Lightstorm Vision, developer of integrated 3D production technology that was founded by filmmaker James Cameron, has acquired Outsyders, a creative-tech collective with a production-proven AI-driven 3D pipeline. The acquisition unites Outsyders’ intelligent 3D pipeline with Lightstorm Vision’s native capture and production capabilities, creating an end-to-end solution for producing world-class 3D content across both new productions and existing content libraries.

Founded by Paul Becker, Jared Sandrew and Chris Harvey and launched in April 2024, Outsyders provides stereoscopic post for high-volume content creation. The founders bring experience in theatrical 3D and visual effects and have delivered the IMAX 3D version of The Blue Angels; the 3D reimagining of Disney’s Lilo & Stitch (with most of the 2D classic brought to 3D in just eight weeks); Doug Liman’s 8K, high-frame-rate stereoscopic film Asteroid, produced for Samsung and Google; Tron: Ares; Moana; and others. The company currently has more than five feature films in progress. Outsyders recently collaborated with Lightstorm Vision on Paramount’s Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D), achieving visual consistency between converted and native stereoscopic footage.

At the core of the acquisition is Outsyders’ stereoscopic processing platform. Combining real and synthetic data, the platform is designed to improve model accuracy and allow small teams to produce stereoscopic content more quickly and at lower cost than traditional conversion methods. The technology will now be incorporated into Lightstorm Vision’s integrated platform.

Lightstorm Vision combines precision capture, stereoscopic post and AI-driven processing in an integrated production system. The company is developing tools, training and production infrastructure for 3D content across cinema, broadcast and streaming. The addition of Outsyders expands its stereoscopic post capabilities.

 For Cameron, the addition of Outsyders merges two complementary approaches to premium stereoscopic 3D. “At Lightstorm we’ve been working with Paul Becker and his team for almost two years and really enjoyed the collaboration. As everyone knows, I’ve got a very exacting eye for 3D, and I can confidently say that their work and their AI tools are world-class. Together we will provide end-to-end solutions for productions and for studios as we merge the worlds of conversion and native photographic 3D.”

For Becker, CEO and co-founder of Outsyders, the acquisition is as much about shared lineage as it is about technology. “We’ve always shared Jim’s vision for stereo,” Becker says. “Our work with Jim confirmed that our combined technologies were the most logical and effective step for the format.”

Turnkey 3D: The Integrated Approach
Lightstorm Vision combines native stereoscopic capture, AI-driven processing and stereoscopic post in an integrated pipeline. Outsyders’ platform operates in coordination with Lightstorm Vision’s capture and processing infrastructure, using metadata and pipeline context from the production. The companies say the combined workflow reduces the time, cost and complexity of traditional 3D production.

A Platform That Improves with Every Production
Productions captured with Lightstorm Vision’s native stereoscopic camera systems generate ground-truth data that can be used to improve Outsyders’ AI models. As the platform is used across more productions, its processing can become more accurate and efficient.

Existing Content Libraries
The same AI capabilities can also be used to convert existing 2D libraries to stereoscopic content. By reducing the time and cost of conversion, the combined platform is intended to give studios, broadcasters and streaming platforms another way to expand their 3D catalogs.  Lightstorm Vision’s integrated system is designed to support that market across both new productions and existing libraries.