VFX studio Pixomondo, a Sony Pictures Entertainment company, will unveil a new system for shooting vehicles for film and TV on Monday during the tech giant’s CES press conference.
The system, dubbed PXO AKIRA, combines a robotic camera crane with a custom-built motion platform, LED volume technology and related tools for what it describes as an “all-in-one” method for filming vehicles and integrating them into scenes.
The system’s motion base platform can accommodate vehicles including select cars, boats, helicopters and planes. It’s designed to spin 360-degrees and connect in real time with a virtual environment with an aim of generating realistic motion. In fact, each car wheel moves independently on the motion base.
The Techno Dolly camera crane is programmable in order to create precise moves. PXO reports that the system also features a previsualization platform driven by Unreal Engine, designed to help users create a digital twin of the LED studio, to align the virtual with the real.
By syncing with LED volume content, this allows filmmakers to adjust locations, time of day and weather conditions while syncing with vehicle movements, camera positions and driver inputs. Another piece of the system is a driving simulator that allows one to drive the route in the virtual environment.
“PXO and Sony are on a mission to empower filmmakers… pushing the boundaries of virtual production, powered by the latest real-time technology,” says PXO CEO Jonny Slow.
Acquired by Sony in 2022, PXO focuses on visualization, virtual production and visual effects, having contributed to honored VFX in productions including Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo,” HBO’s “Game of Thrones” and more recently, series “House of the Dragon” and “The Boys.”
