On 30th July, NZCS members got a rare hands-on look at one of the fastest-growing corners of our industry: virtual production. DP's Bevan Crothers NZCS, and Chris Watkins took members through the reality of shooting on a Volume Wall - from the technology behind it to the creative decisions it demands on set. The event was held at the Reel Factory studio in Albany where the LED volume wall was in place, courtesy of vendor Creative Technologies. An existing set was used for the presenters, with the Volume Wall providing a seamless wood-panelled interior and cityscape backdrop on camera. Seating was arranged for around 100 attendees, and a good spread of food and beverage provided for the evening. 

Virtual production is opening up many possibilities for cinematographers to create other worlds without leaving the studio, through intensive collaboration between lighting, set design, SPFX and camera movement.  Bevan began his presentation by discussing the work he and fellow cinematographer DJ Stipsen NZCS produced on “Time Bandits” tv series,  in Wellington, where they had the advantage of a 270 degree wrap around volume wall and overhead camera tracking to enable complex moves within the environment.

The pre-production element was a huge part of this process-  integrating previewed worlds generated in Unreal Engine, and Bevan had some great slides and BTS images to explain the process, as well as playing finished clips to demonstrate what was achieved – from snowy alpine blizzard conditions and hot sandy desert environments to 1920's Prohibition Era New York. There were occasions when greenscreen was used to extend or augment the Volume work and Bevan explained the circumstances when and why this was used.

Bevan’s experience was on an Apple TV production with a serious budget -  a wall the size they used was not cheap and required significant resources to support, although even then, Bevan remarked that they very quickly ran out of room with large exterior set pieces, and often found themselves ending up too close to the wall. One thing Bevan really stressed was the importance of the mid-ground physical elements (and matching lighting) to achieve a seamless transition between the foreground action and the background imagery.

 

Chris Watkins then brought it back to a level that was more available on a local level for TVC’s and smaller productions – namely playing clips of what they had achieved in the Reel Factory studio on a much smaller set-up – mostly in a 2D environment with no camera tracking and limited camera moves, but also expanding into a 2.5D situation where more complex moves were accommodated.

His demonstration certainly showed the level of highly creative agency concepts and extreme imagery that could be turned into reality even under tight budgets and intense time pressure.

With the help of a live camera, Chris was able to demonstrate concepts such as the “Frustum” (actual screen area the camera is viewing, rendered in full resolution), and how tracking the cameras via a ceiling “constellation” of reflective dots and an infrared transmitter/sensor on camera allows the perspective of the imagery on the wall to change as the camera moves.

 Volume walls are showing up more and more on productions here and overseas, and the skills are different to anything most of us learned coming up through traditional sets. Sessions like this give members a chance to get real exposure to the technology, ask questions directly of DPs who've worked with it, and see what it actually looks like day to day, not just in theory.

It was especially pleasing to see a good turnout of non-members from allied industries who also wanted to expand their knowledge,  Events like this are exactly what NZCS is here for: connecting members with the people and technology shaping where our industry is heading.

Big thanks to Bevan Crothers and Chris Watkins, for giving up their time to share their experience with the Volume Wall, the team at Reel Factory and Creative Technology for providing the resources, the NZCS volunteers and organisers/livestream team of James Turnbull, Callum Thomas, Christo Montes and Chris Brokensha, and to all who came along to support the event.

A Livestream of the Event is available for members to view on the NZCS website. If you are logged in, the video will appear under the Events tab.

Donny Duncan NZCS  - Professional Development Manager

Photo credits to Mark Lapwood NZCS ACS