Nuke Stage FAQs .

Nuke Stage is a purpose-built virtual production solution from Foundry.
 
It’s a hardware-agnostic application that enables real-time playback of photorealistic environments created in industry-standard visual effects tools like Nuke, onto LED walls.
 
Nuke Stage brings visual effects artists into the virtual production process through a shared color management system, open file formats like USD and EXR, and a Node Graph-based compositing environment that mirrors the familiar workflows and toolsets of Nuke.
 
This enables visual effects artists to create, refine, and deliver content that transitions seamlessly from pre-production to continued real-time iteration on set.

Nuke Stage is built from a new technology stack and designed with compositing and production workflows that Nuke artists will find familiar and friendly. Nuke Stage is designed for a workflow where the virtual art department can prepare content in Nuke, saved in USD and EXR formats, which is then fine-tuned and played back in Nuke Stage. VFX and post-production continues in Nuke using data and metadata captured by Nuke Stage during shooting.

No. Nuke Stage supports standard formats used across VFX pipelines and works alongside many tools commonly used in production. Nuke Stage is designed to be immediately familiar to Nuke users, with a similar UI and workflow conventions, but using Nuke is not required to work with Nuke Stage.

Nuke Stage uses the Hydra rendering system from OpenUSD, allowing high-performance 3D rendering through interchangeable delegates. Hydra delegates are broadly supported by tools like Nuke, Katana, Maya, Houdini, and many others.

Nuke Stage does not support rendering from Unreal Engine, but it works well alongside it. Unreal can export to USD, which Nuke Stage supports natively.

Additionally, Nuke’s UnrealReader node lets you bring render passes from Unreal Engine directly into Nuke, making it easy to use Unreal’s high-quality rendering path to build and refine your virtual environment.
 

Nuke Stage requires one license per render node connected to an LED stage. Nuke Stage’s interactive tool, Stage Manager, is free. If you’re using Nuke Stage in the context of a VFX studio, Foundry can provide free render node licenses to test on non-stage hardware like TVs or monitors.

Pricing will scale based on rendering requirements and project demands. For information about pricing for your specific project, please contact us at nukestage-inquiries@foundry.com

Hardware requirements can be found in the Nuke Stage documentation.
 

Register your interest on our website and we’ll be in touch to discuss your requirements.

Reach out to our team at nukestage-inquiries@foundry.com and we’ll be in touch.

Reach out to our education team at education@foundry.com and one of our specialists will get in touch.

Check out our documentation for Nuke Stage and if you encounter bugs with Nuke Stage or need help, you can reach out to our Support team via our Support Portal.