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24-449: StageCraft is an on-set virtual production visual effects technology composed of a video wall designed by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) for the Disney+ series The Mandalorian . It has since been used in other productions and has been cited as a revolutionary visual effects technology. The soundstage in which StageCraft is implemented is called The Volume . While shooting

48-513: A CGI space. When Favreau began work on the Disney+ series The Mandalorian , ILM found a perfect opportunity to use the technology with a director prepared to use it. The StageCraft process involves shooting live-action actors and sets surrounded by large, very high-definition LED video walls . These walls display computer-generated imagery backdrops, once traditionally composited primarily in post-production after shooting with green screens . These facilities are known as "volumes". When shooting,

72-578: A cinematographer for work on one particular motion picture . A number of cinematographers have become directors, including Reed Morano who lensed Frozen River and Beyoncé's Lemonade before winning an Emmy for directing The Handmaid's Tale . Barry Sonnenfeld , originally the Coen brothers ' DP; Jan de Bont , cinematographer on films such as Die Hard and Basic Instinct , directed Speed and Twister . Nicolas Roeg , cinematographer on films such as The Caretaker (1963) and The Masque of

96-493: A real set or outdoor location. OSVP can be viewed as an application of extended reality . OSVP contrasts with virtual studio technology, in which a green screen backdrop surrounds the set, and the virtual surroundings are composited into the green screen plate downstream from the camera, in that in OSVP the virtual world surrounding the set is visible to the camera, actors, and crew, and objects on set are illuminated by light from

120-557: A virtual set. To render parallax depth cues correctly from the viewpoint of a moving camera, the system requires the use of match moving of the background imagery based on data from low-latency real-time motion capture technology to track the camera. Industry organizations including SMPTE , the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , and the American Society of Cinematographers have started initiatives to support

144-528: The British Society of Cinematographers (BSC). Their aims include the recognition of the cinematographer's contribution to the art and science of motion picture making. There are a number of national associations of cinematographers that represent members (irrespective of their official titles) and are dedicated to the advancement of cinematography, including: The A.S.C. defines cinematography as: A creative and interpretive process that culminates in

168-480: The LED screen, creating realistic interactive lighting effects, and that the virtual background and foreground are captured directly in camera, complete with natural subtle cues like lens distortion , depth of field effects, bokeh and lens flare . This makes it a far more natural experience that more closely approximates location shooting , making the film-making process faster and more intuitive than can be achieved on

192-604: The Red Death (1964), directed Don't Look Now (1973) and The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976). Ellen Kuras, ASC photographed Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind as well as a number of Spike Lee films such as Summer of Sam and He Got Game before directing episodes of Legion and Ozark. In 2014, Wally Pfister , cinematographer on Christopher Nolan 's three Batman films , made his directorial debut with Transcendence , whilst British cinematographers Jack Cardiff and Freddie Francis regularly moved between

216-441: The authorship of an original work of art rather than the simple recording of a physical event. Cinematography is not a subcategory of photography. Rather, photography is but one craft that the cinematographer uses in addition to other physical, organizational, managerial, interpretive and image-manipulating techniques to effect one coherent process. The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to

240-442: The cinematographer are passed to the film editor for editing . In the infancy of motion pictures, the cinematographer was usually also the director and the person physically handling the camera. As the art form and technology evolved, a separation between director and camera operator emerged. With the advent of artificial lighting and faster (more light-sensitive) film stocks , in addition to technological advancements in optics,

264-477: The cinematographer complete independence, while in others, the director allows little to none, even going so far as to specify exact camera placement and lens selection. Such a level of involvement is less common when the director and cinematographer have become comfortable with each other. The director will typically convey to the cinematographer what is wanted from a scene visually and allow the cinematographer latitude in achieving that effect. The scenes recorded by

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288-476: The development of OSVP. Stages that use OSVP include the various StageCraft stages, Pixomondo 's Toronto-based LED stage, which has a long-term lease from CBS , ZeroSpace's Volume in New York City, or Lux Machina various stages. In Japan, the LED wall and virtual production were used by Toei Company for its Super Sentai shows Avataro Sentai Donbrothers and Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger , with

312-487: The film Rogue One (2016), cinematographer Greig Fraser encountered multiple issues which inspired the idea to use large LED screens as a component of the set. This idea was further developed by a team including Industrial Light & Magic 's (ILM) Richard Bluff and Rob Bredow, as well as Kim Libreri of Epic Games . During the development of The Lion King (2019), director Jon Favreau worked with ILM to develop technologies in order to better visualize shots within

336-596: The first built for The Mandalorian , which was expected to be completed in March 2021; one at Pinewood Studios in London, to open in February 2021; and a larger, custom one at Fox Studios Australia . These new volumes would be larger, use more LED panels, and offer higher resolution than the original Manhattan Beach one. ILM also has the ability to provide "pop up" virtual production configurations in other locations. A volume

360-417: The first season of The Mandalorian (2019), which used Unreal Engine , developed by Epic Games . Australian film director Clayton Jacobson first had the idea of improving the green screen that was then in use when filming a TV ad for detergent in 2003. Watching his son playing videogames and seeing the 3D technology used in them gave him the idea. Eventually, in 2016, Jacobson and his son made one of

384-532: The green screen during the filming stage, the team combined post-production with the production stage of the series. They installed huge LED walls linked to powerful computers that ran Unreal Engine gaming software (used for Fortnite , among others). They called this soundstage "the volume", a term already used to refer to a stage where visual effects techniques take place. Since its inventive use in The Mandalorian , which used ILM 's StageCraft ,

408-467: The latter also being produced in collaboration with Sony PCL Inc. As of March 2023 the largest OSVP is at Docklands Studios Melbourne in Australia. Cinematographer The cinematographer is a subordinate of the director , tasked with capturing a scene in accordance with the director's vision. Relations between the cinematographer and director vary. In some instances, the director will allow

432-483: The production team is able to realign the background instantly based on moving camera positions. The entire CGI background can be manipulated in real-time. ILM used Epic Games ' Unreal Engine , a popular game engine, to handle real-time 3-D rendering of computer-generated imagery environments. Other technology partners in StageCraft include FuseFX , Lux Machina, Profile Studios, Nvidia , and ARRI . ILM iterated

456-496: The prototypes for a virtual production stage in their shed, using a set of LED screens. However, he could not get anyone to take an interest in developing the technology further, so gave up on it. Other filmmakers had also caught on to the idea though, and in 2018 an Australian cinematographer , Greig Fraser , used the technology to film the Star Wars franchise spin-off series, The Mandalorian (released 2019). Instead of using

480-504: The technical aspects of cinematography necessitated a specialist in that area. Cinematography was key during the silent movie era; with no sound apart from background music and no dialogue, the films depended on lighting, acting, and set. The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) was formed in 1919 in Hollywood , and was the first trade society for cinematographers. Similar societies were formed in other countries. For example,

504-564: The technology has become increasingly popular. Miles Perkins, industry manager of film and TV for Epic Games and maker of the Unreal Engine , estimated that there were around 300 stages by October 2022, increased from only three in 2019. Most of these were built during or after the COVID-19 pandemic , when lockdowns meant that production studios had to find ways to produce films without traveling to other locations. In March 2023,

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528-477: The technology to "StageCraft 2.0" for the second season of The Mandalorian . This version featured a larger volume as well as more specialized software. One example of this software is Helios, a rendering engine designed by ILM specifically for StageCraft hardware. In September 2020, it was announced that a second permanent volume was being created at Manhattan Beach Studios in Los Angeles , in addition to

552-486: The world's largest virtual production stage was opened at the Docklands Studios Melbourne , in the city of Melbourne , Australia. On-set virtual production (OSVP) is also known as virtual production (VP), immersive virtual production (IVP), In-Camera Visual Effects (ICVFX), or The Volume. With careful adjustment and calibration, an OSVP set can be made to closely approximate the appearance of

576-544: Was announced to be built in Vancouver in November 2021, and was planned to be opened in early 2022. On-set virtual production On-set virtual production ( OSVP ) is an entertainment technology for television and film production in which LED panels are used as a backdrop for a set, on which video or computer-generated imagery can be displayed in real-time. The use of OSVP became widespread after its use in

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