The champion of lens metadata — Cooke Optics, has partnered with EZtrack — a company that specializes in CG (Computer Generated) tracking, in order to facilitate CG workflow. The goal is to grant the director the CG elements in NRT (Near Real Time) while shooting. Explore this fascinating case study below.

Cooke Optics and EZtrack

Cooke Optics has announced a partnership with EZtrack to change the way movies are made. You all know Cooke Optics. However, EZtrack may seem like a new player. In fact, EZtrack is probably the most advanced motion and lens engine on the market. EZtrack stands out as it is designed as a hub capable of understanding and interfacing various tracking technologies, lenses, and live rendering solutions. The company claims to be the most versatile solution for a successful and quick deployment of virtual set-up. The partnership’s goal is to grant directors the confidence a shot works, in moments, or  NRT (Near Real Time). Watch a demonstration of EZtrack capabilities below:

Revolutionizing principal photography

Cooke Optics combined with EZtrack can develop a seamlessly integrated system that revolutionizes the way movies are made. As stated by Cooke: “The combination of Cooke’s long-term efforts in accurately mapping its lenses, combined with EZtrack’s camera tracking and data aggregation Hub has forever blurred the line between production and post-production, allowing filmmakers to merge images from on-set cameras with high-quality computer generated (CG) elements in NRT, giving directors the confidence a shot has worked, not in days or hours, but in moments”.

Combined with Cooke’s /i technology

An integral aspect of the project is Cooke’s /i Technology maps, which allow precise and accurate manipulation of the digital image. This means lens distortion can be corrected quickly, CG elements added to the undistorted image, and then the image can be re-distorted, so the CG element is matched to how the lens sees it.

Although EZtrack’s technology is compatible with other lens manufacturers, the combination with Cooke’s /i technology is ideal, as the distortion is also taken into account (essential when shooting with anamorphic lenses). This is coupled with the EZtrack system’s ability to deliver precise camera movement tracking, together with lens and camera data, plus the movement of many other on-set elements such as mechanical cranes. This allows the VFX and camera teams to accurately know the position and movement of the camera at all times, while also providing access to all the Cooke /i Metadata.

This revolutionary innovation from Cooke Optics and EZtrack may have started on Comandante, but the flexibility and creative control it offers filmmakers means it will feature in many more productions in the years to come.

Daniela Kesselem, Chief Product Officer at Cooke

A huge advantage for directors

A director can sit on set watching the feed from the live cameras with a real-time version of a basic CG render for the sake of positioning. But more importantly, thanks to the collaboration of Cooke and EZtrack, all the data collected can be used by the on-set VFX team to produce an updated rendering of the required CG that, while not big-screen-ready, is more than good enough to allow the editor to see their vision come to life in Near Real Time.

Elevating confidence during the actual shot

The combined technologies allow filmmakers to have confidence in the shot and also provide them with the freedom to re-think a shot if necessary. Not in the post-production phase, when laborious re-shoots are prohibitively costly, but in the moments after the shot has happened.

A Case study

This innovation in the cinematography process debuted in the Italian film Comandante. The venture not only benefited from this revolutionary new approach to data capture and management but also featured a 1:1 replica of a Second World War submarine where most of the action takes place. The project used Cooke’s 1.8x Anamorphic/i Full Frame Plus lenses as well as /i Technology, which enabled Cooke and EZtrack to provide spatially accurate, frame-accurate distortion maps, that track focus pulls across time for spherical and anamorphic lenses. Cooke and EZtrack co-developed key technical workflow aspects which fed into The Foundry’s NUKE, whose VFX compositing software delivered the NRT workflow utilized in the film. Watch the implementation below:

Final thoughts

As explained, the combination of the two technologies (Cooke/i and EZtrack) can facilitate CG workflow during production. The crew can view an initial render of the CG elements, thus making a better creative decision while shooting, instead of the expensive re-shoot of a scene. You can explore a live demonstration of this Near Real Time technology in the Cooke stand 48 at CineGear Los Angeles on June 2-3 2023.