Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1521715
Summer 2024 – LOCAL695.COM 35 Virtual production has changed the way many jobs are done on set. In the 1930s, the "process shot," a filmmaking technique where actors performed in front of a pre-filmed background, was accomplished by hanging a curtain and using a rear projector to create the illusion that they were standing on location instead of in a studio. Today, the same effect is achieved using LED walls to create more immersive illusions. Dmitry Kovalev has worked for Stargate Studios for the past three years and has been a member of Local 695 for the last year. Since late 2022, he has also taught a virtual production playback course for Local 695 to share knowledge of LED playback with fellow members. During this time, the majority of his work has been playback for LED driving process shot scenes —scenes in which actors in cars or other vehicles are shot on a sound stage. By positioning the car in front of a large LED wall and then placing OLED television screens around it in strategic places, Production can realistically simulate the effect of driving through a city or the countryside or anywhere else imaginable, complete with reflected stoplights, sidewalks, and pedestrians in the car's windshield. This saves production the trouble of hitching a car to another driving vehicle and operating on an open road. It is cheaper, safer, and offers more creative control to the creative team. The first version of Stargate Studios' current car rig configuration was born during the prep for White Noise back in 2021. Over the next three years, they have refined their setup and have done LED driving shots for shows like Your Honor, The Lincoln Lawyer, The Consultant, and many others. To ensure the best quality of the final product, they prefer to control as much of the process that leads to the LED driving shoot as possible, and it starts with shooting the plates. Stargate Studios has an in-house team dedicated to acquiring and creating plates for virtual production, led by Stargate CEO Exploring the Virtual Process Shot with Dmitry Kovalev by James Delhauer