ARKit app lets directors find the perfect setting

AfterNow, a company specializing in mixed reality, has developed an app based on ARKit, which enables filmmakers to test camera settings and create digital storyboards right at the filming location. The actors are replaced by virtual characters, which are projected by the application into the real environment.

The new app, called Blocker, is a creative tool for directors and filmmakers. It combines a director’s viewfinder with the ability to place virtual characters in order to quickly compose shots and check conditions such as lighting, angle and composition.

After this, a virtual camera can be anchored in the room, which shows the setting on a display. If several such cameras are created, settings can be directly compared with each other. To experiment with the illumination of the scene, colors can be adjusted and shadow shots can be activated.

Users can also choose from 400 cameras and simulate their viewfinder. The focal length can also be adjusted, and you can create and share images of the settings. These contain additional information that can help in the later analysis.

“Our goal is to pull storyboarding and shot blocking into the real world, so that it’s intuitive and expressive,” said Jesse Vander Does, the Director of Technology at AfterNow. Afternow is a member of the Hololens affiliate program and has been commissioned by Marvel, Disney and Warner Bros.

Blocker is available free of charge in Apple’s App Store.