. First, a person goes through the process of intensive photography with special high-speed digital cameras in a specially equipped room [3] . Then, through software processing, a three-dimensional digital face model is created, the “movements” of which can be controlled in an arbitrary order [4] .
“LightStage” is focused on use in films , videos and simulations , and after joining the AMD Cinema 2.0 program - in computer games , the main difference between which and films is interactivity .
History
Paul Debevec , researcher and scientist at the Institute for Creative Technologies, Institute for Creative Technologies at the University of Southern California , Ph.D. since 1996, in the late 1990s, along with his the team began developing the LightStage technology [5] [6] . Subsequently, this technology was used in the films Spider-Man 2 , Spider-Man: The Enemy in Reflection , Superman Returns , King Kong , Hancock and the Curious Case of Benjamin Button [7] .
In early August 2008 in New York, AMD held a press presentation in which it showed LightStage technology and talked about its connection with AMD Cinema 2.0 [8] . The presentation was attended by Splash Damage , Crytek , Rebellion Developments , Remedy Entertainment and Blizzard Entertainment , which expressed interest in this technology [3] . A video was shown at the presentation, which showed the complete process of creating a digital image of the face of actress Emily O'Brien (from Emily O'Brien ): from photographing and shooting to the finished result. In addition to LightStage, Image Metrics also participated in the creation of this presentation. [four]
In the first half of January 2010, it became known that on February 20, 2010 at the Beverly Hills, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present the award to the creators of LightStage technology - Paul Devebek, Tim Hawkins, John Monos ( Eng. John Monos ) and Mark Segaru ( Eng. Mark Sagar ). [9]
The last time LightStage technology was used to create the movie Tron: Legacy ( English TRON: Legacy ). “LightStage” was used to create the image of the young Kevin Flynn, the hero of Jeff Bridges . Using LightStage, the face model of young Bridges was first scanned, and then Bridges himself. [ten]
Notes
- ↑ Jules Urbach Profile . CrunchBase - Jules Urbach profile on CrunchBase . Date of treatment December 23, 2009. Archived June 5, 2011.
- ↑ Peter Petrov. AMD Cinema 2.0: movies and games have become indistinguishable . 3DNews (August 13, 2008). Date of treatment December 23, 2009.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Andrew Yoon. AMD Cinema 2.0 tech demo: real-time photo-realistic human models . Joystiq.com (August 12, 2008). Date of treatment December 23, 2009. Archived June 5, 2011.
- ↑ 1 2 Peter Plantec. The Digital Eye: Image Metrics Attempts to Leap the Uncanny Valley (English) 4. Animation World Network (August 7, 2008). Date of treatment December 23, 2009. Archived June 5, 2011.
- ↑ Paul Debevec. Acquiring the Reflectance Field of a Human Face . debevec.org (April 10, 2004). Date of treatment December 23, 2009. Archived April 10, 2012.
- ↑ Paul Debevec. A Lighting Reproduction Approach to Live-Action Compositing ( link unavailable) . debevec.org. Date of treatment December 23, 2009. Archived October 30, 2007.
- ↑ About LightStage (inaccessible link) . LightStage official website. Date of treatment December 23, 2009. Archived April 2, 2010.
- ↑ Accent. AMD showed the capabilities of Cinema 2.0 - the line between computer games and reality is becoming thinner . iXBT.com (August 14, 2008). Date of treatment December 23, 2009. Archived June 5, 2011.
- ↑ Gleb Lebedev. The creators of Light Stage will receive their well-deserved reward . GameDev.ru (January 12, 2010). Date of treatment January 13, 2010.
- ↑ Mike Seymour. TRON: Legacy, Face off . fxguide (December 21, 2010). Date of treatment January 7, 2011. Archived on April 13, 2012.
External links
- lightstage.com - the official site of LightStage (unavailable as of January 2011)
- High Resolution Face Scanning for "Digital Emily" a collaboration between Image Metrics and the USC Institute for Creative Technologies Graphics Lab . ICT Graphics Lab. - A detailed description of the process of creating a digital image of a person’s face, with illustrations and videos. Date of treatment December 23, 2009. Archived June 5, 2011.