studio . So , there ’ s so many parallels between these two shows and taking everything that we learned on Mando , we were able to go to the Star Trek team and say , “ Hey , we ’ ve been doing your show for a couple of years now and we think we can really take it up a notch .” They saw the potential and we ’ ve been off to the races .
PL & P : Can you just define “ virtual production ” and how it differs from your standard green screen or soundstage production ?
Hanrahan : So , virtual production is sort of an umbrella term . It ’ s a big overarching term and I think the best way to sum that up is the introduction of technology into the filmmaking process . Films , by and large , haven ’ t really benefited from all of the technology that ’ s been invented in the last 80 years . They ’ re still made in a very similar way to how they were historically . So , virtual production is kind of like , “ Hey , let ’ s update the entire filmmaking process .”
When we talk about LED volumes , that is one portion under that umbrella , which we would call “ in-camera VFX ,” and that is specifically targeting the green screen . The green screen is great , I built my career on the green screen , but it won its first technical Oscar , I think , in 1940 . So , we ’ ve come a long way since then [ laughs ]. That ’ s what we ’ re saying is , the green screen is great , there ’ s still going to be a place for it , but it ’ s a very labour-intensive process . Using green screen has a lot of backend work associated with it . And now , with the quality of the LED panels , the quality of the real-time rendering that we ’ re able to achieve , and the costs associated with those have come down to a point that it outweighs it . Like , we either do this up-front cost and we build an LED volume , and we shoot on the LED volume , or we spend months in post-production replacing green screens . I would tell you right now that we ’ re tipping the scale ever so slightly , but we ’ re expecting that to continue . As we refine our technology and workflows and stuff , we ’ re going to see that tip more and more and more .
PL & P : Thank you for clarifying the terminology , because these days , “ virtual production ” does seem to be used synonymously to mean using LED volumes , which is what we ’ re focusing on in this conversation . So , when you were hired last year at WFW , in the announcement there ’ s a quote from Rick Perotto , VP of business development , where he said : “ We have been taking an early lead in virtual production because we believe in its potential as a game-changer for the production industry .” Can you expand on that thought and explain why virtual production using LED volumes is a game-changer ?
Hanrahan : Yeah , of course . I mean , we could say virtual production has been around for a number of years , but in-camera VFX is sort of brand new . And that ’ s why Mandalorian is that flagship production , where it ’ s kind of opening the floodgates and saying , “ Hey , let ’ s really lean into all this new tech that ’ s out there and re-evaluate our filmmaking process .”
So , what we ’ re seeing now is we ’ re trying to get to a very collaborative on-set decision-making process where the actors , the directors , the DPs , are all present on set and making decisions about what their film is going to look like , as opposed to maybe months later when you ’ re deep in post-production . Some of these key creatives might have rolled on to other projects by that time and it ’ s very hard to get back that creative energy that you had when you were in the middle of physical production or principal photography . So , your people are really excited about that and it ’ s almost like taking filmmaking back to its roots where even on an old Charlie Chaplin film , you might have had a rear-projection train or something where they ’ re driving the car away . It ’ s how we used to capture imagery , and then the advent of green screen and all the
PHOTO : COURTESY OF VIRTUAL PRODUCTION STUDIOS BY 80SIX
LED VOLUME USED ON THE SET OF WHILE THE REST OF US DIE
digital tools that we built for ourselves , they offered so much control , it ’ s almost daunting , but it had to be tackled after production . It was too much to add into the mix during physical production , which is already hectic .
So , we ’ re saying , let ’ s take all this and let ’ s get back to the basics by using modern tech to recreate an authentic filmmaking experience . For a lot of directors , DPs , producers , actors — that ’ s what these people are enjoying . Nobody wants to stand in a green room and look at a tennis ball . We can do better .
PL & P : The LED volumes are obviously a lighting source in themselves . So , how significantly do they need to be taken into consideration when doing the lighting design for a show or movie ?
Hanrahan : This is definitely one of their biggest contributions to filmmaking . The quality of lighting , which we can say is very soft , ambient lighting , it ’ s very hard to achieve in a studio . You can have these giant bounce and soft-source lights , you can have all of that , but it ’ s never really authentic like when you ’ re outside on a sunny or overcast day . So , we can recreate some of that ambient fill really , really well .
As soon as you walk onto one of these stages , you ’ re starting with that as a base ; this natural ambient light with really accurate exposure values . Then , the gaffer can go in and creatively punch it up and sweeten it , but he ’ s not starting from scratch . It ’ s not a black soundstage ; it ’ s got a natural base there for them to work from . And one , it adds a quality of lighting that ’ s very hard to achieve artificially without the use of a fully encompassing volume . But it expedites the process , and I think it gives a creative a jump-off point .
Everybody likes to work off of something . If go to someone and you give them a blank canvas and say , “ Hey , paint a picture .” No , you want to say , “ Take this and run with it .” I think that ’ s a lot more inspiring for these key creatives . And so , it ’ s making their life easier and it ’ s allowing them more time to focus on the creative elements . Also , it ’ s contributing a very natural-looking quality to their lighting . So , definitely , I think one of the greatest benefits to the volume is exactly that .
PL & P : LED volumes can be just one backing screen for close up shots . But then there ’ s also the XR stages that are more immersive with a floor , ceiling , and a curved panel going around . I ’ d imagine those two situations would be radically different to light ?
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