ZEISS CinCraft Scenario -
Introducing the world’s most flexible camera tracking system
Meet the only real-time camera tracking system that works indoors and outdoors, on film sets, with green and blue screens and in LED volumes. That uses natural markers, reflective markers, and even digital markers on LED screens. That provides camera tracking data for real-time use and records it for post-production. And that integrates lens characteristics to skip the cumbersome lens calibration process. Meet ZEISS CinCraft Scenario.
ZEISS CinCraft Scenario works in natural environments, on classical film sets, with green and blue screens and in LED volumes. With distinct operating modes that excel in different places, users can easily choose the mode that is best suited for their project. No other system has this flexibility.
CinCraft Scenario’s biggest differentiator is natural feature tracking. This allows the system to be used anywhere where there is enough “detail” in the surrounding space, like for example brick walls, window frames and more. This is particularly useful outside or when shooting on sets that aren’t designed for virtual production.
CinCraft Scenario can track non-randomly placed reflective markers. The system’s infrared (IR) emitter allows the markers to be seen in the darkest of stages and the consistency of the markers allows for minimal operational support. On top of this, CinCraft Scenario software provides an interactive guide to ensure optimal marker placement when setting up.
Through a powerful synchronization feature, CinCraft Scenario is able to work with "Frame Remapping" technologies that are used on LED wall setups. By using different frame rates, this technology allows for markers to be hidden from the main film camera on the LED wall.
ZEISS CinCraft Scenario provides camera tracking data for use in all major applications – no matter if it is for real-time or post-production workflows – adding yet another layer of flexibility.
CinCraft Scenario allows for recording the camera tracking data during the production phase and handing it over to post-production. Having tracking data available quickly and easily in post-production can significantly reduce time and effort – especially in matchmoving. That means that camera tracking is now a major benefit to all productions involving VFX.
For live compositing for previsualization or in a virtual studio, CinCraft Scenario provides real-time camera tracking data to neatly replace the green or blue screen on site. For these applications, knowing about the camera position and movement is not only an added value but a must.
As with live compositing, camera tracking is an absolute must for virtual production in LED volumes. Knowing how the camera and lens are moving and behaving is vital to correctly render the visual effects in real-time, that means getting the perspective and parallax right.
ZEISS CinCraft Scenario introduces a user experience designed to match the film crew's workflow. It works with regular off-the-shelf equipment and is natively compatible with major camera and lens encoder systems to provide all the data the system needs to track properly.
The integration of the ZEISS CinCraft lens characteristics database in the form of Virtual Lens Packages allows to skip the cumbersome lens calibration process: CinCraft Scenario is plug and play when used with ZEISS and ARRI/ZEISS cinema lenses. Still, CinCraft Scenario will be usable with any lens.
CinCraft Scenario comes with pre-calibrated templates for a variety of non-ZEISS cinema and broadcast lenses with lens distortion and nodal point already measured and included. Through the easy-to-use and wizard-guided Lens Template Finetuner, these templates can then be matched to the real lens that the production is using. This procedure takes up to 10 minutes for a prime and up to 20 minutes for a zoom lens – thereby saving about 50% of the time used for lens calibration. See the list of available templates here.
CinCraft Scenario’s self-explanatory user interface and wizards guide the user for setting up the hardware configuration and tracking on a film set in every environment and scenario. Additional tutorials will help to educate operators, that are new to the system and make it easy to learn and master.
ZEISS CinCraft Scenario comes as a combination of several hardware and software components. Users can configure the system to match their needs or choose one of four pre-configured bundles for different demands.
The camera-mounted camera bar captures raw data via the Scenario software. It's small, lightweight and includes an integrated IR emitter and synchronization technology to allow for tracking in different environments.
1. Right Imager
2. IR Projector
3. RGB Sensor
4. Left Imager
5. IR LEDs (10)
6. IMU Sensors (inside device)
7. BNC Sync Connector
8. USB-C Connector
9. Serial Connector
The system’s center piece runs the Scenario software to set up and perform camera tracking. It aggregates raw data from CinCraft CamBar, computes position and movement in real-time and can save this data for post-production.
1. Antenna
2. Ethernet Connectors for CinCraft Link and LAN
3. USB 2.0 Ports
4. Display and HDMI Ports
5. Power In
6. Power Button
7. Antenna
8. SDI Video Out BNC Connector
9. SDI Video In BNC Connector
10. Encoders Port
11. CamBar Serial Port
12. CamBar USB-C Port
The small and lightweight device receives raw data from CamBar and transmits it over a wired network connection to Origin which is setup elsewhere. It can be rigged on the main camera instead of the Origin and helps keep the tracking hardware’s footprint to a minimum.
1. Status LED
2. Sync BNC In
3. Antenna
4. Ethernet Connector for CinCraft Origin
5. Power In
6. Encoders Port
7. CamBar Port
8. CamBar USB-C Port
9. Sync BNC Out
10. Power Indicator
ZEISS CinCraft Scenario is composed of several modular software components. Users can pick exactly what they need for their task at hand. The components are available as licenses on a one week, one month or one year basis.
The base software that operates the CinCraft Scenario system. It aggregates info received from CamBar to compute position and movement in real-time. It requires very little setup time and is plug and play when used with CinCraft Virtual Lens Packages.
Wrangler records real-time tracking data and camera and lens metadata on the CinCraft Origin's internal drive. Data is recorded with a proprietary file format (herd file) that can be extracted using CinCraft Export.
Export is a separate, free of charge software running on the VFX artists’ workstations. It translates recorded herd files into formats readable by most common post-production VFX software (Nuke, Maya, Unreal, etc.).
DownloadUE Connect provides an easy-to-configure interface to Unreal Engine, enabling the use of real-time tracking data provided by CinCraft Scenario. UE Connect is available for free via the Epic Marketplace.
Find events where you can get a live demo of CinCraft Scenario and talk to our experts.
June 27-29, 2024
Motorworld Munich
Munich, Germany
August 8-10 (Exhibitions)
Los Angeles Convention Center
Los Angeles, CA
September 15-18
RAI Amsterdam | Sony Booth, Hall 13
Amsterdam, Netherlands
October 6 & 7
Trilith Studios Atlanta
Atlanta, GA
October 8-10
Jio World Convention Centre
Mumbai
November 11-18
CKK Jordanki
Toruń, Poland
December 7, 2023
CVP London
London, UK
January 30-February 2
Fira Barcelona, Gran Via | Sony Booth & VCI Booth
Barcelona, Spain
Februar 7-8
Parc Floral de Paris
Paris, France
February 15-17
Battersea Evolution
London, UK
February 18-24, 2024
The Westin Rancho Mirage
Golf Resort & Spa
Rancho Mirage, CA
April 13-17
Las Vegas Convention Center
Las Vegas, NV
April 23-26, 2024
Haus der Wirtschaft
Stuttgart, Germany
