VIRTUAL PRODUCTION AND FINAL PIXELS ON SET

The Making of “RUN” (HBO, 2020)

The Phoebe Waller-Bridge co-created series "Run" (HBO, 2020) is a recent example of the possibilities of virtual production.

The show is a drama largely set on a train. The story follows the characters as they travel across the United States, but production never left the studio in Toronto. Instead of traditional green screen shooting, Sam Nicholson and his team at Stargate Studios created a setup using the image output from real-time game engines to a live LED wall in combination with camera tracking to produce final imagery, completely in-camera. The benefits of live imagery projected behind the actors are massive. Instead of being immersed in a sea of green, the actors and the production crew can see exactly what is in the shot as it unfolds in real-time.

The approach represents state-of-the-art in virtual production: capturing those visual effects directly in-camera and making live-action/visual effects production more immersive, responsive and natural.

In this session, Sam Nicholson, CEO and Founder of Stargate Studios, will share the learnings from shooting the popular HBO show, explain how virtual production and 'final pixels on set' alters the creative process, job definitions and workflows, how to select the appropriate technique for your script and budget, and how the current health crises will accelerate the industry’s use of virtual production to mitigate risks and reduce costs of on-location shoots.

Presented by Sam Nicholson