VFX Sets are the Future ?
- Thread starter TheDingo
- Start date
Bob Loblaw
Active member
It’s the long overdue evolution of rear projection, and a far better alternative to green screen. It’s without a doubt the future for all the best reasons.
Bassman2003
Veteran
Thanks for posting. Really cool!
puredrifting
Major Contributor
This is such good technology. I shoot a lot of green screen and hate it. This is a better way.
Jaime Valles
Veteran
This is the way.
Bassman2003
Veteran
Related question: I see the use of "TVs" on set during news shows etc... where the talent is interacting with the screen and the screen looks great. Anytime I have pointed a camera at a screen it looks like crap! So what are they doing or what type of screens are they using to get them to look good while being filmed? Thanks.
Bassman2003
Veteran
Outside of the refresh rate, the screen looks "normal", as if you where watching it in person. Seems like when I film a screen it turns a weird shade of blue and under saturates etc...
Is it available at bhphotovideo yet?
LED walls have available in eBay for years. They're mostly used for the outdoor signage, where pixelation is not visible due to the distance. Advertising boards at footy stadiums are an example of this. The advancements in technology made the individual LED sub-1mm in diameter, thereby allowing the walls to be used as replacement for projectors. They're still too expensive for movie theaters with costs in millions. But, for a feature film set or a major industry expo, wall rentals are well worth it.*
*Based on the ROI calculations.
markoconnell
Well-known member
Too cool.
rob norton
Veteran
What do you do if you want the ground in shot? Have that area built?
Thomas Smet
Veteran
You have to make sure your lighting is the same color temperature of the LED screen. It may actually be higher than 5600k and typically is around 6500k. Thats the first part of the problem. If you want your subject to be the same color as what's on the screen it all needs to be 6500k or get a LED display that puts out 5600k if there is such a thing.
I'm going to assume that's part of the special sauce that makes these things so expensive. Shooting outside clearly cannot adjust the color temp of the sun so the LED displays likely can shift the color temp similar to how some LED lights can shift color temp. You could use very bright LED monitors as light sources but again that costs a ton to find displays that can get that bright. Thats the second part to the special sauce here. dimmable brightness and a range to match sunlight or very bright lighting. You try this outside in the summer in AZ with a LED from Bestbuy and you will likely not see squat on the display as you expose for your subject.
Bassman2003
Veteran
Thanks. I am thinking of when watching a channel like CNBC and the commentators are using the large looking TVs and they look great. I would not think the studio lighting would be at a crazy high kelvin number but they clearly have done something to get these sets to look good on camera. I am sure the cine screens are very specialized but these things look like normal TVs.
rob norton
Veteran
Yeah, no seam like a cyc wall with really durable floor would be cool.
Run&Gun
Veteran
I've done it in the past. Way easier now with RGBW LED's, though. Best way is to start by adjusting the monitor down to more camera friendly settings(color temp, brightness, etc.) then tweak the lights. Most of the time, the monitor will look way off to the naked eye, if it's adjusted to look like it should to our eyes, on camera.
That is some cool technology. I love the way they even thought to allow part of the display to be a greenscreen while allowing the rest an image which will reflect on the subject. Probably be a long time before that is even remotely affordable for anyone but the big guys though
The larger the LED bead is, the cheaper the panel. But then you'd really have to blur it. Of course, the other part of the setup is the information presented on the screen itself. CG miggt take a long time to put together; or one could just use a drone or a single operator to film the background, edit the footage ... and voila!
Thomas Smet
Veteran
It is a bit backwards to do the VFX for the back plates before shooting even begins. Thats another challenge to this. You really need to know ahead of time what you are doing and you have to lock in any and all creative decisions in pre production. Unless like the video stated you have somebody use a realtime 3D engine to adjust as needed on set. That isn't cheap or easy either and typically not always the level of realism a shot may need. If it was then all VFX could be done with faster realtime 3D rendering engines. Plus whatever gets shot is it. No room for creative changes later in post. Thats where green screen is still a better choice. You can tweak the shot where a lot more creative choices can be made in regards to how the rest of the movie is fitting together. I don't always want to be locked in to whatever was decided six months ago in pre production.