disguise launches r18 software for real-time virtual production

disguise’s r18 software will bring further enhancements to disguise’s virtual production and extended reality (xR) capabilities, particularly when paired with LED technologies.

Together with disguise hardware, this unlocks real-time integration of real and virtual environments, replacing other virtual production solutions like green screens. It also enables users to build digital set extensions for when the camera frame is wider than practical LED screens – so ideas can take shape on a larger scale. Features in r18 include: ACES colour management, Augmented Reality plate merge, and accelerated geometric and colour calibration, among others.

“We wanted to provide users with the bandwidth to create bigger, more immersive high-end experiences in r18, without sacrificing on the cost-effective efficiencies that virtual production workflows are known for,” said disguise CTO Ed Plowman. “That’s why we worked together with partners and customers to ensure industry-standard ACES colour management, DirectX12 ray tracing, and NVIDIA’s Deep Learning Super Sampling rendering technology – which can up-sample low resolution images using AI – were all implemented and working smoothly as standard in r18.”

Plowman continued: “We also introduced accelerated geometric and colour calibration with this release, taking processes that used to involve up to several hours of work – dependent on how many panels you were calibrating – and speeding them up to just seconds.”

Another game-changing addition to r18 is the new Cluster Rendering System, built in partnership with Epic Games. This provides an infinite amount of flexibility to how users partition renders across multiple machines, enabling channel-based rendering for more scalable, low-latency virtual sets.

“Cluster rendering is the beginning of the evolution of the work we have done so far. The endless possibility of scaling an environment through this technology allows us to focus on the details of the set without compromise. It’s also the ultimate tool for customers ‘and artists’ creativity without having to compromise with a single graphics GPU. This is the perfect solution for cinema and big productions where big scale LED is standard,” said Tazio Simoncioni, Technical Manager at Netick, who’s been testing the beta version of the software.

r18 is another step towards disguise’s aim to give creative teams the same level of control in virtual environments that they would have in the real world, blurring the boundaries between production and post.

Plowman concluded: “We are approaching the point where we can do a lot more in-camera, and that aids creativity. You can see what you’re getting. That creates an immediacy that means filmmakers can produce their best work.”