Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1509389
VIRTUAL PRODUCTION he Max Original series Full Circle tells the story of an investigation into a botched kidnapping, which ulti- mately uncovers long-held secrets con- necting multiple characters and cultures. Set in present day New York City, the six-episode series was directed by Steven Soderbergh and stars Zazie Beetz, Claire Danes, Jim Gaffigan, Jharrel Jerome, Timothy Olyphant, CCH Pounder, Phaldut Sharma, Adia, Sheyi Cole, Gerald Jones, Suzanne Savoy, Ethan Stoddard, Lucian Zanes and Dennis Quaid. Full Circle employed virtual produc- tion technology to allow Soderbergh near-instant changes to live-action back- drops. This was made possible thanks to Rosco's (www.rosco.com) RDX Lab System with software by FuseFX (www. fusefx.com). The RDX System combines FuseFX's visual effects software with Rosco's extensive digital content library to give cinematographers a range of choices on-set, including high-resolution cine- matic backdrops that can be adjusted and displayed in realtime on any LED vol- ume. The RDX System prototype made its first public appearance at Cine Gear Expo 2022, and Full Circle marks the first production to deploy the system, which can be controlled through a simple-to- use app. With the touch of a finger, the system allows filmmakers to change the environment from day to night, or modi- fy the weather by adding rain or fog. "It's changed the way that I think about conceptualizing scenes and story," says Soderbergh of the system. "That's the way technology is supposed to work. It's supposed to unleash your imagination, as opposed to scaling down your ideas to what's possible at that moment in time. I'm thinking about doing things now that I wouldn't have thought about doing before. Now, we're really in a space where you have the freedom to imagine things. My horizons have expanded just due to technology like this. I can move at the speed that I want to move, and do things visually I've never been able to do before." "The RDX System has opened up the world of video walls as lighting for me," explains Derek Gross, who serves as gaf- fer on Full Circle. "No other solution I've seen on a production has come close to how seamless, interactive and cost-effec- tive this is. The ability to bring in VFX on a separate layer was massively beneficial — not just for me, but for all the creatives on-set and the writer's room. The RDX System has expanded the possibilities of what can be done." Backdrop images seen on Full Circle were displayed on a 180-foot flat LED wall, and required a purpose-built system that could support a virtual set of such magnitude. With a limited period of time before production began, virtual produc- tion facility, Carstage, and video display specialists, Visual Alchemy, teamed up with Rosco and FuseFX to create a work- flow that would allow the RDX System to run smoothly through Unreal Engine, and display and scale high-resolution images onto the extensive LED screen, made up of around 1,000 tiles. Led by Joseph White, owner of Carstage, Kim Dowd, director of technology at Carstage, and Mike Siem, owner of Visual Alchemy, the team designed, built and tested the system extensively over the course of three weeks. "It was a challenging project, but work- ing with the RDX System was an incred- ible opportunity and it was clear from the beginning that the technology would disrupt the industry," notes Siem. "The ability to easily do things, like control the weather or add layers, among other things, are huge time savers and will be a game-changer for future productions." They found that the RDX System sig- nificantly reduced the time and cost typ- ically associated with constructing envi- ronments in pre-production. Additionally, it saved time during post production, and eliminated the need for a green screen, giving filmmakers the ability to see the imagery in realtime. "We strive to deliver products that empower filmmakers with the creative control to do their best work," explains Lauren Proud, VP of marketing & digital experience at Rosco. "The deployment of the RDX System on Full Circle is the latest example of this, and we're thrilled to have received such positive feedback from Steven Soderbergh and the rest of the crew on the system's ease of use. We look forward to seeing how more creatives will leverage virtual production technology inside of LED volumes now that a more affordable and efficient option is available." MAX'S FULL CIRCLE STEVEN SODERBERGH DEPLOYS ROSCO'S RDX LAB SYSTEM FOR THIS LIVE- ACTION SERIES T Gaffer Derek Gross Full Circle was shot in front of a 180-foot LED wall.