Plateau Virtuel extends virtual film set with SMODE and DELTACAST

Plateau Virtuel, a leading Paris virtual production studio, has upgraded to extended reality (XR) with the real-time compositing/media-server platform SMODE.

Plateau Virtuel, based in the suburb of Saint-Denis, specialises in the production of films, video clips and advertisements. The studio shoots against LED screens using a camera equipped with a tracking system that communicates with Unreal Engine, the 3D software best known for its use by videogame creators, where the content is rendered.

XR, explains Smode Tech CEO Francis Maes, is the ability to add augmented reality objects and extend the set beyond the physical LED screens. “With augmented reality, you can integrate content in the foreground of your scenery and make it interact with the actors’ movements,” he says. “And when filming beyond the LED walls, SMODE xR handles the set extension to create endless landscapes.”

The content from Unreal (3x 4K in DisplayPort) is mixed in the SMODE xR compositing tool together with the four SDI inputs from the multicam, with DELTACAST’s FLEX solution ensuring perfect synchronisation and an end-to-end latency of just three frames. “Our FLEX solution has been specifically designed to address these high-density requirements with multiple formats while requiring only one free PCie slot,” says Gerald Olivier, head of product marketing at DELTACAST. “FLEX can even support up to 32 I/O on a single PCIe.”

SMODE xR brings content designers tools for assembling, compositing and adapting content for real-time video production. Thanks to SMODE xR, the whole virtual production pipeline is real-time; the post-processing, for example, is carried out live during the shooting.

The combined FLEX/SMODE xR solution is an additional server on top over the existing Unreal/nDisplay set-up, adding a layer of augmented reality and real-time final compositing.

Virtual production and extended reality are transforming the art of filmmaking, and SMODE is excited to offer a state-of-the-art software solution for creative directors and set technicians, adds Maes.

Bruno Corsini, co-founder of Plateau Virtuel, commented: “The way nDisplay operates with SMODE xR, via the FLEX solution, facilitates the workflow for any production that depends upon responsiveness and adaptivity. Thanks to this solution and the team, we could upgrade our virtual production facility with augmented reality, set extension and advanced real-time post processing. This definitely takes Plateau Virtuel’s offering to the next level.”

More info on SMODE and SMODE xR here.