Even here on 3DPI, 3D printing is only part of a larger equation. It represents the part where 3D content becomes real, and that makes it an extremely fascinating sector, but the REAL conference taking place in San Francisco at the end of the month also represents the other two sides of the 3D trinity: imaging and visualization.
xRez is about the first, where all 3D begins. The creative imaging and visual effects production studio, based at the Santa Monica Airport in California, explores and applies many different emerging techniques in computer graphics and computational photography. These techniques began with extreme resolution gigapixel photography in 2006 and now include 3D acquisition technologies. such as 3D photogrammetry, laser TOF scanning, terrain modeling, and multi-spectral imaging. Altogether, the company is capable of creating a variety of fully immersive 3D worlds.
The studio’s founders, Eric Hanson and Greg Downing, obtained their experience working on digital effects in huge Hollywood productions, such as The Day After Tomorrow, The Fifth Element, Narnia and Spiderman 3 (just the first few that caught my eye). They are now taking that experience in creating and recreating virtual environments into the real world. Taking a quick look around their photogallery is breathtaking. You might just run into high-res landscapes likes this one.
As the author of several educational DVDs on digital environment creations and two books on modeling with Maya, Hanson is a visual effects designer who specializes in the creation of digital environments. With work featured in US museums, Downing specializes in image-based 3D technologies and computational photography techniques, including the development of photogrammetry and stitching software at Realviz.
xRez’s computer graphics have been used for meaningful projects in entertainment, natural history, museums, and immersive full-dome theater. Whether recreating historic events in film, revealing complex processes in scientific visualization, or illustrating environmental change, xRez Studio offers solutions for filmmakers, companies, researchers, or activists. If you don’t recall catching one of their visual masterpieces during a recent museum visit, below is a video to demonstrate just what they’re capable of. These are the people to call if you want to capture something real, blend it into the digital and virtual environments to modify it, study it, share it and then, perhaps, turn it back into something physical through 3D printing.
