Aixsponza, a German animation company kind enough to give us a key to pronouncing their name (“Eks-sponza”), is also making some killer animations using photogrammetry. We in the press are prone to exaggeration, but none is necessary here: their latest project is legitimately stunning.
In the past, they’ve done slick 3D animations for Nike and BMW. For Seed, however, they were working only for themselves. Freed from the restrictions of meeting someone else’s needs, they tested out the “craziest of all entries on the brainstorming flip chart.” One of these ideas, of course, was using photogrammetry. (It doesn’t seem that crazy to me, but…)
Judging by the making-of video (which you can find just after the main video below), they built a big photogrammetry rig that surrounds a human subject with cameras to perform quick and realistic 3D capture. What’s more, they’ve managed to do it in a way that _just_ manages to avoid the uncanny valley. (You know what the uncanny valley is if you’ve ever seen the wooden, almost real looking people in The Polar Express).
It’s unclear whether they used photogrammetry for the rest of the objects, but given the shots in the making-of video that show people snapping pictures of shells and an old-fashioned reel-to-reel, it’s not out of the question.
Either way, this video is bound to get Aixsponza a lot of new customers. Gorgeous stuff.
And, for good measure, here’s a making-of:
