AI-powered rotoscoping

The VFX industry is at a crossroads, facing tight budgets and a growing demand for high-quality content. VFX studios and content owners are under pressure to produce more, faster, and at a lower cost. One of the most time-consuming and costly processes, rotoscoping, involves segmenting objects or backgrounds in video so visual effects can be seamlessly added. Given its complex but repetitive nature, rotoscoping is an ideal candidate for AI automation.

Electric Sheep’s team has bridged the gap between AI, cloud, and VFX with Spotlight V2, automating rotoscoping at a speed 24 times faster than traditional methods. This reduces the time required to process one second of footage from eight hours to 15 minutes. The tool has already brought new efficiency and creative freedom to VFX production, allowing artists to focus on storytelling rather than tedious tasks.

According to Mark Maltby, CTO of The Look London, the post-house responsible for Sex Education, Gangs of London, and Fleabag, Spotlight has been a game changer. “If the shots have too much rotoscoping, it often doesn't make economical sense for us to complete them. As creatives, we appreciate anything that helps us to keep as much work in house as possible. Electric Sheep’s solution offers an economical and time-efficient way of preparing shots so that we can take on more work and continue to deliver a premium service for our clients.”

Innovate UK's Smart Grant

With the £500K grant, Electric Sheep is building Spotlight V3, its most advanced and fastest rotoscoping tool to date. V3, launching this year, aims to enhance the video segmentation process for VFX and beyond.

"We want to make rotoscoping so easy that VFX artists can have their shots ready in a few clicks," says Richie Murray, Co-Founder of Electric Sheep. "We're so pleased the UK government shares our vision for innovation in the creative industry. Rotoscoping is one of many time consuming and repetitive tasks faced by artists that gets in the way of creativity. We're focusing on the tedious parts of the job, so artists can focus on telling spectacular stories."

Innovate UK, the government's innovation agency, provides Smart Grants to support UK companies with the "best game changing and world leading ideas." Only 2% of applicants across various sectors receive this highly competitive funding.

"Artificial intelligence is not just a game-changer for the VFX industry; it's a catalyst for a new era of creative efficiency and innovation. As investors, we see transformative potential in companies like Electric Sheep, whose technology is set to redefine production timelines and cost structures. By cutting down rotoscoping time dramatically, Electric Sheep frees up artists to focus on what truly matters – creative storytelling. Investing in such innovative solutions positions us at the forefront of a revolution that balances AI's power with human ingenuity," says Angelo Burgarello, Partner at Look AI Ventures, an AI-focused VC fund backing Electric Sheep in the pre-seed round.

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