Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/863793
18 2 0 1 7 E D U C AT I O N & R E C R U I T M E N T S P E C I A L ypically, innovation and big moves are made solely by large studios and large software or hardware companies, where the employees have countless years of industry experience and leadership to help guide them. It's not often that news-making developments come from those just starting out in their careers. Recently, a state-of-the-art performance-capture studio – the largest in Canada – opened its doors. While many would assume that video game giant Ubisoft or another mega commercial facility alone was behind the project, this was not the case. Rather, a Canadian school is one of the movers and shakers behind this milestone. Vancouver Film School (VFS) partnered with perfor- mance-capture company Mimic Performance Capture to build this amazing space, designed to be the leading global performance-capture provider in terms of capacity for advanced stunt work, voice work, camera systems, methodology, and applied research. In addition, VFS and Mimic will collaborate to devel- op and implement a specialized curriculum and training workshops for VFS students and educators. Mimic will also mentor students on their performance-capture work. According to Graham Qually, president of Mimic, the studio costs north of $1.5 million. The 37,000-square-foot location is in the heart of Gastown in Vancouver's down- town area – and in the heart of VFS's campus. In 2013, VFS relocated to the site (formerly home of the Storyem theatrical museum), which the school leases from the city of Vancouver. The studio contains a 32,000-cubic-foot capture space, three stunt beams that can hold 3,500 pounds and span- ning the entire space, and 40 Vicon Vantage cameras, which continuously monitor performance with a host of sensors, giving technicians visual feedback through an onboard camera display, in the software, and via Vicon's Control app. The studio will also use Vicon's latest VFX mocap software, Shogun, which provides real-time metrics on all the key factors affecting camera and system health. This enables the team to quickly recalibrate cameras on the fly within minutes while continuing to capture performances. Students in Motion T VFS opens Vancouver's largest mocap studio BY KAREN MOLTENBREY