District Cinema, a creative technology studio known for its expertise in markerless motion capture, advanced scanning, and custom Unreal Engine workflows, faced the challenge of planning complex shoots remotely while preserving high visual fidelity. By leveraging Volinga’s Unreal Engine plugin and Gaussian Splat technology, they built a precise, collaborative virtual pre-production pipeline that unifies film, immersive entertainment, and interactive media. This tailored approach not only accelerated creative decision-making and reduced location visits, but also enabled high-quality virtual scouting from the earliest stages of production, delivering customized, production-ready solutions that elevate both creative vision and operational efficiency.
Before adopting Volinga, scouting locations remotely was difficult, and physical visits were time-consuming and costly, often delaying critical creative decisions. Directors and DPs struggled to visualize lighting, shadows, and framing before arriving on set, limiting their ability to iterate quickly and confidently. Additionally, integrating 3D scans with existing virtual production tools proved cumbersome, creating bottlenecks in collaboration. The team needed a flexible, accurate, and collaborative solution that could reduce pre-production time while maintaining quality standards.
To address these challenges, District Cinema built a pipeline that empowers filmmakers to plan entire shoots remotely. High-speed location scans captured with XGRIDS’ SLAM-based hardware produce centimeter-accurate digital twins in under 30 minutes, which are then imported into Unreal Engine via Volinga’s plugin for Gaussian Splat integration.
Through direct integration into Unreal Engine, District Cinema fuses existing virtual production tools and other production plugins, enabling immersive, real-time virtual scouting experiences. The ability to relight Gaussian Splat environments, adjust lighting conditions, and track sun paths gives directors and DPs creative control early in the process without visiting locations. Combined with virtual lensing, shot blocking, and precise planning tools, the workflow transforms pre-production into a collaborative, efficient, and creatively rich experience.
One of the most transformative aspects of this workflow is the ability to relight environments inside Unreal, simulating shadows, time-of-day effects, and exposure months before the crew ever steps on set. This precision boosts creative confidence while cutting unnecessary location visits, saving both budget and emissions.
“Volinga’s solid Unreal pipeline, impressive relightability, and extensive support network make them great partners in splatting innovation going forward.”
– Nolan Kearney, Technical Director at District Cinema
By integrating Volinga, District Cinema has dramatically transformed their virtual pre-production process. The team has cut pre-production time by up to 75% in some cases and reduced on-site scouting. Directors and DPs can now finalize lighting, framing, and shot composition entirely virtually, while teams collaborate seamlessly across locations. The combination of precision, efficiency, and creative flexibility has streamlined operations and elevated decision-making from the earliest stages of production.
District Cinema doesn’t just use Volinga tools, they help shape the future of how the technology is applied. From PreVis to final-pixel LED volume shoots, Volinga remains at the core of their pipeline. With support for ACES-spec Gaussian Splats and seamless integration via nDisplay, they achieve production-ready fidelity from scan to screen.
District Cinema’s work exemplifies what’s possible when innovative creative teams and robust technical pipelines come together. By incorporating Volinga’s plugin into both pre-production and final-pixel workflows, they’ve shown how Gaussian Splats can power visualization, precision, efficiency, and creativity across the board.
“Volinga doesn’t only provide a software solution, they’re building an international capture community built on mutual support and problem solving.” said Barnabas Csutak, Producer at District Cinema
Learn about District Cinema: http://districtcinema.com/
Discover how Volinga can accelerate your virtual pre-production workflow and unlock new creative possibilities.
Credits:
Virtual Production Partner: District Cinema
Technical Director: Nolan Kearney
Producer: Barnabas Csutak
Scanning Hardware: XGRIDS
