Sony Pictures Entertainment’s VFX studio Pixomondo will unveil a new vehicle photography system for film and television on Monday during the tech giant’s CES press conference.
The system, called PXO AKIRA, combines a robotic camera crane with a custom-designed motion platform, LED size technology and related tools for what it describes as an “all-in-one” way to photograph vehicles and integrate them into scenes.
The system’s motion base platform can accommodate vehicles including cars, boats, helicopters and selected aircraft. It is designed to rotate 360 degrees and connect in real time with a virtual environment in order to generate realistic movement. In fact, each car wheel moves independently on the motion base.
The Techno Dolly camera crane is programmable to create precise movements. PXO notes that the system also features a pre-visualization platform driven by Unreal Engine, designed to help users create a digital twin of an LED studio, aligning virtual reality with reality.
By syncing with LED volume content, this allows filmmakers to adjust locations, time of day and weather conditions while syncing with vehicle movements, camera positions and driver inputs. Another part of the system is the driving simulator that allows the person to drive the road in the virtual environment.
“PXO and Sony are on a mission to empower filmmakers…to push the boundaries of virtual production, powered by the latest real-time technology,” says Johnny Slough, CEO of PXO.
Acquired by Sony in 2022, PXO focuses on visualization, virtual production and visual effects, having contributed visual effects credits to productions including Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo,” HBO’s “Game of Thrones” and, most recently, ” House of the Dragon” and “House of the Dragon”. Boys.