Púca.Scans
For film, television and games

Character scanning for productions across Europe.

Send an enquiry View a scan
The rig · 12 stands × 12 cameras Drag to orbit
Scanned for
Services

Full body and head scans.

We scan cast, doubles and costumes for film, television and games. All 144 cameras fire at once, so nobody has to hold still, and several poses can be captured in a short slot.

The full body setup usually captures enough detail for head and FACS scans. For ultra-high-detail head scans, we can also align all 144 cameras on the head.

Everything is processed in-house. Standard delivery is a simplified 30 million polygon model, with higher counts on request.

FACS scans

Facial expression sessions.

FACS scans capture a performer's face across a set of expressions, giving artists what they need to build and match a facial rig.

We can run the session from our own pose guidebook, or work from your studio's guidebook if you have one.

We direct the performer through each pose and check it before capture, so nothing has to be redone later.

Scans

Turn it round yourself.

Drag the model to look at it from any angle, and zoom in to see the detail.

Placeholder model. Your real scans load in this viewer once you send the files.

Placeholder · sample mesh Drag · scroll · pinch
About

Seven years in VFX production, across Europe.

Paddy Lane standing in the centre of the Púca Scans camera rig

I'm Paddy, owner of Púca Scans. I started my career in VFX as a wrangler, then worked as a coordinator and production manager on international productions for Apple TV+, Netflix, Amazon and Paramount+, with crews across multiple shooting units and countries: Ireland, the UK, Italy, Malta, Iceland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland and North America.

I first built a rig I could take with me on my own productions. Over time I expanded it and started offering scanning to other productions on the side, and that's how Púca Scans began.

Why choose us

A second set of eyes.

Our operators come from VFX coordinator and production manager roles, so we know what to look for before every capture: costume, hair and make-up matching what's on camera, and the right pose for each costume type, so nothing important is hidden or lost.

Working alongside VFX supervisors has also given us the technical knowledge of why the data is being captured, and what matters most to the artists who use it.

If something isn't right, we flag it while the cast are still in the booth, not after the data has been delivered.

The rig is portable and comes to you, and at least one of our crew stays on standby for the whole shoot.

Long-term package

Rig, coordinator and VFX PM in one deal.

Scanning usually means paying for a rig and its crew, then cramming every scan into a few days, all while battling with ADs and producers to guarantee cast availability.

Our crew also work as VFX coordinators and VFX production managers. Take the rig on a long-term rental with an on-set coordinator and a PM from the same team, and the scanning stays available for the length of the shoot.

It also means the person coordinating the scans with each department is the person operating the rig. The operator already knows the cast, the crew and the reason for every scan, along with the other details that tend to get lost when they are passed from one team to another.

The all-in-one package is better value than booking each separately, and it comes with a discount on rig rental.

Talk to us about a package
Where we work

Ireland and Europe.

We're based in Kildare and bring the rig to studios and locations across Ireland, including Dublin, Wicklow, Limerick and Belfast.

The rig is built to travel, so we also scan for productions shooting in Europe.

Delivery and requirements

What you receive

  • Textured 3D model
  • Raw images
  • Undistorted images
  • Maya .ma file
  • ST maps
  • XMP files
  • Scale reference

What the rig needs

Room /
pre-rigged tent
Secure, at least 9 m × 6 m × 3 m
Power
Two 32 A single phase connections, or one 32 A three phase
Set-up
Two days to set up and one day to de-rig
Rigging
May be required. We assess the space in advance

The footprint

Tented scanning space Blacked out · 4 m high 12 stands · 144 cameras Platform Holding area Operator Equipment Cast Hair and make-up Standbys 6 m 3 m 6 m 9 m overall
The rig sits inside a 6 × 6 m tent, 4 m high. A further 3 × 6 m beside it holds the operator, equipment, and the cast with their hair, make-up and standbys. It can be set up in a room or on a stage, and we are happy to come out and scout a suitable location if needed.
Enquire

Tell us about the show.

Dates, location and roughly how many people you need scanned is enough to start. Ask us too about long-term rental, coordinator and VFX PM services.

We only use these details to reply to your enquiry. See our privacy notice.