Production Innovation Series

The Evolving state of CGI

How Nvidia’s Omniverse is reshaping CGI creation?

By Jeff Beverly

In March, there was a conference called the GTC, short for the GPU Technology Conference.

On the surface this does not seem relevant to agency creators. It is more about servers and chips and the geeky stuff we benefit from but why should we pay attention to this?

We need to talk about Nvidia…..

If you have not been paying attention, Nvidia is responsible for the AI revolution. Their work in parallel processing opened up the ability for deep learning, leading to AI as we know it today. Every modern AI application is powered by Nvidia.

But they are not just a chipmaker. Over the last few years they have been building an incredible tool that is transforming industries with optimizations through simulations.?

THE OMNIVERSE

Nvidia's Omniverse is basically a super-powered workspace for 3D design.? Think of it like a shared online whiteboard, but for building 3D worlds.? People working on things like movie effects or industrial simulations can use different software tools, but Omniverse makes them all work together seamlessly. This lets them collaborate and see changes to the 3D project instantly, making the whole process faster and more efficient.

Businesses are converting to the omniverse, allowing them to create ‘digital twins’ of their operations, and using the intelligence of the system to refine operations for maximum efficiency. This photo shows Siemens real factory on the right, and it’s Omniverse digital twin on the left.

How this is transforming CGI

Teamwork made easier:?Imagine multiple artists working on the same scene at once, tweaking lighting or adding details. Omniverse allows real-time collaboration, so everyone sees changes instantly, no matter their location. This cuts down on waiting times and makes communication a breeze.

Better looking scenes:?The platform boasts powerful tools for creating super-realistic environments. Artists can use Omniverse to fine-tune lighting, textures, and rendering, all with real-time feedback. This helps them achieve that high-quality CGI look much faster.

Mixing and matching tools:?Normally, different 3D software programs don't always play well together. Omniverse acts like a translator, allowing artists to use their favorite tools on the same project. This flexibility saves time and lets them focus on their creative vision.

All of this technology has centered on the efficient creation of 3D worlds, leading directly to innovation that is speeding up traditional CGI.

The GTC keynote moment

In a video played during the GTC keynote, there was someone in a small work room. She put on an Apple Vision Pro.

A car formed around her, much like the scene in the Black Panther movie. it was detailed and realistic. She also summoned a photo-real Nissan into her room and was able to manipulate the size, rotate it and change trim levels and accessories. All the while the lighting and reflections were real and reactive to the environment. It was super cool and I can imagine every automaker falling over themselves to get this.

This was all created in the Omniverse and it was glorious.

Real Time Creation Tool

There was another demo at GTC with a CGI scene being created in real time. This one really impressed me. The fact the ‘set pieces’ were being moved and changed,? the position of the sun altered, every element of the scene configurable. The final output was stunning. It was all so fast and appeared easy to operate. It reminded me of an unreal scene being made, but it was more elegant and had a more realistic look and feel.

This was created in a new Omniverse application called COATcreate, developed by Nvidia partner Katana, which lets you stage scenes for environments, vehicles, characters, and animations quickly and across formats.

As Nvidia’s official CGI partner, Katana gets to test drive new chips, and develop new applications using Nvidia’s insane processing power.?

COATcreate appears to be the future of efficient, fast and hi-resolution image generation without the burden of the traditional CGI pipeline and workflow.

This application condenses it all into a easy to use UI.

And here is the most amazing part….it’s all done in the cloud, with a browser interface.

Let that sink in. You no longer need a CGI workstation or years of CGI training to create and output photo-real images anymore. Just a talented operator and a browser.?

I was able to meet with Katana and demo COATcreate, and it turned out to be as easy as the demo showed.. The operator needs to know the basics of lighting, lensing and composition. The taste level of the operator becomes more important than their technical skills. I know a lot of Art Directors that could use this directly as you don’t need Maya training or any CGI workflow experience. The UI is incredibly easy and even I was able to make a beautiful car scene in no time.

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WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

If you need a still asset, you have the option of going the traditional route. That means either a 3 bid for photographers and a location shoot, or a CGI job that is bid out and executed. Either way you are looking at months before delivery.

The astounding speed of the omniverse can take this down to a few weeks, if that.

So…..

That was a long way to go to say you can now create photo-real images in a browser.?

I’m loving the democratization of content creation and giving clients the flexibility to create with quality and speed.

If you would like to learn more about this and get an introduction to Katana, send me a message. I’m a fan and want to spread the word.?

And if you have new technologies for me to check out, let me know.