Sam Fisher believes his creation could alter modern filmmaking. Fisher and his NSCAD University colleague Mike MacDonald have developed the Andra Motion Focus system, a new technology for obtaining sharp focus in the film industry. “The system uses a motion capture system to provide distance data between the camera and the performer,” Fisher explains. “This distance data is then used to drive a focus motor which adjusts focus in real time.” The result is a crisp shot.

The Andra Motion Focus system has been in development for four years, with $60,000 in funding from GRAND NCE (Canada’s largest digital media research network) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

The technology has passed the prototype and proof of concept stages and is now being developed as a marketable product.

Fisher says professionals in both the film and television industries could soon be using the product on their sets. “Though it is impossible to predict how any technology will be received or adopted, it is possible that this technology could become widely used in the industry and change the way we currently make films,” he says.