the penny drops; they see all the possibilities,” says Jonathan Brigden, managing director of Distortion Creative Group. The company’s virtual studio in Bristol, under its Distortion Studios brand, is one of only a dozen or so such facilities in the UK, Brigden reckons. It features a Roe BP2V2 LED video wall, Brompton processing and Unreal integration, with workflows all controlled by Stage Precision software. “People say, ‘Instead of filming 5% or 10% of shots in XR, I could do 40%,’” explains Brigden. “It’s not just the fantasy shots, but a detailed interior scene in a restaurant, or the explosion of a volcano. You can
VIRTUAL PRODUCTION HELPS PERIOD DOCUMENTARIES CREATE CONTENT THAT WOULDN’T BE FEASIBLE repeat one-off shots like that over and over again. You can do aerial shots you didn’t think you could get, or have the camera pull really far back. One production company is rethinking how it could make all the shows on its development slate.” “Period documentaries – historical events, prehistoric wildlife, etc – are ideal candidates, he adds. “They tend to have big expectations but not big budgets, and VP can help them create content which otherwise wouldn’t be feasible.” Karachi-based production house Zeekay Films is already convinced. It has used XR for video games, TV commercials and drama, including Unreal Engine for content creation, HTC Vive camera tracking and ARwall’s ARFX Pro Plugin for workflow. “Our first project was our historical biography Salam – Fateh Hindustan , where we created detailed indoor palace shots,” begins CEO Muhammad Zeeshan Khan. “Set 830 years ago, this series required meticulous attention to detail – and XR provided the texture and historical authenticity we needed. The results exceeded our expectations.” XR is a game changer for filmmakers, Khan believes. “Previously, we relied on green screens with tracking marks, and spent months in post-
REEL HISTORY Distortion’s mastery of XR allows it to create intricate virtual sets that are indistinguishable from real-world locations
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