Digital Catapult and Hammerhead launch Dimension, Europe’s most advanced volumetric and 3D capture studio in London

Dimension enables the entertainment and digital industries to produce immersive content with a greater level of realism than ever before using Microsoft Mixed Reality Capture technology.

London, 08:00 25^th October 2017 – Digital Catapult, in partnership with immersive media company Hammerhead and Microsoft Mixed Reality Capture Studio, announce the launch of Dimension^TM, a state-of-the-art volumetric and 3D capture studio for the next generation of immersive content. Dimension, based in London, harnesses six years of Microsoft research and is one of only three such studios globally, alongside Microsoft’s own Mixed Reality Capture Studio in Redmond, WA and their newly launched San Francisco location.

Dimension provides a world-class facility for the rapidly growing immersive technology and content sector. With over 460 UK companies working in augmented and virtual reality [1], Dimension delivers an evolutionary step in imaging with unique production capabilities and a step-change in the levels of realism that can be achieved in the creation of virtual humans. With 106 cameras capturing life-like quality, Dimension provides the most robust solution for volumetric and mixed reality video capture, content which can be used in both 2D and immersive media.

“Together with Hammerhead and Microsoft we are delighted to bring the world’s most advanced immersive technology to the UK,” says Dr Jeremy Silver, CEO of Digital Catapult. “Dimension enables production of extraordinarily life-like digital assets making stories, experiences and applications even more compelling. Compared to current animated content, the potential impact of truly lifelike VR/AR/MR experiences is enormous putting the UK at the heart of the immersive industry.”

“Dimension represents the next chapter in Hammerhead’s mission to create and enable high quality and extraordinarily immersive experiences,” comments Simon Windsor, Joint Managing Director of Hammerhead, the first Microsoft mixed reality capture software licensee in the UK. “Dimension offers huge opportunities across the entertainment and digital industries, producing volumetric video content at a greater level of realism and authenticity than ever before. We look forward to working with creative companies, such as UK broadcast partner, Sky, to harness this game-changing technology in exciting new ways – helping to contribute towards the UK’s proud heritage as a creative leader.”

Dimension has valuable applications across many industries, including games, TV, film, fashion, digital manufacturing, health and education. The studio will be working Sky VR, amongst other broadcast partners, to produce unique experiences across drama, sport and documentaries. Production and animation houses can book the studio on a commercial basis. It is also available to researchers working in the immersive field, to further push the boundaries of immersive content and experience, contributing a valuable asset to the UK’s research base.

“We are thrilled to partner with Digital Catapult and Hammerhead to create Dimension Studio, which is the first studio to license our Mixed Reality Capture Technology and take it to a global scale,” said Steve Sullivan, General Manager, Microsoft Mixed Reality Capture Studios. “This partnership aligns two of the UK’s most respected immersive content innovators to create more human moments in the experiences they deliver across a range of mediums.”

For more information about Dimension visit: www.dimensionstudio.co

[1] vrintheuk.com – Digital Catapult and PwC, 2017.