Research
The benefits of a research partnership with SIRT include access to:
- Specialized research and development expertise in the screen industries, including interdisciplinary production research teams and pre- and post-production experts.
- SIRT’s vast 10,000-square-foot sound stage with motion and performance capture capabilities, integrated motion capture volume, LED wall and specialty displays.
- SIRT’s designation as an Unreal Engine Authorized Training Centre and ability to offer training on this real-time 3D creation tool for professionals in the industry. This training ensures proficiency with integrating this powerful tool into your workflows.
- Expertise in applying for government grants to support collaborative projects.
Our main research areas are:
Virtual Production
1. Unreal Engine outputs a cliff face environment onto the LED wall while the actor in the foreground is filmed and composited in realtime.
SIRT’s Virtual Production (VP) team brings compelling and engaging visuals to life using LED wall technology, advanced camera tracking, and Unreal Engine. SIRT researchers verify new practices in the industry, test new hardware capabilities, and stay up to date on current software enhancements as they relate to VP. Benefits of a VP workflow include reducing postproduction time and shifting creative decision making to pre-production phase.
2. Timelapse of the assemble of our LED wall
SIRT’s motion capture volume consists of 42 truss-mounted OptiTrack cameras within an 1800sqft capture space and is capable of supporting up to 10 actors at once.
1. m-body ARTP – Motion capture suit, reflective markers and headcam
2. Optitrack Prime 17 and 41 infrared cameras in our MoCap volume.
The system is pivotal in virtual production research and for tracking cinema cameras. SIRT researchers use the volume to conduct virtual production tests, to capture data for research projects, and to deliver motion capture workshops.
AI Virtual Humans
1. Re-Imagine AI, Memory Care project.
Virtual humans are computer-generated human characters that are found in animated and visual effects-based productions.
They can use language, enact human gestures, show emotion, and react to verbal and non-verbal cues. Most importantly, they are photorealistic. This is achieved through our high-end photogrammetry rig and through attaching facial rigs to real humans, which defines the range of motion set.
2. m-body ARTP Full body scan.
Software Engineering
& Artificial Intelligence
SIRT’s software researchers are skilled in a wide range of programming languages, game engines, and platforms. The software team collaborates with industry partners to prototype new experimental features, to develop custom components, plugins and game content in Unity and Unreal Engine, and to work on technical challenges in the partners’ software. Outputs of software research may include the development of immersive VR/AR education and training experiences, prototypes of an intelligent interactive assistant in Unreal Engine, or workflows and tools for the optimization of virtual production.
1. Spawnify CTO
2. Path to Career CTO
Case Studies
In Action
1. Virtual Reality for Social Impact project
Explore how our research transforms into actionable outcomes by browsing case studies that span across screen industries.
At SIRT, our applied research goes beyond theory. Each case study reflects a real-world collaboration where innovation, technology, and creativity come together to solve industry challenges. These projects highlight our hands-on approach to prototyping, testing, and refining impactful solutions across screen industries
2. Visual optimization for enhanced facial animation accuracy
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