Deluxe Invests In VR Services

Deluxe Entertainment Services Inc. (Deluxe) has announced new technology and services to develop content for immersive entertainment and virtual reality experiences. Coinciding with the news, Deluxe recently completed work on 'Neuro', developed with creative VR studio Kite & Lightning for GE, which debuts at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles, California, today.

"For 100 years, Deluxe has been at the forefront of entertainment innovation. Adding a suite of virtual reality services is a natural extension of the company's industry leading digital post-production capabilities into this new high-growth content arena," said Stefan Sonnenfeld, CEO, Deluxe Creative Services. "Deluxe has established a workflow precedent that gives our clients better ways to build high-res 360 content faster and more efficiently."

Deluxe's new VR services draw on the collective talent at Deluxe companies worldwide, including Method Studios and Company 3. Current and future customers can benefit from the company's practices and toolsets for optimising immersive content creation workflows.

"Building on our tradition of leading innovation, Deluxe will provide its virtual reality customers a premier pipeline for the processing and development of content in the virtual reality world, automating a process that can otherwise be very time and labor intensive," said David Kassler, CEO, Deluxe Entertainment Services.

'Neuro' is an entirely computer generated five-minute immersive film, which is being shown on the latest VR headsets, and was developed using AMD graphics technology. With creative direction by Kite & Lightning Co-founders Ikrima Elhassan and Cory Strassburger, the team brought to life the video's main character – a detailed digital model of Ladytron DJ/band member, Reuben Wu. To ensure an accurate likeness, special attention was paid to all aspects of his virtual alter ego. In addition to creating a photo-real digital model, his facial performance was captured and animated to match the narrated voiceover. Deluxe also provided ADR (automated dialogue replacement) for the project.

Deluxe and Kite & Lightning will demonstrate the 'Neuro' VR experience during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, from June 21-27, 2015 in Cannes, France.

Image courtesy of Kite & Lightning.

www.bydeluxe.com

(JP/MH)