GOAL
Take a comprehensive look around Mettle’s Mantra VR, Foundry’s Cara VR (including Nuke compositing), and Boris FX Mocha (and Continuum). These are the most popular high-end tools for VR and VR effects (like compositing). Keep any eye out for possible applications for your project.
Write your thoughts and observations about these tools in documentation. What do they do? What are their highest priorities? What do they tell you about the state of VR and AR today?
REFLECTION
Mettle’s Mantra VR and Boris FX Mocha both left a lasting impression on me. Mocha Pro’s ability to stabilize camera movement was impressive enough however, upon seeing its object tracking and removal function I was stunned.
Mantra VR’s extensive list of presets and affects were amusing to watch but, I struggled to see the functionality of them. I find they are most successful in abstract pieces. What I thought was extremely impressive was its recursion function. The computing that is required to replicate affects as well as overlay multiple affects shows Mantra’s success more than the abstract visuals it offers.
While all three of these tools are impressive in their own right, they all highlight the VR’s community’s desire for streamlining post-production tasks. Something that would have taken a designer weeks to complete now only takes one afternoon with these tools. This ultimately allows more casual creators to break into the field of VR and produce high quality projects. Overall, this shows a bright outlook for VR.