Webinar Recap: Exploring Real-World Applications of 3DGS in Filmmaking & Creative Works

Events & Webinars2025.06.246 min read

In this webinar, we brought together creators from film, virtual production, and interactive design to explore how 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS)—a cutting-edge rendering technique—is being applied across different creative pipelines.

In this webinar, we brought together creators from film, virtual production, and interactive design to explore how 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS)—a cutting-edge rendering technique—is being applied across different creative pipelines. While 3DGS is still an emerging concept, its potential for spatial storytelling, photorealistic rendering, and real-time applications is already reshaping workflows in film, virtual production, and game engines.

From post-production in After Effects, to Unreal Engine integration, to interactive application development by Unity—this session highlighted practical, working examples of how creators are bringing 3DGS into real-world use.

🎬 Applications of 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) in Film Production

👤 Speaker: Kai Christmann

A seasoned motion designer for film and television, known for bridging traditional VFX with emerging technology.

Integrating Gaussian Splatting Into After Effects (AE)

Initial Approach：

- Early implementations relied on web-based services (e.g., Luma, Polycam, Postshot) to generate Gaussian splats.

- These were suitable mainly for short animations and basic web viewing.

Advanced Workflow with Plugins: Nuke/DaVinci Resolve

After Effects slide showing a Gaussian splat village scene as depth matte, point cloud, recolor and displacement passes

Adding Handheld Camera Motion to Gaussian Splatting

Challenge: While GS offers photorealism, adding camera movements can break immersion due to unnatural motion fidelity.
Solution: Scanning large areas with the Lixel K1 (XGRIDS) first preserves scene accuracy. Adding camera motion afterward results in smooth, realistic movement that maintains the integrity of the GS environment.

Handheld versus animated camera test moving through a Gaussian Splatting reconstruction of a European town square

Tool Recommendations:

- CamTrack AR (HitFilm): Captures camera motion data on iOS and imports it into AE or 3D tools as a virtual camera.

- Jetset by Lightcraft: Allows you to import Gaussian Splats into the app and preview them in real-time on your phone while shooting live footage.

Background replacement: With Gaussian Splats, it's possible to replace real backgrounds with photorealistic 3D environments directly in AE, Blender, or other 3D software—no green screen required.

Background replacement demo swapping the original plate of a performer in an empty room for a 3D environment

Adding Motion Graphics and Design Elements

For instance, adding typography or other 3D elements.
Application:

- Informational video overlays

- Interactive experiences with live annotations

Technical Tips

Using Multi-Resolution Output as Proxy:

- Use low-resolution versions of Gaussian Splats as proxies during video editing for a smoother workflow and faster rendering.

Registered Scans for Consistency:

- Begin each scan from the same physical marker or location. This allows for precise alignment of multiple GS outputs—ideal for complex visual effects work.

🎥 Applications of 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) in Virtual Production

👤 Speaker: Andrii Shramko

A virtual production producer specializing in immersive 3D environments.

Andrii shared how 3DGS is being used to enhance virtual production pipelines, specifically by leveraging XGRIDS scanners and real-time integration into Unreal Engine.

XGRIDS scanners can cover large areas with high image fidelity, suitable for importing into Unreal Engine as backgrounds in virtual production workflows.
Once imported, you can:

- Block actor movement naturally within the digital environment.

Crew filming on an LED volume stage displaying a captured 3DGS environment of brick fortress walls

Adjust depth layers to simulate environmental effects —— e.g., adding fake lighting to simulate night scenes and enhance visual storytelling.

Unreal Engine editor adding fake lights to a splat scene to build a nighttime street atmosphere

Advanced 3DGS Scanning Solutions — XGRIDS vs. Multi-Cam GoPro Rigs

Choosing the Right Technology for 3DGS

XGRIDS Scanners: Best suited for scanning outdoor, large-scale, and complex environment.
Multi-Cam GoPro Rigs: Ideal for small, enclosed spaces where ultra-high detail is required.

Key Insight: Matching Scanner Choice to Scene Scale

The optimal scanning solution depends on two main factors: scene scale and required level of detail.

Why Choose XGRIDS?

Delivers high-quality detail even over vast areas.
Automatically removes stray elements like people or background noise.
Seamlessly integrates with 3D pipelines for large, open environments.

🎮 Unveiling the Potential of Novel Approaches in Game Engine-Based Content Creation With 3DGS

👤 Speaker: Dr. Lukasz Mirocha

Research and Practice Fellow in Augmented Visualisation at Hong Kong Baptist University’s Visualization Research Centre.

Project 1: Heritage Mansion Digital Twin

Objective: To create a detailed digital twin of a historic mansion and generate an annotated animation for educational or archival use.
Tools: Scanning performed using the Lixel K1 scanner from XGRIDS.
Workflow: A single scan was completed during a 25-minute walk-through of the mansion.
Plugin: Leveraging the XGRIDS 3DGS Unity plugin, the scene was turned into an interactive walkthrough with live annotations, enabling real-time exploration and gamified storytelling within Unity.
Output: High-fidelity capture of architectural details, integrated into a real-time animation pipeline.

Capture slide of a heritage mansion with painted relief carving, decorated doorways and an operator scanning on site

Unity pipeline slide taking a Lixel Kity K1 scan of the mansion through LCC into a real-time Unity scene

Project 2: Capturing Pre-WWII Streetscape for Cultural Preservation

Venue: A last surviving street from pre-World War II Warsaw.
Challenge: Suboptimal lighting conditions during the shoot.
Approach: Captured with 250 smartphone photos, then reconstructed into a 3DGS model and imported into Unity using the XGRIDS 3DGS plugin to create an interactive 3D environment.
Outcome: A moody, nighttime ambience faithful to the atmosphere of the location.

Second Unity pipeline slide producing a gloomy nighttime street scene from smartphone photos

Key Takeaway on 3DGS

Mirocha’s work demonstrates how 3DGS, paired with game engines, provides a lightweight yet visually rich method for spatial storytelling—especially useful in non-entertainment contexts like cultural heritage, virtual exhibitions, or archival projects. These projects show that game engine-based workflows can enable new forms of expression and preservation outside of traditional gaming.

Summary slide comparing photogrammetry, NeRFs and 3D Gaussian Splatting against mesh-based 3D modeling

🔁 This Is Just the Beginning: A Series on 3DGS in Practice

This webinar is part of our ongoing series on practical applications of 3D Gaussian Splatting. As one of the most exciting new developments in 3D visualization, 3DGS is still evolving—and we’re continuously inviting creators, filmmakers, designers, producers, and developers from around the world to share their insights and real-world use cases.

👉 Follow us on social media or stay tuned to our upcoming events page to catch the latest webinars, tutorials, and expert showcases in this fast-growing field.