James Cameron’s Lightstorm Acquires 3D Tech Production Company Outsyders (Exclusive)

There is no director in the world more attuned to 3D filmmaking than James Cameron. From the Avatar franchise to this year’s Billie Eilish concert doc, Cameron has pushed the boundaries of what’s possible in the medium.

Now Cameron’s Lightstorm Vision production technology company is making a major acquisition to bolster its leadership in the space.

Lightstorm has acquired Outsyders, an AI-driven 3D post-production company founded by Paul Becker, Jared Sandrew, and Chris Harvey. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the company will become a part of Lightstorm Vision to create an end-to-end 3D production and post-production process.

Outsyders was founded in 2024, and has worked on films like Imax’s Blue Angels, Disney’s Lilo & Stitch and Moana, and other films. They worked with Cameron on Paramount’s Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D).

“At Lightstorm we’ve been working with Paul Becker and his team for almost two years, and really enjoyed the collaboration,” Cameron says. “As everyone knows, I’ve got a very exacting eye for 3D, and I can confidently say that their work and their AI tools are world class. Together we will provide end-to-end solutions for productions and for studios, as we merge the worlds of conversion and native photographic 3D.”

“We’ve always shared Jim’s vision for stereo,” added Paul Becker, CEO and co-founder of Outsyders. “Our work with Jim confirmed that our combined technologies were the most logical and effective step for the format. We are excited to join and bolster Lightstorm Vision’s mission.”

The goal with the combined company is to reduce the time, cost and complexity of shooting and creating 3D content, while also opening up what Lightstorm calls “one of the industry’s largest untapped opportunities”: Library content.

Cameron inked a deal with Meta for its Meta Quest VR headsets in 2024, and Lightstorm believes that studios will be able to economically turn their film and TV libraries into 3D content that can be played in those environments, at a reasonable cost.

Lightstorm previously acquired the 3D camera company Stereotec earlier this year.