Blur Studio, a leading animation and visual effects production studio, has completed a major expansion, which added a state-of-the-art motion capture production studio to their facilities. In addition, Blur has gained a digital edit bay and a clean room for networking and digital storage hardware. The expansion comes as Blur Studio is embarking on the production of a 3D ride film for Paramount Studios and Stan Lee Media, entitled STAN LEE'S 7TH PORTAL 3D SIMULATION EXPERIENCE. "Blur is evolving and evolving quickly," said Tim Miller, the company's president. "Our new resources strengthen our position as a full-service production studio." The studio now features a Vicon 8 optical motion capture system with a dozen M-series motion capture cameras. The Vicon motion capture system is capable of capturing the motion of multiple actors in a single performance space. The M-series cameras capture motion at 1,000,000 pixels, three times the resolution of other motion capture cameras. The system has been used to capture motion for such films as TITANIC, THE MUMMY and STAR WARS EPISODE 1: THE PHANTOM MENACE. "This system provides the best method for capturing the true motion of human beings," said Blur Studio visual effects supervisor Aaron Powell. "For this project, we expect to cast professional-level athletes so that the characters move like super heroes."





Read Animation World Magazine's interview with ILM's Seth Rosenthal to find out more about the use of Vicon's motion capture system on THE PHANTOM MENACE.