Commonly referred to as “Hollywood North”, Vancouver is an internationally renowned hub for media and entertainment. Our scenic city has been the favoured backdrop for countless blockbuster titles such as The BFG, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and the Deadpool series, and is even a featured race location in Mario Kart Tour 2020. This increasingly prolific city has also become home to the world-class teams that turn these productions into cinematic masterpieces. Visual effects houses such as Scanline VFX, Sony Pictures Imageworks, and DNEG have all opened their studio doors in the heart of Vancouver and continue to draw in leading artists from around the world, employing over 12,000 creative minds across the province. As this multi-billion dollar industry continues to grow between the Pacific and The Rockies, innovative companies like Vancouver’s own Ziva Dynamics are helping these creative giants accelerate and improve their work with powerful graphics technology.
Lion asset with complete anatomy simulated with Ziva VFX by Ziva Dynamics
Ziva Dynamics was founded in 2015 by Academy Award winner James Jacobs and USC Associate Professor of Computer Science Jernej Barbic. Ziva technology is advancing digital characters for film, AAA games, and high-end interactive experiences. The company brings together the best and brightest minds from the character space, from artists to scientists, from researchers to seasoned business leaders, to solve the major complexities of character creation. Ziva technology was recognized as “Hollywood’s most outstanding technology” at the 2019 Infinity Awards by the executive panel from Dolby Laboratories, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Microsoft, and more.
James Jacobs, Co-Founder, Ziva Dynamics
Ziva Dynamics entered the media & entertainment technology space with rapid success. The company’s flagship software, Ziva VFX, is used to digitally replicate the physics and materiality of soft tissue, such as muscles, fat, and skin, enabling artists to create the most lifelike CGI characters. With fully dynamic anatomy, these virtual animals and humans jiggle, stretch, and flex just as they would in real life, removing weeks of artistic labour from the character workflow. This technology has become the new standard for high-quality creature work, blurring the lines between art and reality for over 100 studios on titles such as Game of Thrones, Captain Marvel, and Venom.
Simulated megalodon from ‘The Meg’ (2018) – by Scanline VFX
The application of lifelike characters reaches far beyond just films and television, however, and Ziva Dynamics is on the forefront of bringing breakthrough graphics to the most competitive and rapid growth industries, including gaming, VR/AR, and Fortune 500 retail. The video game industry alone is set to reach over $300 billion by 2025 and console games, the fastest-growing game category, made over $47.9 billion in 2019. Ziva Dynamics is joining a long legacy of Canadain innovations that are carving new paths and pushing boundaries in computer graphics and animation.
Dino Muscle And Fascia Pass Rendered – Ziva Dynamics
Ziva is proud to be delivering on major titles for next-gen console games in 2020,” said James Jacobs and Jernej Barbic, co-founders of Ziva Dynamics. “Our biomechanics, soft tissue and machine learning technologies are finally intersecting with the optimization of game consoles, enabling us to introduce the highest quality characters to a space that is constantly racing for better, faster results. With our new partners and funding, we’ll be able to double our R&D spend, accelerate productization and play a defining role in the most advanced graphics experiences.”
Horse anatomy simulated with Ziva VFX by Ziva Dynamics
