Hollywood uses tech to ramp up filming
NewLEDvideo NEWYORK— wall technology used inmaking last year’s “The Lion King” and “The Mandalorian” series could become more widespread as Hollywoodproductionrampsback up during the pandemic.
Instead of shooting on location with a full cast and crewandnavigating stringent social distancing requirements, it allows filmmakers on a studio lot to spread out individual scenes captured virtually using a variety of techniques.
Unlike a traditional “green screen,” the actor can see the background and cinematographers can match perspectives and camera parallax to look like a location shoot.
“The Lion King” visual effects supervisor Robert Legatocallsthevideowalland move toward virtual production a “game changer” that’s being embraced by necessity during the pandemic.
“It is something that was going to happen anyway. It just would have taken longer because therewould be no need for it immediately. Some people, you know, are stuck in theirways,” the three-timeOscarwinnersaid.
More than half of “The Mandalorian” scenes were filmedwith the technology. Emmy-winning visual effects specialist Sam Nicholson says it represents a “natural evolution” in the Hollywood effects world, where newtechnologies have been embraced after past crises — including a clampdown on travel after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.
“We started taking shows like ‘E.R, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and ‘Walking Dead’ and saying,‘Look, wedon’thavetobe on location to actually shoot there.’ It’s easier to bring the location to the production than the productionof a location,” Nicholson said.
He believes the pandemic willmoveHollywood “from the Cecil B. DeMille era where ‘everything is real’and going to more of a George Lucas era.”
“If you’re a producer, can youreally affordtohave your entire crew and actors go and be quarantined for two weeks before youstart shooting?” he said.
Film production is just one ofmany industries that have had to adapt so people can go back towork in person.”
The “Avatar” sequels that recently resumed filming in New Zealand are also using virtual camera systems.
“We’ve been helping the ‘Avatar’ folks for a while,” said DaveHoffman of Blackmagic, an Australian companythatmakescamerasand video production hardware.
Director Thea Sharrock had to rely on virtual production to finish her latest film, Disney’s “The One and Only Ivan,” and she found the process “peculiar.”
“Wehadoneextraelement thatwe had to do withmusic thatwe had to deal with via Zoom, whichwas extraordinary andweird and peculiar not being in the room with people,” Sharrock said.
She added: “Doing what we do is all about collaboration. It’s all about being in a roomwith people, and that’s howyou get thework done. That’s how you push projects forward. So, it’s very, very peculiar.”
Nicholson shares a similar feeling. While he understands these technologies can help resume production
during the pandemic, he doesn’t see it as a complete substitute for returning to a normal workflow.
“It does represent a fundamental change in productiontowardsthevirtualrealm where anything is possible. But by saying anything is possible, you still have to put the story up front. You still have to put the acting up front and use it as a supportive tool to put the wrapping on the story,” Nicholson said.
Still, virtual production can provide a viable solution during the pandemic, and perhaps become a useful production technique moving forward.
Actor Joseph GordonLevitt, who stars in the new Netflix film “Project Power,” agrees: “It’s about sort of finding a good pairing between the tech you’re using and the story you’re trying to tell,” he said.
Gordon-Levitt’s “Project Power” co-star Rodrigo Santoro has worked on visual effects-heavy productions including the “300” films and “Westworld.” He sees others in the industry open to adapting.
“The thing with the CGI, especially now during the pandemic, (is) that it’s teaching us so many lessons and so many things about how we can reinvent ourselves,” Santoro said.