VIRTUAL PRODUCTION
found in the close foreground. Two- dimensional or background plates are cost effective to capture and photoreal out of the box, so often the most suitable as final-pixel assets for skyscapes. “Productions would capture a plate array from a physical location, these would be stitched to create a seamless 270° or 360° plate which is then played back on the volume,” says Alpe. “This approach has been used at MARS Volume for rooftop scenes, backdrops for set-built walls with windows and helicopter travel sequences.” An exception to this was its work on Masters of the Air – its explosive aerial action required animation sequences and timed explosions happening in the foreground. In this case, 3D scenes were the best pipeline. “One of the goals for Masters of the Air was making it historically accurate, and virtual production allowed us to do that,” says Alpe. “Weather data, sunrises and sunsets could all be reconstructed in the real-time engine with historical accuracy. Virtual cinematography of skies played a vital role in delivering natural reflections and performance flexibility – allowing director and actors to see
UNREAL ENGINE SCENES WERE painstakingly recreated. WE’D PLAY THEM BACK TO THE VOLUME FOR maximum flexibility ”
and respond to the aerial dogfights and explosions in the action in real time. “The Unreal Engine scenes were painstakingly created with this degree of care and attention. We were able to play them back to the LED volume and build tools that gave the directors maximum flexibility, for timing action sequences and what they would see on the set, in camera, at any one time.” AUGMENTED WITH PRACTICALS If you need to get the sun in shot (or any kind of directional lighting), you need to augment it with practical lights.
BIG RIG The team at Dimension and DNEG 360 had to make a practical B-17 bomber interact convincingly with the LED volume
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