For those who have never heard of House of Moves, let me introduce you. House of Moves provides full-service motion capture and key frame animation. I had a chance to sit down with CEO Brian Rausch to discuss the company’s proprietary process for its Helibug technology, which allows users to redistribute content across multiple platforms. Chances are you have seen their work in video games, television commercials, and feature films. Find out what Rausch has to say about the company and technology in general.
Brian Rausch, CEO of House of Moves, discussing Helibug. Rausch joined the company in 2008 and was previously involved as the founder of Spectrum Studios. His work has been incorporated into numerous franchises, including Tron, God of War, Killzone, and Call of Duty.
How will the Helibug technology change the current animation/motion capture industry?
Until now, all of the animation done has been a very long leadtime. We have closed that gap. IP owners and directors can see their characters in their final worlds full with effects, cloth and lighting in realtime. It allows IP owners to maintain control of their characters rather than sending them “over the fence” and hoping that the characters and animation come back (weeks/months) later looking as they expected.
Why is this technology so revolutionary?
We direct characters and performance in realtime. Not just an approximation of final characters, but the final characters themselves. We shoot like it’s theater, edit like TV and animate like it’s film. We have true CG dailies, we can make story tweaks immediately and share story beats with the client within hours not weeks or months.
How is the technology more efficient?
By utilizing realtime engines and proprietary streaming code, we introduce your characters into their worlds immediately. We can light in realtime and render at a fraction of the normal rendering times at a much higher resolution.
Why aren’t other companies using it?
We started this path three years ago when we recognized the need. It hasn’t been an easy process to accomplish. It has taken us time, effort and resources to get here. It is a new paradigm and I am sure other companies will start down this path. It also isn’t a path for the faint of heart, you have to dedicate to it, you can’t dabble or it won’t yield the rewards that we have been enjoying.
