Global creative production partner The Mill has announced the launch of its latest virtual production tool, Mill Scout. Mill Scout is an augmented reality (AR) application for smartphones and tablets that can help directors, creatives and visual effects supervisors visualise CGI characters and objects live on-set, in-situ through the director’s lens.

Traditionally, creative teams are unable to visualise CGI objects until after the shoot during the post-production process, however using Mill Scout enables immediate visualisation of any object during filming that has been preloaded onto the app. By placing CGI objects into real-world environments using Mill Scout, creative teams are now able to tailor shots to VFX specifics, offering up heightened creative flexibility and nuance during the on-set direction process.

Mill Scout has already successfully been used by directors and visual effects supervisors for brands such as Lexus, Honda and PlayStation. The app runs completely standalone on iPhone, iPad and Android, with no other dependencies on hardware, keeping the app portable and easily accessible from anywhere.

Assets prepped using any 3D software can be uploaded into the app, which was built using Unity and Apple’s AR kit. Mill Scout is available to any creative teams working in collaboration with The Mill.