How Clear Angle Studios Is Harnessing the Power of Hollywood’s Most Sought-After VFX Tech

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There’s been a lot of chatter in Hollywood about the significant increase in U.K. film production. It appears that studios are actively seeking opportunities to film in California, retain talent domestically and regain some of the industry prestige that once defined L.A., all while battling against a president who is determined to impose tariffs that could disrupt things globally.

It’s well known that London is thriving due to Hollywood’s decline, as its 2024 film production earnings reached approximately £5.6 billion ($7.4 billion). Companies like Prime Video, Netflix, and Disney are actively expanding their UK offices, a testament to this growth. Famous studios such as Pinewood, with its 12 Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbusters, or Sky Studios Elstree (home to “Wicked” and “Jurassic World: Rebirth”), are consistently busy with the biggest names in the global entertainment industry.

Behind the scenes at these massive film studios, like Pinewood Studios, there’s a lot happening that keeps Britain’s film and TV industry buzzing. One recent visitor to Pinewood, The Hollywood Reporter, discovered they were on the cutting edge of technology, holding a significant advantage in some futuristic tech. In simpler terms, they are a key player in the innovative world of filmmaking.

Clear Angle Studios, headquartered at Pinewood and co-founded by Dominic Ridley and Christopher Friend, is a prominent global company specializing in 3D capture and processing. Their primary focus lies in cyber scanning and photogrammetry capture within the digital visual effects industry. The idea for this business originated from a chat between Ridley and Friend at a Halloween party several years ago. Since 2013, they’ve grown from operating with 70 cameras and ambitious aspirations.

Over the past decade, Clear Angle has become a leading force in the movie and TV industry, focusing on advanced scanning technologies for full bodies, faces, props, and environments. These advancements have significantly enhanced numerous films and series you’ve enjoyed.

Have you ever pondered over how Tom Cruise pulled off all those amazing stunts in “Mission Impossible: Fallout”? Or perhaps wondered about Robert Pattinson’s convincing portrayal of twins in Bong Joon Ho’s latest sci-fi film, “Mickey 7”? The person to consult on these matters is Ridley.

Clear Angle has strong connections with Marvel, Lucasfilm, Warners, Netflix, Apple, Amazon, MGM, Universal, Paramount, 20th Century, and we strive to take on as much work as possible without becoming overextended,” the director of Clear Angle explains to THR. Showcasing the company’s technological prowess, Ridley, who began his career in visual effects, tries to explain in simple terms how Clear Angle’s top-tier facial capture system operates. This system, affectionately known as Dorothy, is composed of 90 individual cameras.

Ridley is thrilled to talk about Dorothy, particularly its ability to handle unusual aspects such as character transformations, prosthetics, or any other oddities that occur during close-ups. He explains that if an actor has to fight a duplicate of themselves or if multiple instances of the same people need to appear in a single shot, this device would be incredibly useful.

The system’s unique spaceship-like design is hard to put into words, but with 54 Canon SLR cameras, 22 Sony A7R3 models, 13 machine vision cameras, and 497 programmable LED light nodes, you can visualize the level of detail it captures. This advanced system has the capability to accurately replicate an actor’s facial expressions with minimal input from an animator, allowing it to film at a rate of 48 frames per second (fps).

(Note: Dorothy is not explicitly mentioned as a system in this version, but it is clear that “it” refers to the system.)

Among the three identical rigs globally, one is now in London due to the bustling film activity there. The other two are located at Clear Angle’s offices in Atlanta and Culver City. However, the London surge has caused the Atlanta Dorothy to be transported to the U.K., as there’s minimal production happening in Atlanta or Los Angeles at present. Ridley notes a 180-degree shift, considering Europe‘s post-COVID decline in filming and recent Hollywood strikes.

He goes on to say, “Europe is becoming more active. The U.K. is seeing growth, while Australia offers attractive tax benefits along with Toronto. However, it’s not just them; Italy, Spain, Hungary, Bulgaria, Germany are also showing signs of growth. This suggests that studios are once again committing to the production and distribution of content. There was definitely a pause, but it seems we’ve reached the end of this period of adjustment, and the finish line is getting closer and brighter by the day.

In addition to its main location, Clear Angle’s international branches are situated in Vancouver, Athens, Cape Town, and Budapest. Globally, they possess 18 advanced, customized photogrammetry rigs, each boasting 204 cameras and 32 lights. Notable figures who have utilized this setup include the cast of Lucasfilm’s ‘Andor’, the live-action remakes of ‘Lilo & Stitch’ and ‘How to Train Your Dragon’, as well as the ensemble from Marvel’s ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’.

In Ridley’s words, “When someone is about to fall off a bridge or leap from a tall building, those situations are incredibly risky.” He explains that 3D full body scanning can be beneficial in such cases. “Frequently, in movies and television shows, there’s a technique called computer-generated takeover where a stuntman or actor would perform an action up to a certain point, then CG takes over, like when they jump through a window.” So, one could argue that we’re actually preserving lives because the actors don’t have to perform dangerous stunts in real life.

Clear Angle technology can generate a digital replica of various entities such as actors, objects, environments, or animals (including lions, donkeys, zebras, flamingos, seals, and numerous horses). This is accomplished using full-body scans, facial recognition, and voice recording. The gathered data is subsequently provided to visual effects studios for their discretionary use. Individuals who undergo a scan are informed 24 hours in advance about the specifics of the system’s operation and the shots that will be utilized. It is essential that the talent explicitly consent to being captured.

Is it becoming harder to handle technology as artificial intelligence continues to advance exponentially? Recently, Scarlett Johansson has joined a growing list of celebrities expressing concerns after OpenAI unveiled a chatbot with a voice remarkably similar to hers. Despite their initial offer for her to voice the digital assistant, she declined. Upon hearing the demo, she expressed shock, anger, and disbelief. However, OpenAI claims that it was not intended as an imitation of the actress.

After the strikes, actors have significantly increased their understanding about scanning, digitizing themselves, and the associated rights and legalities,” Ridley explains. “I believe this is beneficial. Education is generally positive. I don’t think studios were misusing data before, or using it in the manner sensationalized by media.

For the last 10 years, we’ve been gathering data exclusively for specific movie productions, never reusing it across different films. It’s always been confined to the project at hand,” he explains. “I can’t trace the origin of this notion that by scanning an extra on one show, the data could be utilized in other projects. That’s not a common practice.

Ridley’s team is exceptionally diligent in handling data security matters. They adhere to rigorous security standards similar to those used by major film studios, ensuring a high level of protection. Moreover, all the data is stored offline, making it virtually inaccessible. This aspect is a significant priority for Clear Angle and other film vendors. Protecting the data is crucial to us; it’s like our lifeline.

As a devoted admirer, I’m thrilled to share the news that Clear Angle, nestled within their Pinewood headquarters, managed to scan an impressive 300 individuals in just a single day! This complex setup, conveniently located for a swift cab journey from London, is a marvel of intricate design. It serves as a magnet, drawing in a vast pool of untapped talent, seamlessly and swiftly.

Their technology extends beyond human scanning, reaching into the realm of gaming. They meticulously create authentic, photo-realistic digital representations of beloved athletes for games. Moreover, they harness advanced drone and helicopter technology to capture breathtaking landscapes in stunning detail. Ridley, like many others, finds the gaming world an intriguing domain waiting to be explored further.

Indeed, there have been financial challenges encountered during our journey. Starting a business like Clear Angle doesn’t come cheap; Ridley and Friend had to invest a substantial amount of their personal savings when the company was just starting out, and even mortgaged their home as collateral before it really took off. The unpredictability of the industry has also posed challenges, but with the addition of financial expert Michael Pedersen to our team since 2016, we’ve managed to grow consistently, expanding our employee directory along the way.

Demand in London remains high and unrelenting, causing Ridley a particular sadness when he has to turn down work. “What often saddens me these days is when someone contacts me and says, ‘It was great working with you — we’re filming XYZ in a few months,'” he laments, “but I have to respond, ‘I’m truly sorry, but we’re already fully booked.'” He despises disappointing people this way, but he feels it is better to do so than to deliver subpar work due to being overextended.

Visiting Clear Angle’s Pinewood facility feels like entering a glimpse of tomorrow, or an exclusive lab bustling with talented professionals deep within the heart of the film industry. What truly distinguishes Clear Angle is their team, as Ridley points out. “When we work on a Marvel production, they hire us not just because the data supports it, but also because they genuinely want to collaborate with these people for several months.

He mentions: “What drives me is this – it’s not about a wide variety of topics; instead, I’m drawn to technology, organization, and the behind-the-scenes aspects. More importantly, it’s about the people who join in this process. Those experiences are what I cherish.

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2025-06-16 21:25