Autodesk announced its investment in RADiCAL, the New York-based developer of a born in the cloud, AI-powered 3D motion capture solution. This investment marks the latest move by Autodesk toward democratizing end-to-end production in the cloud for content creators, and builds on the recent acquisitions of Moxion and LoUPE.
Through its collaborative real-time platform, RADiCAL facilitates 3D motion capture, human virtualization and analysis at massive scale. RADiCAL’s proprietary AI combines modern deep learning strategies, human biomechanics, and computer graphics to estimate, track, and reproduce skeletal joint rotations in 3D from a single conventional video feed. From videos to metaverses, this data can be used to automate the animation of 3D characters and avatars.
Requiring no special hardware, training or custom coding, RADiCAL’s cloud-based solution removes the barrier to entry typically associated with 3D motion capture and character animation, making the technology accessible to everyone, everywhere, at any time. Aspiring professionals can use its powerful AI to start creating engaging animated characters and hone their skills for more advanced 3D animation work.
Content creators around the world, including facilities and educational institutions such as Aircards, Surreal Events, Savannah College of Art & Design, Full Sail University and others are already using RADiCAL to incorporate motion capture into their projects at scale. This investment from Autodesk will fuel RADICAL’s efforts to further advance its AI to serve a growing community, and support professional animation and VFX workflows.
“RADiCAL’s accessible, easy to use solution appeals to up-and-coming artists and next gen content creators,” said Diana Colella, SVP, Autodesk Media & Entertainment. “We look forward to working with RADiCAL to extend the sophisticated AI engine powering its solution to put collaborative real time motion capture capabilities in the hands of additional professional creators. As we continue to build out our vision for cloud-based content-creation, partners are key to driving innovation.”
“We have deep roots in media and entertainment technology development, and many of us are long- time users of tools like Maya and 3ds Max,” said Gavan Gravesen, founder & CEO, RADiCAL. “We’re thrilled Autodesk is supporting our mission to become the market standard for fast, accessible, and advanced 3D motion capture. This investment will help us expand the capabilities of our AI, scale our cloud infrastructure, and uplevel collaborative editorial features for the film, television and games markets.”
Surreal, a web-based virtual event platform incorporates real time avatars into its projects using RADiCAL.
“RADiCAL’s innovative technology is a game-changer for Surreal, enabling platform presenters to engage with a live audience as if they were physically onsite,” said Nick Grant, co-founder and chief product officer, Surreal. “In addition, RADiCAL gives Surreal users dynamic control of avatar movement using only a single web camera. Likewise, capturing animation data at a user’s location enables real-time user-controlled animations, and optimizes interactions that enhance the overall Surreal experience.”
Review: Director Morgan Neville’s “Piece by Piece”
A movie documentary that uses only Lego pieces might seem an unconventional choice. When that documentary is about renowned musician-producer Pharrell Williams, it's actually sort of on-brand.
"Piece by Piece" is a bright, clever song-filled biopic that pretends it's a behind-the-scenes documentary using small plastic bricks, angles and curves to celebrate an artist known for his quirky soul. It is deep and surreal and often adorable. Is it high concept or low? Like Williams, it's a bit of both.
Director Morgan Neville — who has gotten more and more experimental exploring other celebrity lives like Fred Rogers in "Won't You Be My Neighbor?,""Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain" and "Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in Two Pieces" — this time uses real interviews but masks them under little Lego figurines with animated faces. Call this one a documentary in a million pieces.
The filmmakers try to explain their device — "What if nothing is real? What if life is like a Lego set?" Williams says at the beginning — but it's very tenuous. Just submit and enjoy the ride of a poor kid from Virginia Beach, Virginia, who rose to dominate music and become a creative director at Louis Vuitton.
Williams, by his own admission, is a little detached, a little odd. Music triggers colors in his brain — he has synesthesia, beautifully portrayed here — and it's his forward-looking musical brain that will make him a star, first as part of the producing team The Neptunes and then as an in-demand solo producer and songwriter.
There are highs and lows and then highs again. A verse Williams wrote for "Rump Shaker" by Wreckx-N-Effect when he was making a living selling beats would lead to superstars demanding to work with him and partner... Read More