Draft:SceneForge Studio

SceneForge Studio is a 3D computer graphics filmmaking engine developed by Judah Mantell and funded by 1517 Fund. It offers filmmakers an innovative way to visualize and prototype their ideas before they are brought to the big screen. The application was designed to be a user-friendly, beginner-focused alternative to Unreal Engine and Unity, including features focused on previsualization, compositing, and storyboarding for virtual production.

First iteration
The initial prototype of SceneForge was developed between classes by Judah Mantell, while studying at Parsons School of Design. It was a Virtual Reality-only application, which allowed creatives to design sets and camera setups at full-scale. After testing this with various users, it was decided that while VR was popular at the time, the market for productivity-focused tools wasn't as large as originally thought. Because of that, Mantell switched the focus to a more traditional, desktop interface.

Startup evolution
In 2021, mid Covid-Pandemic, with SceneForge, Mantell applied and was accepted into 1517 Fund's "Invisible College" program, which provides young startup founders with investment capital in order to "stop-out" of college and pursue their business full time. This was beneficial to the development of SceneForge, allowing the founder to put a time into customer development and seeking out feedback from industry professionals, allowing the product to grow into what it is today, gaining the attention of notable companies, such as IBM's The Weather Channel, Unity, and Final Draft.

Overview
SceneForge includes features that aim to make previsualization, compositing, and storyboarding easier, faster, and more affordable than better-known alternatives like Unreal Engine and Unity. The editor is broken up into two modes: Scene Mode and Server Mode, with the former focused on pre-vis and production, and the latter solely on real-time chromakey compositing. The product also included access to a companion mobile app that handles virtual camera tracking using augmented reality.