The global AVGC (Animation, VFX, Gaming, Comics) industry is changing on a rapid manner. The advanced technology developments has led to many successful executions of new movies, shows, games, and even virtual reality experiences. One such tech is OpenUSD. Let’s understand what is OpenUSD and its related workflow and pipelines. It is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in the Animation arena.

From the development of powerful new software tools to the increasing adoption of cloud computing, technology is making it easier and more affordable than ever to create high-quality animation. This is leading to a proliferation of new content, from feature films and television series to video games and even AR/VR experiences. Now, it is growing multifold following the magnitude of OTTs and smartphone capabilities. 

What is OpenUSD?

The full form of OpenUSD is ‘Open Universal Scene Description’.

To talk about the history of OpenUSD, it is an open-source framework developed by Pixar Animation Studios. It is used for the interchange of 3D data (CGI files) data between various softwares . It provides a scalable solution for the CGI production pipeline. Due to its extensible nature, it can be fitted in any genre’s complex workflows; which can range from films, television, games to any other broadcast medium.

Ed Catmull, President, Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, released OpenUSD for all on 26^th July, 2016. Since then, a long list to top notch studios has adapted this framework in their studio pipeline. DNEG, Animal logic, Sony Imageworks, MPC, Pixomondo, Weta Digital, ILM to name a few. In a very small time, it became a de facto industry standard. 

So, overall it bridges various digital content creation tools under one roof. It increased productivity and at the same time removes many mundane and reparative works. So, artists can focus more on creativity, rather than getting stucked into technical challenges. You can says that it is the perfect combination of creativity and technology. 

It is not just another file format to save your CG file. The power of OpenUSD is phenomenal, which is explained ahead.  

Benefits of OpenUSD

1. Better management: It lets you combine elements from different files to create complex scenes. This makes large scenes easier to handle by splitting them into smaller, easily managed pieces.
2. Flexibility: It is designed to be extensible, so new features and functionality can be added as needed. This makes it a flexible platform that can be used for a wide variety of applications.
3. Easy collaboration: OpenUSD is built to manage large scenes effectively. It allows different artists to work on separate parts of the scene simultaneously, making collaboration smooth and efficient. Changes made by one artist can be incorporated into the overall scene without disrupting the work of others. Such system increases scalability. 
4. Layered and non-destructive workflow: It organizes scene data in separate layers, like folders. This allows edits (like animation, assets, shading etc.) to be made without changing the original data. Each layer can hold specific changes, making edits clear and collaboration streamlined. Such pipeline gives easy editing and overrides through the project. Artist is free to explore his/her creativity without compromising the integrity of the original data. 
5. Interchangeability: It is one of the biggest benefits of OpenUSD. It acts like a universal translator for all the 3D data. Different software programs can easily share and understand 3D objects and scenes because they “speak” the same language. This makes working with 3D content across different tools smooth and seamless.
6. Optimized pipeline: OpenUSD helps scenes run smoothly and quickly, even when complex. It prioritizes the right information at the right time, like showing details close-up but saving resources for things farther away. This makes it great for experiences you can interact with in real-time.
7. Seamless integration with leading industry softwares: Several major Animation and Visual Effects tools support OpenUSD, including Autodesk Maya, SideFX Houdini, Foundry Katana and many others. This widespread support contributes to its adoption in the industry.
8. Free use for commercial projects: OpenUSD is an open-source project, which means that anyone can contribute to its development and use it for free.

All these features of OpenUSD have made it a game-changer for 3D and VFX projects. It essentially streamlines the entire production and post production process, allowing studios to handle intricate scenes efficiently and work together easily. In simple terms, It break down the creative process into manageable components. By this way, it addresses the complexity of modern Animation and Post Production workflows.

As per industry reports, it has reduced data exchange times between different software packages by up to 30%. It is a gigantic help for studio owners and production people. Being an open-source project, it is a growing with a large community of creative and technical contributors. All of them are contributing to make a rich set of features for working with 3D scenes. Apart from CGI industry, it is also getting popularity in industries of architecture, engineering, and manufacturing.

Autodesk OpenUSD webinar

Autodesk has organized an exclusive knowledge based webinar titled ‘Cracking the case on OpenUSD: How to achieve glorious 3D interoperability?’. It contains following topics.

• History of OpenUSD
• Usage of it the the M&E (Media & Entertainment) industry
• The importance of it 
• How to get started with OpenUSD? 
• Integration of OpenUSD in Autodesk Flow

Speakers:

• Jordan Giboney (Territory Solutions Engineer, Autodesk)
• Shawn Olson (Product Owner, Autodesk)

It is on-demand watch webinar. Kindly fill up the details and you will get access to the recorder webinar of OpenUSD.