New Tools Include Multi-Camera Stitching, Stabilization and Color-Balancing, 360-Degree Compositing, and Live Review

The Foundry said its new Cara VR GPU-accelerated plug-in for Nuke, first announced at NAB, is now available.

Cara VR combines camera-solving and -stitching, plate-correction, compositing and headset-review tools within the Nuke workspace, the company said

The plug-in ships with presets for cameras including the Freedom360 GoPro mount and the Nokia OZO, as well as the ability to define custom camera rigs with Python scripting for automating camera solving and transferring rig data. The stitcher works with both mono and stereo footage and uses technology from The Foundry's Ocula to help stitch moving images seamlessly, the company said.

Optimization to Cara's tracker accounts for the distortions and edge continuity issues introduced by 360-degree footage, The Foundry said, allowing footage to be tracked and stabilized during or after the stitching process.

GPU acceleration allows Nuke's compositing tools to work directly with 360-degree footage, with a Spherical Transform node making it easier to work with different projection types. And projects can be previewed on HTC and Oculus headsets directly from the Nuke Studio timeline.

Among the earliest Cara VR users are MediaMonks, which completed a VR project featuring Nicole Kidman for Etihad Airways, The Foundry said. (An accompanying video goes behind the scenes on the shoot.) Also offering a Cara VR testimonial is New Deal Studios, which used it on a Galvanized Souls music video, featured in the behind-the-scenes clip below.

Pricing for Cara VR starts at $4,295. A 15-day trial version is available and can be used for evaluation with trial versions of Nuke, NukeX, and Nuke Studio — but not, be warned, with Nuke Non-commercial, introduced last year. Cara VR requires Nuke 10.0v2 or 9.0v7 or above.