Foundry, the leading developer of creative software for the Media and Entertainment industry, today announced Nuke Stage, a new application purpose-built for virtual production and in-camera visual effects (ICVFX). Linking pre-production through to final pixels in one pipeline, Nuke Stage gives VFX artists full creative control over imagery and color from start to finish, increasing efficiencies and simplifying virtual production workflows for projects of all sizes.
Nuke Stage enables real-time playback of photo-realistic environments onto LED walls, as well as live compositing and layout. It allows teams to confidently iterate on content from end-to-end using industry-standard formats, including OpenUSD and OpenEXR, OpenColorIO, and established creative toolsets, like a node-graph-based compositing environment consistent with Nuke, to deliver exceptional results.
“Nuke Stage was envisioned specifically for virtual production, bringing key aspects of compositing tailored for realtime playback in an on set environment, and utilizing open standards to ensure consistency between pre-production, on set, and post.
Our hope is that Nuke Stage brings the expertise of VFX artists even closer to creative decision making, and, ultimately, delivers greater efficiencies for productions using Virtual Production and ICVFX. After years of development fueled by collaboration with the VFX and VP community, I can’t wait to see Nuke Stage in the hands of artists!” shared Christy Anzelmo, Foundry Chief Product Officer.
Dan Hall, Head of ICVFX at virtual production studio 80six says: “Nuke Stage offers a handshake between VFX and virtual production, which has been missed in VP until now. With VP and ICVFX it’s all about trust. Getting VFX teams on board will help to push the use of virtual production, in a meaningful way, and I see huge potential for Nuke Stage to do that.”
“I love the idea of bringing VFX compositing tools into real time. The ability to bring in the compositing toolset and color management from 3D, then be able to tweak 2D assets in real time, is something that’s been missing from virtual production for a long time,” notes Sam Kemp, Production Technical Lead at Garden Studios.
Connor Ling, Virtual Production Supervisor at Framestore, says: “VFX Supervisors will typically be very familiar with Nuke, so having integration from that into the on-set components will only encourage trust and confidence between on-set and the VFX vendors, that what is being seen on the LED wall is what has been authored.”
Through a shared color management system, open file formats, and a familiar node-graph-based compositing environment, Nuke Stage enables VFX artists to create, refine, and deliver content that transitions seamlessly from pre-production to real-time iteration on set.
Key Nuke Stage features include:
- Built for virtual production: Purpose-built standalone software solution, Nuke Stage requires no other virtual production, ICVFX tools, or game engines.
- Hardware Agnostic– No need for specialist media servers or bespoke equipment. Productions can use their preferred hardware and easily synchronise across render node clusters to support stages of varied size.
- Real-Time Playback of Photorealistic Content– Artists can use industry-standard VFX tools and asset formats to create high-resolution backgrounds, then play them back as 2D, 2.5D and 3D imagery on LED walls.
- Live Compositing– Manipulate and blend virtual and physical sets with a powerful node-based compositing toolkit optimized for real-time performance
- Comprehensive Color Support – A linear workspace and full support for OpenColorIO and HDR ensure a clear color pipeline from pre- to post production, making it easier to seamlessly blend physical elements with virtual environments.
- Familiar UI– Part of the market-leading Nuke family: A color management system, industry standard file format support, and a node-based compositing toolkit similar to Nuke provide artists with a familiar and efficient workflow for building imagery before and during principal photography.
- End-to-End Creative Control – A single production pipeline: Enables refinement of content from principal photography through to post-production, ensuring creative continuity and reducing the risk of costly rework.
