Canvas platform allows users to create, simulate, and iterate on scenes and set design with 3D visualisations

RADiCAL Canvas for pre-production preview_2

Radical has made a number of updates to its Canvas platform, adding animated cameras, lighting, and assets.

The browser-based platform is designed for teams to use in pre-production, creating, simulating, and iterating on scenes and set design with 3D visualisations so that decisions can be made before going on set. 

New Radical Canvas features

Cameras
 - Animate real-world camera movements via simple keyframing, including: dollying, craneing, and panning [currently in beta].
 - Custom camera lenses and sensor sizes due to be released in Q4.
 - Aspect ratio, focal length, and camera sequencing due Q1 2025.

Environment
 - Ability to upload custom HDRI maps coming in Q4.
 - Current HDRI maps include floor projection for shadow casting.

Assets
 - Animate asset movements in Radical Canvas via keyframing [currently in beta].
 - New primitives library.
 - Asset functions to include customisable coloring and opacity.
 - Human scaling to be included for greater accuracy.

Characters
 - Record live motion from within Radical Canvas, and create clips that can be used at a later date.
 - New trimming tool for clips coming Q4.

Radical advisory board members Habib Zargarpour, an Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-award winning visual effects supervisor; Third Floor exec Dane Allan Smith; and ex-CTO of Weta Digital, Joe Marks, worked with filmmakers to decide on the new features.

Zargarpour said: “I know how important pre-production can be to a film’s success. I’ve adopted and created many different technologies over the years to make time on set efficient, which is why I’m so excited to support Radical. I believe the platform will transform filmmaking by making previsualisation simpler, more approachable, scalable, and collaborative.”

This comes after Radical opened a public beta of a single camera real-time markerless motion capture solution, Radical Motion, in August. It has also announced that schools have free access to its platform until the end of the year. 

“We’re not here to serve Hollywood,” added Gavan Gravesen, Radical CEO and co-founder. “We’re here to bring real-time pre-production visualization to every filmmaker, everywhere. This is drag-and-drop filmmaking.”

“At some point, we need to make content easier to produce, not only to reduce the cost of making movies and games, but also to democratize storytelling,” commented Joe Marks “There’s a lot of people out there who want to tell stories but don’t have the skills. But we’re now approaching a time when computer technology can help those who have stories to tell. And that’s one of the exciting things about Radical.”