According to a recent TechCrunch article, Lytro’s 40K resolution, 300 FPS camera “captures the world out to a certain distance and is essentially able to leave the rest of the shot transparent, allowing for post-production wizardry.” Since every pixel has color and directional properties, filmmakers now have the ability to seamlessly integrate computer graphics with real footage. The merger of CGI images and real-world footage can be done after the fact; because of it, filmmakers always get the shot they want.

Lytro’s Depth Screen is by far one of its most groundbreaking features. Jon Karatin, Lytro’s Head of Light Field Video, explained, “With Depth Screen, it’s as if you had a screen for every object. But it’s not just limited to any one object. Its anywhere in space.” In other words, Depth Screen allows filmmakers to capture green screen shots without actually having to place an object in front of the green screen.

Simplifying the task of CGI integration and match moving, the Light Field Camera Tracking technology combine an integrated high-resolution active scanning system with the Light Field data, according to Lytro. Taking in as much as 400 gigabytes per second of data, Lytro Cinema is capable of capturing all the rays of light within a scene. Brendan Bevensee, Lead Engineer for Light-Field Video, said, “Lytro’s cinematography has the ability to capture everything about a scene from different perspectives, different focal planes, different apertures. Every pixel now has color properties, directional properties, as well as exact placement in 3D space.”

TechCrunch’s recent article summarizes the technology: “it essentially uses data on all the available light in a photo to separate objects by depth and stores them in a three-dimensional grid.” Whether it’s creative control over depth field, focus position, shutter speed, or dynamic range, Lytro Cinema is the ultimate creative tool. A filmmaker’s shot is limited only by his or her imagination.

Chief Product Officer Ariel Braunstein describes one major challenge filmmakers face: “Video until now has been a 2D medium and computer graphics tend to be 3D. Cinematographers and Visual Effects Artists are doing amazing things but they struggle with the fact that these are two different mediums. Lytro allows you two integrate two worlds. It turns every frame in a video into a three-dimensional model.”

With multiple rendering options that include IMAX, RealD, Dolby Vision, ACES, and HFR, the sky is the limit for Lytro Cinema. The company has its eyes set on the television and film industries and with a rental price tag of $125K (Cinema hardware/software suite), Lytro offers a rather affordable option for studios interested in an all-in-one production package.