Special Effects and 3D Scanning
THe Movie industry making the most of 3d scanning
Grab a tub of popcorn and some Milk Duds and let’s watch the 3D scanning show for a moment. When we talk 3D scanning services, we could talk a lot of different areas. We could talk chemical plants, auto manufacturing, aerospace, petroleum, refineries, and power plants. They all have needs for innovative ways to use 3D scanning services, but nothing calls for 3D scanning like special effects. The film industry has used 3D scanning to do some pretty funky stuff.
What is 3D scanning
In order to understand how the film industry has taken advantage of 3D scanning for its special effects, we need to understand a few bare knuckle basics about 3D scanning. First of all, we can start with photography. Photography is simply light producing a chemical reaction when it hits film. Photos records light, but not distance. 3D scanning on the other hand, records distances and stores them as points. Many points are taken at different angles to form a point cloud. They are then combined together to create a 3D image.
Bugs are ugly enough for the movies
One thing the film industry is doing is something called microtomography. This is 3D scanning at the smallest level. It works basically the same way a CAT scans does, but it works on a much smaller level and is super high in resolution. Have you ever seen what bugs look like under the microscope? They are ugly. Ugly enough to star in their own horror movie. What microtomography can do is scan one of these tiny creatures. Using the scan, the film creators are able to make them large on the screen and animate them.
No more need for doubles
Another thing that the film industry has done with 3D scanning technology is used it to create digital doubles for famous actors and actresses. We all know what a digital double is. Or maybe we didn’t until Jackie Chan came on the scene and found out that he didn’t need one. A double is a person who looks like the original actor or actress, and replaces them during scenes that require professional skilled stuntmen. For example, if the film character played by Bruce Willis has to jump out of a building and land in a trash dumpster, do you really think they would risk having Bruce do that? You can bet they will find some more replaceable look-a-like to take the jump. With 3D scanning services there is no need to even find someone who looks like Bruce Willis. They can do a 3D scan of Bruce’s face and place it on any guy that can jump out building and into a trash can. Using special software they can superimpose it over Bruce’s face.
3D scanning has saved the film industry a lot of time and money. In the past, they had to create everything by hand. Today, they just scan a few things and the work is done for the week! After that, do a little tweakage with some software and it’s off to the theaters. Well, maybe not that simple, but the point of all this is that unless you are Jackie Chan who don’t need no stinkin’ 3D scanned double, 3D scanning services are finally bringing into the spotlight the real heros, the cockroaches, stuntmen, and 3D scanners!