Foundry, a leading developer of creative software, has launched Nuke Stage, a groundbreaking application designed for virtual production and in-camera visual effects (ICVFX). This innovative tool seamlessly connects pre-production to final pixels, providing VFX artists with complete creative control over imagery and color throughout the entire process. The result is increased efficiency and streamlined workflows for virtual production projects of all scales.
Nuke Stage offers real-time playback of photorealistic environments onto LED walls, along with live compositing and layout capabilities. Teams can confidently iterate on content from start to finish, leveraging industry-standard formats such as OpenUSD, OpenEXR, and OpenColorIO. The application incorporates a familiar node-graph-based compositing environment, consistent with the renowned Nuke software, ensuring a smooth transition for experienced VFX artists.
“Nuke Stage was envisioned specifically for virtual production, bringing key aspects of compositing tailored for realtime playback in an on set environment, and utilizing open standards to ensure consistency between pre-production, on set, and post. Our hope is that Nuke Stage brings the expertise of VFX artists even closer to creative decision making, and, ultimately, delivers greater efficiencies for productions using Virtual Production and ICVFX. After years of development fueled by collaboration with the VFX and VP community, I can’t wait to see Nuke Stage in the hands of artists!” explains Christy Anzelmo, Foundry Chief Product Officer.
Dan Hall, Head of ICVFX at 80six, a virtual production studio, adds: “Nuke Stage offers a handshake between VFX and virtual production, which has been missed in VP until now. With VP and ICVFX it’s all about trust. Getting VFX teams on board will help to push the use of virtual production, in a meaningful way, and I see huge potential for Nuke Stage to do that.”
Sam Kemp, Production Technical Lead at Garden Studios, notes: “I love the idea of bringing VFX compositing tools into real time. The ability to bring in the compositing toolset and color management from 3D, then be able to tweak 2D assets in real time, is something that’s been missing from virtual production for a long time,”
Connor Ling, Virtual Production Supervisor at Framestore, emphasizes the importance of trust and confidence: “VFX Supervisors will typically be very familiar with Nuke, so having integration from that into the on-set components will only encourage trust and confidence between on-set and the VFX vendors, that what is being seen on the LED wall is what has been authored.”
Nuke Stage's shared color management system, open file formats, and intuitive interface ensure a seamless workflow from pre-production to real-time on-set iteration. The software's key features are designed to enhance the virtual production experience significantly.