Software translates actor’s facial movement to a digital double

DOUBLE film DI4D Pure4D

DI4D has released Pure4D 2.0, a new version of its facial animation pipeline.

Pure4D 2.0 is built from DI4D’s propietary facial capture technology, and combines performance data from a HMC (head-mounted camera) with high-fidelity data from a seated 4D capture system. It is compatible with the DI4D HMC and third-party dual camera HMCs, as well as the DI4D PRO and third party 4D capture systems - which have recently been used on the likes of Disney’s Haunted Mansion, Argylle and Heart of Stone.

The Pure4D pipeline will be used on upcoming short film, Double, starring Neil Newbon, and has been used on major video games such as Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 1 and 2 as well as F1 2021 and 2023. The pipeline is scheduled for full release this summer.

The process uses DI4D’s machine learning technology, which continually learns an actor’s facial expressions, aiming to reduce subjective manual clean-up and significantly increasing both the repeatability and efficiency of the pipeline.

Colin Urquhart, co-founder and CEO of DI4D said, “Since launching Pure4D in 2021, we’ve delivered many hours of highest quality facial animation for leading AAA video games such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and 3, and F1 21 and 23. It’s production-proven at the most demanding level. Pure4D 2.0 encapsulates all the lessons we have learned, allowing us to make it even more robust and efficient, all while achieving greater levels of fidelity than before. It faithfully delivers even more of the nuance of a great acting performance without requiring complex rigs or any of the usual animation polish.”

Douglas Green, co-founder and COO of DI4D added, “Double will showcase Pure4D 2.0’s incredible ability to faithfully capture and recreate the emotional range and depth of an actor’s performance. Neil Newbon’s tremendous skill and experience as a professional actor allows us to exhibit the full capabilities of our technology. We’re very excited to see how we can apply this experience to better serve our clients.”