Uploaded January 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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See how cutting-edge LiDAR scanners helped create seamless CGI effects in this live-action scene from Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Using the high-speed Leica BLK360 and precise Leica RTC360, the team scanned on-set during filming, even between takes. They captured 3D LiDAR data of everything, from the exact location of props to the geometry of sets—all to aid with camera tracking and VFX workflows.

After processing these point clouds into meshes, matchmove artists at Image Engine could blend real-world elements with visual effects by using LiDAR data with precise 3D geometry and measurements, helping to deliver immersive visual effects and storytelling.

Thanks Image Engine for their VFX work on Avatar: The Last Airbender and providing footage for this showreel.

Read more of the breakdown from VFX supervisor Marion Spates: entertainment.leica-geosystems.com/articles/marion-spates-vfx-supervisor-for-avatar-the-last-airbender-uses-lidar-to-fuel-creativity

Check out the small but mighty BLK360 scanner: shop.leica-geosystems.com/leica-blk/blk360/overview

And check out the high-performance RTC360 scanner: leica-geosystems.com/products/laser-scanners/scanners/leica-rtc360

Watch Avatar: The Last Airbender on Netflix: netflix.com/title/80237957

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