The ideal footprint for the volumetric capture area is 16x16ft (5m) with enclosed walls to control lighting and sound. If an enclosed room that meets these dimensions does not exist, a temporary structure will need to be created. This can be achieved with truss and fabric.
Ideal ceiling height is approximately 12ft (3.66m). For lighting purposes, ceilings are optimally white and flat with minimal to no ducting, piping, or other appliances. However, if the ceiling is uneven or has ducting or piping, or if height is more restricted than 12ft (3.66m), Evercoast's system is quite flexible and can fit in rooms with heights as low as 2.8m (or potentially lower depending on what you're trying to capture).
Floors should be flat, level, completely stable, and not make noise when bodies move across them. Ideally, the floor surface would not be carpeted inside the enclosed room. We want the floor to match the green of the walls as best as possible. For multi-day capture events, a cleaning or re-application approach should be considered.
Locations should be secure to protect Evercoast equipment and personnel as needed. Equipment is sensitive and expensive; access should be considered when determining locations. Secure storage is helpful to store backup equipment, packaging and travel cases, supplies, etc.
Independent climate control, standard ventilation and office-level HVAC are all optimal. Having these will allow for moderate temperatures and climate, resulting in optimal talent performances. PC system specs require 5 °C to 35 °C (41 F to 95 °F); however, ambient room temperature inside the enclosed room should not exceed 22 °C (72 °F).
You should consider wheelchair ramps and handicapped access, if needed. Evercoast’s team will not require any special accessibility considerations for its staff, but consider your capture subjects and their accessibility needs.
Evercoast uses cloud processing for all calibration and rendering of data while onset at the shoot location. The capture data is a significant size and requires fast upload speeds (download speeds are less important). Evercoast requires a hardline ethernet connection with business-class Internet (minimum 100 Mbps upload speed, with managed network traffic), as well as standard Internet access common for work and communication needs.
The enclosed room should do its best to provide a sound-insulated capture environment, but in an imperfect location, be mindful of Evercoast’s proximity to internal building systems such as HVAC, plumbing/piping, elevators, server rooms, etc, or proximity to other external noise (streets, sirens, etc).
Adequate work areas should be made available for the initial system build and installation. Studio assembly requires room to work and could be disruptive to adjacent areas. Locations should be accessible during normal business hours, but after hours as well (weekend or early morning / late night access is often ideal). Have in mind adequate egress for load-in / load-out equipment.
Evercoast’s system, inclusive of all cameras and computing equipment, has a total power consumption of between 2,000 - 4,000 watts (depending on use case), typically enough for one or two 20A circuits. Lighting will add a more significant power draw that could push total power requirement needs to upwards of 6,000 - 8,000 watts. Evercoast will provide power cables for any equipment we bring but will not be responsible for running power from another location in or near to the facility.
If talent is going to need a teleprompter, there are several options, but it's important to note that the teleprompter display must be outside the capture volume. The display can be mounted to a camera pole (see below) or to its own mount outside the camera poles.
We need a lot of light. Everywhere. The more, the merrier. The more light we have, the more we can control intensity.
We want to avoid any harsh lighting that creates overexposed hot spots on the subject, shadows, and other downsides to hard light.
Head to toe, all the way around, we want an even lighting environment. With that said, we recognize that feet may be slightly darker than the head.
Bi-color lights are usually set to 5000K during our productions. We may alter this based on the performer or creative, and RGB lights can be used if desired.
It's important to have all of the lights on a remote control (either DMX, Bluetooth, or WiFi-based) so we can easily tune intensity and color temperature.
House or other ambient lighting within and around the enclosed room should be physically unobtrusive and controllable to turn on and off.
We've seen great success with (8) ARRI SkyPanel S60s up top and (4) S60s or S30s in the corners at low or mid-range height of the subject's body.
We really love the 2x4 LiteMat 4 from LiteGear when coupled with their diffuse softbox. A few 4x8 LiteTiles can also create an excellent "cloud" overhead.
A lesser known brand, Astora packs a lot of punch for a lower price point. When customers can't afford the highest end solution, Astora really fits the bill.
Sound Stage on a Studio Lot