Vancouver, British Columbia – March 31, 2022, Departure Lounge Inc. and Los Angeles-based volumetric capture pioneers, Metastage, Inc., are excited to announce that the Metastage Canada partnership has been selected by Microsoft as the exclusive licensee for its volumetric capture technology in Western Canada. Metastage Canada is the first 4D holographic capture facility of its kind. The stage will launch in Spring 2022 and will be designated as the exclusive Microsoft Mixed Reality Capture Studio in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Using Microsoft Mixed Reality Capture Studios technology, Metastage’s industry-leading volumetric or ‘holographic’ capture process uses 106 state-of-the-art 12MP machine-vision cameras to capture dynamic human performances. This rapidly generating photo-real, volumetric digital models inject new life into stories, games, and experiences for both immersive mixed reality and traditional media. Compared with other systems, Metastage produces exceptionally high-quality holograms that reduce the amount of ‘clean up’ or post-processing required. Metastage holograms have been used in applications ranging from training to fashion to entertainment. Departure Lounge will operate Metastage Canada as part of a comprehensive set of technologies designed to transfer humans and objects into and out of the ‘Metaverse,’ helping to facilitate the next generation of immersive content.
“We are thrilled to be working together with Metastage to bring their industry-leading 4D holographic platform to Vancouver,” said James Hursthouse, Founder & CEO of Departure Lounge. “British Columbia is home to one of the world’s largest clusters of mixed reality companies, including Microsoft’s own Holographic group, and robust digital content industry in which the application of holograms in virtual and real-time production is becoming increasingly prevalent. We expect significant demand for our holographic capture stage in this region as we move forward into the era of the Metaverse 3D spatial internet.”
“We are very pleased to be working with the team at Departure Lounge to launch our second, world-class holographic capture facility,” said Christina Heller, CEO at Metastage. “Our stage in Los Angeles has experienced increasingly higher demand from companies integrating holograms across many industries, including games, TV, film, fashion, digital twinning, health, and education. We look forward to offering customers a second location in partnership with James and his team at Departure Lounge.”
Metastage Canada will be housed at the Departure Lounge facility in the heart of the Centre for Digital Media district in downtown Vancouver. The Departure Lounge facility is a part commercial business, and part industry-academic partnership hub, helping to train the next generation of digital content creators through work-integrated learning programs. These programs serve students, as well as offer mentorship and guidance for startups and under-represented groups. Departure Lounge has established its own creative services team under the guidance of volcap industry superstar, Adam Rogers, to develop applications and experiences that incorporate holograms.
“We’re thrilled to expand our partnership with Metastage with the opening of Departure Lounge in Vancouver,” said Steve Sullivan, General Manager, Microsoft Mixed Reality Capture Studios. “James and the Departure Lounge team have impressed us with their knowledge and passion for Mixed Reality, and combined with the experience and reach of Metastage, we believe they’ll have a huge impact in Canada and beyond.”
About Departure Lounge Inc.
Departure Lounge brings together the experience and expertise of its founding team to develop a cohesive range of Metaverse-focused technology and content opportunities, including a joint venture with 4D holographic capture pioneers, Metastage Inc., to bring their world-leading holographic capture platform to Canada.
Departure Lounge was acquired by AMPD Ventures Inc. (CSE: AMPD) in December 2021. It operates as an independent business unit while taking full advantage of the high-performance cloud and computes solutions being offered by AMPD Technologies Inc.
About Metastage, Inc.
Metastage specializes in bringing the best of the real world into the Metaverse. The company has holographically captured people (and animals) from all walks of life, including athletes and actors to executives and training instructors. Metastage’s capture system creates beautiful 3D holograms which can be integrated into any virtual platform, from common devices like smartphones to high-end VR headsets. Metastage and their partners translate true human performance to be digitally shared in the Metaverse.
About Microsoft Mixed Reality Capture Studios
Microsoft Mixed Reality Capture Studios technology enables content creators to capture real-life subjects and turn them into 360-degree holograms that can be used in applications across MR/VR/AR devices, 2D screens, phones, the web, and more. They have licensed stage partners in other locations including Los Angeles, Washington DC, Redmond, London, Seoul, Berlin, and two mobile stages.
