Virtual reality offers television producers ‘Hollywood in box’
LOS ANGELES: On a soundstage no bigger than a large bedroom a cameraman takes up various angles to film a helicopter that isn’t there, landing in a field that isn’t there either.
Until recently, virtual reality was the preserve of the gaming crowd but producers say the technology is on the cusp of a boom which could change forever the way television is made.
Leading the charge is visual effects studio CBS Digital, which has developed “Parallax,” a VR system which could potentially do away with on-location filming altogether.
The company has laser-scanned endless parts of the United States, overlaying the geometry with hi-res images to produce fully explorable, 3D virtual sets into which real actors can be embedded.
Back at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, two actors can exchange dialogue in a room covered with green screens and optical tracking cameras dotting the ceiling.
But what the showrunner sees on his camera screen is his two stars walking hand-in-hand around a photo-realistic Eiffel Tower or leaning over a perfectly rendered Niagara Falls.
“The biggest advantage is to take away traditional restrictions that filmmakers come up against,” Craig Weiss, executive creative director of CBS Digital, told AFP on a recent visit to the studio.
“And that would be the arduous task of going to different locations, shooting in the middle of the night. You’re able to bring the world to the stage, have a lot more flexibility and get more work done.” — Relaxnews