SMPTE Launch of OpenTrackIO
Mo-Sys Technical Director, James Uren, launches new open-source camera tracking protocol at SMPTE 2024 Summit
The SMPTE Media Technology Summit is an annual four-day long event in L.A. that brings together a global society of more than 5,000 creative professionals, media technologists, and engineers. Amongst its many functions, the SMPTE is an organisation that connects VP professionals to collaborate and share their knowledge as they set industry standards for this rapidly expanding field.
Mo-Sys’ own Technical Director, and Chair of the SMPTE Camera Tracking Committee, James Uren delivered one of the leading talks at this year’s summit, unveiling the much-anticipated OpenTrackIO.
OpenTrackIO sets a new standard for Virtual Production camera tracking that has already been adopted by Epic Games, Mo-Sys and Stage Precision GmbH.
James and the RIS-OSVP (Rapid Industry Solutions, On-Set Virtual Production) Camera Tracking team have developed OpenTrackIO as a first of its kind open-sourced C++ Library project. The new protocol introduces a wide range of advancements since the release of FreeD (the previous industry standard), including:
- wider media workflow compatibility
- improved tracking precision for position and rotation
- unified lens data formats
- sub-frame synchronisation
- human-readable formatting
Many are already anticipating OpenTrackIO to set new benchmarks for production workflows, and with its open-source availability, this latest development in precision Virtual Production camera tracking is expected to achieve an expansive and rapid adoption rate across the entire Virtual Production industry.
The work doesn’t stop there. The Camera Tracking group have also extended tracking parameters to include critical lens information, including distortion characteristics, and are currently developing a white paper on OpenLensIO. This next phase of standards development will define a practical lens model, beyond those of the current OpenCV standard, providing a precise framework for spherical lenses, with future expansion to include anamorphic lenses.
As the leading Virtual Production innovators, Mo-Sys has long been committed to sharing it’s knowledge with the wider VP community, supplying lens files, free of charge, and delivering industry-leading VP training programmes worldwide through our Mo-Sys Academy.
Mo-Sys is always driving industry-wide standards forward, and as we continue to support James and his SMTPE colleagues in their efforts, we can’t wait to see where their research will lead them next!
