For those not familiar with Universal Scene Description (USD), it’s “a framework for interchange of 3D computer graphics data. The framework focuses on collaboration, non-destructive editing, and enabling multiple views and opinions about graphics data. USD is used in many industries including visual effects, architecture, design, robotics and CAD” (Wikipedia).
- USD is a high-performance extensible software platform for collaboratively constructing animated 3D scenes, designed to meet the needs of large-scale film and visual effects production
- USD enables robust interchange between digital content creation tools with its expanding set of schemas, covering domains like geometry, shading, lighting, and physics
- USD’s unique composition ability provides rich and varied ways to combine assets into larger assemblies, enables collaborative workflows so that many creators can work together with ease, and more
Source: openusd.org
Writing about it on Linkedin, Gothenburg-based specialist in lighting for virtual production Rodrigo de Deus, is keen to highlight the significant advantages USD offers to the visual effects industry:
- Interoperability: USD was designed to facilitate interoperability between different VFX software. This allows artists and studios to work efficiently across multiple tools without losing data or quality
- Performance: USD is optimized for performance, which is crucial in VFX productions involving large data sets and complex 3D scenes
- Collaboration: The USD format facilitates collaboration between artists and teams in different locations as it offers an effective method for sharing and versioning scene asset
- Asset Reuse: USD enables efficient reuse of 3D assets across multiple scenes and projects, saving time and resources
- Variations and Settings: Variants features in USD allow artists to experiment with different settings and versions of a scene, making it easier to create multiple iterations without duplicating data
- Hierarchical organization: USD uses a hierarchical structure that makes it easier to organize and manage complex assets, which is crucial in VFX productions
- Software support: Many leading VFX tools such as Autodesk Maya, Houdini and RenderMan support the USD format, making it widely adopted in the industry
- Longevity: USD is supported by leading organizations in the entertainment industry, which suggests that it is a format that will likely continue to be supported and developed in the future
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Main image ℅ Medium