Crytek Cinema Sandbox, FMX Talk
I can finally talk about something I have been working on in the past two years. One of the reasons I returned to Crytek was to push the use of game engines in linear content creation like film and television. On Avatar I saw how much time and effort went into layout, blocking, virtual sets, etc. The tools were archaic, the feedback loop was abysmal at times. In games we have to layout massive levels that people can roam through for 8-15 hours or more and CryEngine’s tools are some of the best for that.
I have been working as Product Manager with a small team of great guys, where I basically define the goals and backlog. It’s thrilling to finally get to see things like Catmull-Clark subd in runtime, or multi-channel EXR output, or Alembic support. It’s been really fun to define what the product is and prioritize features largely without external dependencies or politics, I thank Crytek for trusting me to helm such a project.
We had a live demo kiosk at GDC; check out the Cinema Sandbox Website for more info.
I will be speaking at FMX about CineBox and the whole idea of using game engines for previs and virtual production: The Long Road to Film / Game Convergence
Thanks for the info. Looking forward to the software. The instance I heard about it I immediately felt it will be revolutionizing. Can’t wait for the final release.
Best
Joq
Comment by joqqy — 2012/06/02 @ 3:31 AM
That sounds so great! I am pretty sad i could not attend fmx to watch what is coming up.
Comment by Chris — 2012/06/11 @ 10:38 AM
I came across your blog as I’m researching more on the Cinebox for an upcoming article.
The part that prompted me to write was your observations on the Avatar workflow. I remember well, now I ran into flak on one of the Cinematography mailing lists (CML) from some of the “Pros” that worked on the tech for that film.
My crime? I had dared say that CryEngine and indigenous programmers could have done a quicker job, and indeed it was now possible to replace truckloads of equipment if one knew where technology was heading.
Anyhow, for posterity here’s a link to that article written back in 2009:
http://realvision.ae/blog/2009/12/build-your-own-hollywood-avatar-movie-camera-rig/
Regards.
Comment by Clyde — 2013/01/02 @ 1:10 PM
I thought i’d update this, by posting a link to the article i wrote on what the CineBox could/should have when launched.
If you care to indulge in some philosophical musings as well head on over here: http://realvision.ae/blog/2013/01/cinematography-and-gaming-singularity-the-emergence-of-hfr-storytelling/
Regards
Comment by Clyde — 2013/01/04 @ 10:44 AM