Dolphin Image and ARwall Bringing New VFX Tools for Hollywood

Dolphin Image, a film studio based in Orlando, USA, has completed a seed round of $2 million and will further invest in the development of ARwall’s film effects tools.

Although green-backdrop technology plays an important role in the production of big films, it is still far from perfection. The high costs, the large amount of post-production work, and the need for sufficient space make it a relatively inconvenient technique. Not to mention its impact on actors… As part of the collaboration with Los Angeles technology company ARwall, Dolphin Image will begin to streamline their production processes by replacing the traditional green screen with interactive ARFX display technology. With the proprietary ARwall Effects System, teams can instantly generate professional in-camera CGI effects from a single, interactive “smart wall” or “virtual window”. With the help of tracking technology, the LED Smart Wall can change the viewing angle according to the position of the camera, thus creating a parallax and a sense of depth.

Delphino Huang, founder of Dolphin Image, said: “Under the premise of low risk, Hollywood prefers to remake and adapt original works. But without risk, a story loses the potential to impress.”

The specific operation is as follows: You install the tracker in the camera and place at least two sensors in the set. This creates a 3D space, and the camera’s position will directly affect the viewing angle of the scene on the screen. To achieve the best effects, the camera operator should remain within the boundaries of the sensor and maintain a permanent distance of 10 feet from the actual screen. This will prevent any distortions from happening, such as Banding and so on.

ARwall staff can help creators correctly convert existing assets into ARFX-supporting formats, and they will work with the visual effects team to build real-time scenarios from scratch. ARFX will be applied in Dolphin Image’s first work “Hired Sword, Sucker Gun”. As is reported, this is a black and white steampunk style action film in production.

Besides reducing costs, ARwall helps save valuable time in post-production. For filmmakers, this technique can be very useful in situations where budget is insufficient or the schedule is tight. For actors, the ability to instantly see high-quality visual effects can help them better fit into their characters.

Of course, in addition to film production, there are a number of other applications for such technologies, such as interactive AR exhibitions, offline AR/VR experiences, interactive marketing, medical training…