Radical has significantly upgraded its Canvas platform, adding advanced features like animated cameras, lighting, and customizable assets. This browser-based tool is designed to help filmmakers and creative teams simulate and iterate on scenes in 3D before heading to set, ensuring better planning and decision-making in pre-production. The new features include camera movements via keyframing, HDRI map support for enhanced environments, and asset animation with customizable properties. These additions, along with motion capture capabilities, aim to democratize high-quality previsualization for all creators, not just Hollywood professionals.
One of the most exciting updates to Radical’s Canvas is the introduction of animated cameras. Through simple keyframing, users can now simulate real-world camera movements such as dollying, craneing, and panning—currently available in beta. The upcoming features include custom camera lenses and sensor sizes expected to launch by Q4 2024, while additional aspects like focal lengths, aspect ratios, and camera sequencing are due in Q1 2025.
In a move to create more immersive scenes, Radical will soon allow users to upload custom HDRI (High Dynamic Range Imaging) maps, a feature slated for release in Q4 2024. This enhancement will enable more realistic lighting and shadow effects, including ground shadow projection, helping filmmakers better visualize complex environments.
Key Features of the Updated Canvas Platform
Cameras
– Animate real-world camera movements via simple keyframing, including: dollying, craneing, and panning [currently in beta].
– Custom camera lenses and sensor sizes due to be released in Q4.
– Aspect ratio, focal length, and camera sequencing due Q1 2025.
Environment
– Ability to upload custom HDRI maps coming in Q4.
– Current HDRI maps include floor projection for shadow casting.
Assets
– Animate asset movements in Radical Canvas via keyframing [currently in beta].
– New primitives library.
– Asset functions to include customisable coloring and opacity.
– Human scaling to be included for greater accuracy.
Characters
– Record live motion from within Radical Canvas, and create clips that can be used at a later date.
– New trimming tool for clips coming Q4.
The platform has also introduced new asset animation features, allowing users to animate objects via keyframing. The upcoming asset library will include new primitives, along with customization options for colors and opacity. A significant addition is human scaling, improving accuracy in scene composition. For characters, users can now capture live motion and store motion clips for future use. A trimming tool to edit these clips is expected by Q4 2024.
The new features were developed in collaboration with Radical’s advisory board, including Oscar-nominated visual effects supervisor Habib Zargarpour, Third Floor executive Dane Allan Smith, and Joe Marks, former CTO of Weta Digital. According to Zargarpour, “Pre-production is critical to a film’s success. Radical’s new tools will simplify and enhance the process, making previsualization more collaborative and scalable.”
Radical’s CEO, Gavan Gravesen, emphasized that the platform is designed to bring high-quality previsualization to every filmmaker, not just those in Hollywood. “We’re making drag-and-drop filmmaking a reality, helping reduce production costs while expanding creative opportunities for storytellers around the world.”
Radical’s mission aligns with the growing trend of using real-time technology to make filmmaking more accessible. As Joe Marks added, “We’re entering a new era where technology helps those with stories to tell, regardless of their technical skills.”
The Canvas platform updates follow the August beta release of Radical Motion, a real-time, markerless motion capture solution that uses a single camera. In addition to technological advancements, Radical has also announced that schools will have free access to the platform until the end of the year, supporting its goal of making creative tools accessible to aspiring filmmakers and students.