Popular YouTuber and trained cinematographer Matt Workman has created a very practical and easy to understand video about Leica Geosystems BLK360. Bottom line – he thinks the BLK 360 has many applications in the film industry, particularly for pre-production . With over 180,000 followers of his YouTube channel his opinion counts.
In the video he explains the device and demonstrates how to operate it. The device scans real-world environments to scale and also gives the user accurate lighting and color information. With a few clicks, Workman demonstrates that the BLK360’s data can help him 3D-model shots, sets, lighting and props. As a result, production teams can save valuable time and avoid costly mistakes before showing up to shoot.
As a survey mapping instrument I like the cost and utility of it. I think they oversell it a bit in terms of ease of use. Mind you, I do not own one and this is based on watching videos and reading specs and data. I am particularly not impressed with the low resolution camera incorporated into the scanner especially since the “automatic” registration process relies on the photos to accomplish the registering.