TALES FROM THE EXPLORERS CLUB PRODUCTION.
GLOBETROTTERS The locations required for LED-screen re-enactments included the Arctic, Antarctic, the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the top of the Himalayas – and even outer space!
“ARwall’s focus over the past six years has been on making software that moves at the speed of production”
TRICKY TERRAIN The first shoot on the series lasted a week and covered six locations, spanning various climates, including snow, ocean, desert and space sequences. No, the crew did not have access to a chartered space shuttle, they achieved these with virtual production techniques alone. Rene Amador, CEO and co-founder at ARwall, details how the most technically challenging element for the series was perfecting the snow backdrops. “In VFX, snow is notoriously difficult as it tends to blow out and lose detail, so we had to bring down and control highlights for each new set-up while ensuring depth and richness in the frame,” he says. “We also had to deviate from reality in order to tell the story. In scenarios where a real-life location would have been a white haze, we achieved a more cinematic aesthetic that still depicted a believable and mysterious
CREATIVE LICENCE Due to the difficulty of recreating snowy scenes, some tinkering was required
story. When you’re using extensive practical special effects, there’s going to be downtime associated with setting those up. ARwall’s focus over the past six years has been on making software that moves at the speed of production.” Fortunately, ARwall has worked on numerous virtual productions over the years and learned a thing or two along the way. During filming, Amador says the team anticipated the downtime associated with producing high-quality special
33. MARCH 2023
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