AMPD Ventures Inc said that Metastage Canada, a mixed reality capture studio jointly owned by its subsidiary Departure Lounge Inc and Los Angeles-based Metastage Inc, has been selected by Microsoft as the exclusive licensee for its volumetric capture technology in Western Canada.
Metastage Canada is the first 4D holographic capture facility in the region, and the stage will launch in Spring 2022 as the exclusive Microsoft Mixed Reality Capture Studio in Vancouver, British Columbia.
"We are thrilled to be working together with Metastage to bring their industry-leading 4D holographic platform to Vancouver," said James Hursthouse, founder & CEO of Departure Lounge, in a statement.
"British Columbia is home to one of the world's largest clusters of mixed reality companies, including Microsoft's own Holographic group, and a robust digital content industry in which the application of holograms in virtual and real-time production is becoming increasingly prevalent. We expect significant demand for our holographic capture stage in this region as we move forward into the era of the Metaverse 3D spatial internet," he added.
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Using Microsoft Mixed Reality Capture Studios technology, Metastage's industry-leading volumetric or 'holographic' capture process uses 106 state-of-the art 12MP machine-vision cameras to capture dynamic human performances. These rapidly generating photo-real, volumetric digital models inject new life into stories, games, and experiences for both immersive mixed reality and traditional media.
Compared with other systems, Metastage produces exceptionally high-quality holograms that reduce the amount of 'clean up' or post processing required. Metastage holograms have been used in applications ranging from training to fashion to entertainment.
"We are very pleased to be working with the team at Departure Lounge to launch our second, world-class holographic capture facility," said Christina Heller, CEO at Metastage. "Our stage in Los Angeles has experienced increasingly higher demand from companies integrating holograms across many industries, including games, TV, film, fashion, digital twinning, health, and education. We look forward to offering customers a second location in partnership with James (Hursthouse) and his team at Departure Lounge."
Metastage Canada will be housed at the Departure Lounge facility in the heart of the Centre for Digital Media district in downtown Vancouver. The Departure Lounge facility is part commercial business, part industry-academic partnership hub, helping to train the next generation of digital content creators through work-integrated learning programs.
These programs serve students, as well as offer mentorship and guidance for startups and under-represented groups. Departure Lounge has established its own creative services team under the guidance of volcap industry superstar, Adam Rogers, to develop applications and experiences that incorporate holograms.
"We're thrilled to expand our partnership with Metastage with the opening of Departure Lounge in Vancouver" said Steve Sullivan, GM, Microsoft Mixed Reality Capture Studios. "James and the Departure Lounge team have impressed us with their knowledge and passion for Mixed Reality, and combined with the experience and reach of Metastage, we believe they'll have a huge impact in Canada and beyond."
AMPD, a next-generation infrastructure company specializing in providing high-performance computing solutions for low-latency applications, acquired Departure Lounge, a developer of a cohesive range of Metaverse-focused technology and content opportunities, in December last year.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com