How XR LED Screens Changed Filmmaking?

Recently, new developments have been made in the application of XR virtual filmmaking! It is reported that the film and television giant iQiyi moved the XR virtual filmmaking into the studio this year. One is the TV series "Fox Spirit Matchmaker", and the other is the variety show "Vowel Adventure". Created a precedent for the XR virtual filmmaking of domestic film and television dramas.

This year, iQIYI transported a large number of XR unreal LED screens to the Hengdian film and television shooting base, and built a 2,400-square-meter virtual production studio to conduct XR virtual production of part of the content of "Fox Spirit Matchmaker". XR LED Screen has driven the transformation of the entire film and television industry, which is related to a series of upgrades in equipment, technology, and filming processes. It is destined to bring new development space for all aspects of the film and television creation, performance, production and other industries.

Changed the filmmaking process.

The production process of traditional filmmaking is usually a linear workflow of "planning-shooting-post-production". The core change of virtual production is "post-production and pre-production", that is, the digital scenes used in previous post-productions must be completed before filming starts. With the help of Unreal Engine real-time tools, the traditional linear process can be changed into a parallel process, and different types of work can be carried out at the same time - actors can enter the LED studio and perform in realistic digital scenes; directors can use virtual reality location survey equipment, immersive Enter the virtual scene, observe the details of the scene, and select the performance area; the visual effects team can adjust the imaging effect in real time through the camera.

It can be said that virtual production is a continuation of traditional film and television production. Virtual production reduces the constraints on creativity, makes the production process more iterative, collaborative and non-linear, and makes shooting time and capital costs more controllable.

Firstly, XR virtual filmmaking gradually standardizes the production process, breaking the "planning-recording-post" workflow, allowing the producer to iterate on visual details in real time from the beginning of development, without having to wait until the later stage. This non-linear workflow transforms "solve in post-production" to "solve before and during production", which not only improves efficiency, but also reduces shooting costs and time costs.

Secondly, XR virtual filmmaking lowers the production threshold, and creators can better release their own expression, which is the liberation of productivity. XR virtual filmmaking makes rules less and less restrictive to creativity, enabling ideas to be put into practice in a timely manner, and allowing more team members to share the final content in advance.

Finally, XR virtual filmmaking makes the shooting time and capital cost more controllable, helping to reduce costs and increase efficiency. In the studio, the crew can take advantage of the accurate lighting and reflection provided by the xr virtual LED wall to shoot a large number of shots without being affected by the weather. The parallel process in shooting and the shooting effect of what you see is what you get can also greatly improve the efficiency of production and shooting. If re-shooting or re-shooting is involved, virtual scenes can also be used to reduce the time cost and labor cost caused by setting the scene.

According to the person in charge of the filming and production of "Fox Spirit Matchmaker", it took at least half a year from the preliminary discussion to the production of virtual assets to on-site shooting. Since it is the first time to try the XR virtual production mode, the cost is higher than normal. However, it has great advantages in post-production cost control and resource reuse, including digital asset reuse, better visual effects, and shortened post-production time.

Changed the shooting technique and image quality presentation.

According to the person in charge of iQiyi, during the shooting process, the XR LED screen has changed the traditional shooting technology. The XR curved led wall composed of 4224 small LED screens is 8 meters high, 33 meters wide, and has a 192-degree curved surface. The screen does not flicker during high-speed shooting. The whole process of 4K HDR wide color gamut standard production from digital asset production to LED screen presentation, to on-site shooting and monitoring, the on-site picture effect is very ideal; the number, quality and data transmission speed of the system rendering nodes have been greatly improved; the use of the latest UE5 engine, the realism of the real-time scene rendering output, and the tightness of the combination of virtual and real have been qualitatively improved than before.

As a popular reality show variety show in China, "Vowel Adventure" also adopted the XR virtual filmmaking, using 16 professional LED displays, including a 32mx8m main curved led wall, to create an immersive XR virtual stage with 4 LED screens, floor tile led screens, 4 wall-mounted led displays, 1 ceiling led display, nearly 360° circular led screen, holographic led screens and aisle led screens, etc., are distributed in all directions of the studio. Equipped with XR, VR, real-time motion capture, virtual character, virtual shooting, CG animation and other technologies, the shooting effect has reached a new experience of virtual reality change and interaction.

To sum up, XR virtual filmmaking + LED screen have changed the "fake" of the traditional green screen shooting that has been criticized, and the shooting effect is more real. And the digital content produced simultaneously can be used as digital assets for secondary or even multiple use, which greatly reduces costs and increases efficiency.