Clear Angle Studios is leading a quiet revolution in the art of 4D scanning. CEO, Dominic Ridley, tells TVBEurope about the tech behind their remarkable progress
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: February 18, 2025 Updated: February 19, 2025
Clear Angle Studios is leading a quiet revolution in the art of 4D scanning. CEO, Dominic Ridley, tells TVBEurope about the tech behind their remarkable progress
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
Last August, Clear Angle Studios announced it had achieved a breakthrough in 4D performance capture. Working in collaboration with performance-driven facial animators DI4D and texture enhancement specialists, TexturingXYZ, the company showcased a video featuring a photo-realistic digital representation of an actor's performance that was virtually indistinguishable from actual footage of the human, marking a technological innovation that has far-reaching implications for the media and entertainment (M&E) industry.
Discussing both the technology behind the development and its significance to the M&E industry, Dominic Ridley, co-founder and CEO of Clear Angle Studios, begins with a brief background. The company is a global operation. Headquartered in London, Clear Angle Studios has offices in Atlanta and Vancouver, along with Budapest and other locations worldwide. This autumn, a full service studio was opened in Culver City, Los Angeles, offering a permanent scanning facility to meet burgeoning demand. We cover the film industry in terms of scanning, says Ridley. We'll scan props, vehicles, sets, environments and characters. We'll get in a helicopter and capture entire mountain ranges, but at the same time, we'll scan this pen for you, he explains, holding up the item in question.
Then, alluding to the growing convergence that has been noted in the industry, in which shifting audience trends and technological innovation has seen media companies widening their IPs, Ridley says, We're in the scanning and digitising business, traditionally we cover film production more than anything else, but we're looking to get more into gaming, as the divide narrows between photo realism in games and film.
Turning to the subject of 4D scanning, he clarifies a common misconception. It's often called 4D mocap but it isn't motion capture. It's scanning, he says, gently correcting the misnomer. Clear Angle Studios, first and foremost, is in the business of data capture. Explaining further, he adds, 4D scanning is essentially motion scanning. When you take a video and turn it into per-frame 3D scans, so you're getting animation at the same time from all angles, that's essentially what 4D scanning is: taking a static scan and making it an animated scan.
In simple terms, the fourth D might refer to the movement aspect of the data, the animation itself.
It's the movement, yeah, but as soon as you get into movement you end up with 24 times or 30 times, or 48 times as much data as you would from a 3D scan, says Ridley, identifying what has until now been a significant barrier to the process the immense requirement for computing power. Traditionally, 4D scans were relatively low res, to try and make up for the fact that there was so much more data. It's very processor heavy, because you've got to process 24 3D frames per second over a period of however many seconds or minutes that you've got. Usually, you'd have gone lower res. Instead of doing one high res scan, you'd do lots of smaller low res scans and that would drive your animation. Essentially, you'd drive the high res texture from the neutral pose across all the other poses.
Referring to the August presentation, Ridley continues, [The video that] we presented in collaboration with DI4D and TexturingXYZ does contain a certain portion of it. It's how we enable the high res to happen for every single frame. That's how it's unique, quite different. It was a lot of work a lot but it gave us a stepping stone into the next possible, the next high res way of capturing and displaying data.
Division of labour Work on the project was divided between the three specialists, with each company providing its own expertise. Firstly, the subject, Clear Angle Studios' finance director, Michael Pedersen, was scanned into the system. We recorded him performing FACS shapes with our synchronised video camera system so that we could capture all the facial expression transitions from neutral to each of the FACS shapes at 24 frames per second, says Ridley. We processed that data to produce a per-frame sequence of OBJ files, which we delivered to DI4D. At this stage the OBJ data has a different random mesh topology per frame. DI4D wrapped the mesh topology from the base mesh accurately onto one frame of the OBJ sequence data. They then used their state-of-the-art mesh tracking solution to track this mesh topology accurately onto every other frame in the sequence. The result is a 4D sequence comprising a highly consistent mesh topology, which deforms as the face transitions from neutral to each of the FACS shapes. The reason that's key is because at the end of the process, every frame of data has an identical UV layout.
The data was then returned to Clear Angle Studios, where it was textured and sent on to TexturingXYZ, the third project partner. This final stage entailed analysis of the texture, normal maps and displacement maps, using TexturingXYZ's bespoke solutions, Hyperskin 2.0 and HyperlookX, which enabled the data to be enhanced. They have a really cool platform, says Ridley. It's incredible tech and gives the data that little bit of extra cherry on top.
Capturing the data requires the use of Dorothy, Clear Angle Studios' proprietary system, which has developed through seve
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
19/08/2026
As the cost of IP nears price parity with traditional SDI, Reynolds argues that ...
19/08/2026
A private 5G bubble was chosen instead of traditional broadcast RF for the race ...
19/08/2026
(L-R) Rafael Manuel and Isabel Sicat attend the Filipi ana premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 23, 2026, in Park Cit...
19/08/2026
Studio owners invited to have their say on rates cuts
The Music Producers Guild (MPG) are inviting UK-based studios to take part in an in-depth survey that ...
19/08/2026
Vintage-inspired desktop interface revealed
Harrison's latest hardware offering sees them head into the world of audio interfaces, delivering a 10-in/12...
19/08/2026
Granular effect remains locked to scale and tempo
Described as your dream granular effect , Minimal Audio's latest creation is capable of turning any s...
19/08/2026
First polyphonic SWAM instrument incoming
Audio Modeling's latest physical-modelling orchestral instrument is just around the corner, and is now availab...
19/08/2026
World Cup Games Generate 84 Billion Minutes Across FOX, Fox Sports 1 and NBCU...
19/08/2026
July brought typical peak-holiday drops in viewership, driven primarily by viewers stepping away from screens and a visible decline in reach across both traditi...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Henry joins BCE as the company accelerates its commercial strategy and expands its international presence across the media, broadcast and technology markets. He...
19/08/2026
iWedia, a leading provider of software solutions for connected TV devices, today announced a major milestone in Android platform optimization with the successfu...
19/08/2026
NTP Technology announces that ST 2110-30 audio-over-IP connectivity with AES67 and RAVENNA capabilities is now available for the brand's world-class audio i...
19/08/2026
Net Insight has been selected to provide its Nimbra platform by the service provider Big Blue Marble, formerly ORS Group, as the core media transport solution f...
19/08/2026
LiveU has supported Coventry City FC and several other top-flight UK football clubs through one of their most demanding live production challenges of the year, ...
19/08/2026
Nature Seekers Documentary Shot with Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF
Brie Clayton August 18, 2026
0 Comments
Filming endangered turtles required camera...
19/08/2026
Neyrinck Brings D-Control Consoles Back to Life on Apple Silicon with D-Control ...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, Australia, implemented a comprehensive communications infrastructure that brin...
19/08/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, will spotlight a major leap forward in remote guest con...
19/08/2026
Integrated platform melds media asset management, playout automation and newsroom workflows
EMAM, PlayBox Neo and SNEWS have officially launched Nuvex, a conne...
19/08/2026
Screen Australia releases the Private Investment Toolkit to strengthen screen in...
19/08/2026
Do Aussies truly value local content? Unpacking Screen Currency 2026 with Deirdr...
19/08/2026
There's an early Christmas gift for Bookish fans, as UKTV confirms the re-commission of the hit U&alibi drama, created by and starring Mark Gatiss. Viewers ...
19/08/2026
Wednesday 19 August 2026
Sky gives sports fans the chance to watch multiple liv...
19/08/2026
On Saturday September 5 Katie Taylor will step into the ring for the fight of her life against Flora Pili in front of 80,000 fans in Croke Park. A legendary fig...
18/08/2026
SportStream 2026, a free three-day virtual event, will take place September 15-17. One registration provides access to all three days of live programming and on...
18/08/2026
BeckTV will introduce BeckFlow to the European market at IBC2026, demonstrated on the Providius stand (10.F53).
BeckFlow is a web-based schematic documentation...
18/08/2026
Boland Communications will introduce a SMPTE ST 2110 input option for its 4K monitors at IBC2026, along with a new 55-inch super-narrow bezel display for video ...
18/08/2026
Dolby Laboratories and the Seattle Seahawks have announced a partnership integrating Dolby OptiView into the Seahawks' live streaming coverage, making the S...
18/08/2026
For BMG Executive Producer of Sports Production, Graham Taylor, producing live s...
18/08/2026
TMRW Sports has appointed Rufus Hack as President of Golf, a newly created role in which he will lead the company's golf businesses including TGL presented ...
18/08/2026
SMT will provide race technology for FOX Sports' coverage of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. on August 23, when the NTT INDYCAR SERIES races ...
18/08/2026
The live, YouTube-native roundtables combine fan voices, credentialed reporters,...
18/08/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/08/2026
The industry legend sounds off on replacing the Heat's iconic Medusa score...
18/08/2026
William F. Rasmussen, the sports fan-turned broadcaster and entrepreneur whose out-of-the-box idea of a 24-hour cable sports network, ESPN, changed forever the ...
18/08/2026
DAZN Group has completed its acquisition of ViewLift, a provider of streaming and digital solutions for sports content owners. The acquisition was first announc...
18/08/2026
The American Association of Professional Baseball (AAPB) has added SI TV, Sports Illustrated's 24/7 streaming channel, as a broadcast partner for the remain...
18/08/2026
The Esports Foundation has announced that the inaugural Esports Nations Cup (ENC), originally scheduled for November 2026 in Riyadh, will be postponed to Novemb...
18/08/2026
Diversified has announced a new Global Managed Services Practice, consolidating the company's managed services capabilities into one organization. Rob Mello...
18/08/2026
Appear has completed a proof of concept with Thoroughbred Racing Productions (TRP), demonstrating multi-camera remote live production over bonded 5G cellular an...
Clear Angle Studios is leading a quiet revolution in the art of 4D scanning. CEO, Dominic Ridley, tells TVBEurope about the tech behind their remarkable progress
