Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1530710
26 cgw o c t o b e r • n o v e m b e r • d e c e m b e r 2 0 2 4 c lub Cinépolis, a leading global entertainment company with roots in Latin America, partnered with Mexico-based produc- tion companies Bestia Lab and Simplemente, also the proj- ect's systems integrator, for the first Mexican virtual produc- tion game show Club Cinépolis Desafío India. The 15-episode series, available on Cinépolis' YouTube channel, was shot in Blackmagic RAW with Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K digital film cameras and captivated audiences every week with an average 150K viewers per episode, becoming a social media phenomenon. Following the success of its predecessor, Club Cinépolis Desafío Dubai, Club Cinépolis took production to the next level by shooting the second season, Club Cinépolis Desafío India, within a studio at Foro Centro de Producción Virtual equipped with more than 200 meters of LED screens, putting eight contestants in the center of a cine multiverse to compete for a lifetime of free movie theater tickets and a trip to India. Each episode featured the contestants completing challenges in a different virtual world based on different genres, ranging from action to fantasy. "Partnering with Bestia Lab to produce this revolutionary virtual game show in Mexico for Cinépolis was a huge adventure for us at Simplemente," said Mónica Reina, president of Simplemente and cofounder along with Rune Hansen. "Nothing like this had ever been done before, so we took inspiration for the set from The Mandalorian and The Batman as these two films relied heavily on virtual produc- tion environments." With production to be completed in just 10 days, the team need- ed a reliable workflow that allowed them to achieve the cinematic results they were looking for within budget. "We needed a mix of powerful cameras for this type of show, each with unique characteristics that would allow us to be versatile on set," said Reina. "Three URSA Mini Pro 12Ks, positioned throughout the set, were easy to control remotely, and the ability to work with the resolution from 12K to 4K enabled us to zoom and recompose the images to create new shots, effectively doubling and tripling the amount of angles without having to rely on more gear or operators." She continued, "We also equipped ourselves with two Pocket Cin- ema Cameras 6Ks as they were easy to grab and move on set for alternative, close up shots of the contestants. We shot in 6K using these cameras as we wanted to take full advantage of the sensor and not have to crop the size of the image. Also, an URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 was mounted on a crane for a bird's eye view of the contes- tants while they completed their missions." SPOTLIGHT CLUB CINÉPOLIS DESAFÍO INDIA INSIDE MEXICO'S FIRST VIRTUAL PRODUCTION GAME SHOW