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Duncan Walker
The effect is a project that Walker calls “AR Film Experiment.” It’s an ongoing, evolving experiment to see just how far Walker can use ARKit to create short films. The final project, Walker told Polygon, will be a short film that he presents at a festival. Since debuting the first iteration of the project on YouTube last month, Walker said there has been mixed reaction to what he’s trying to accomplish with ARKit. There are enthusiasts and newcomers to the scene who marvel at the unique application Walker has come up with for AR and then there are those who work in the film industry.
“There are these people who don’t know much about it but think it’s really cool and exciting and then VFX and film people who tell me that the lighting is incorrect,” Walker said laughing. “You know, I know all of these things! But both groups understand what I’m trying to do with the project and they dig it.”
When Apple first announced its ARKit, a platform for developers and iPhone users to share and download various AR apps, the focus was on home renovation (like the ruler app seen below), day-to-day use and, of course, games.
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Click here to watch the video on Twitter.
Pokémon Go’s success proved to Apple and the world that there was a hunger for cool AR experiences people could carry around in their pockets. Games are still very much considered the ultimate frontier of what AR can accomplish, but AR isn’t only for games.
The television and film industries have used AR technology, alongside virtual reality (VR) technology for years. MLB Now, a one-hour panel discussion program about major league baseball was given an AR overhaul by BigStudios, a design firm in Toronto. As part of the concept, BigStudios imagined how AR could be used without making the viewer aware that there was an additional layer of technology. Simply put, it had to look good and authentic, not just flashy. In an example, seen below, players that were being profiled stepped out of their boxes and onto the stage.
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Another app, Studio Director, gives users various tools — including 3D rendered actors, props and different lighting settings — to make movies.
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Source: Polygon