Stagecraft - The Future of Filmmaking?

[Sawyer]

Posted a thread in the Batman section awhile back, but I don’t think there’s been anything in Misc. Films...





Honestly, Hollywood would be crazy not to let this make green screen a thing of the past ASAP.

 

[Doctor Jones]

It's incredible. I will give credit for The Mandalorian for utilizing it, which seems to be the most innovative thing that show is doing to somewhat make up for lack of it in the story department.

They're using it for The Batman too which fits it well.

 

[Iceman]

Just watched them all. It’s amazing progress and hopefully can be put to great use on many of the future projects we care about. I really love seeing the creative process and particularly significant steps forward on the tech like this that can contribute to numerous areas including backgrounds, visuals, atmosphere, and even helping the actors and crew feel like they are filming in the real environment.

 

[Persona]

It has its place in a certain brand of production.

There are a lot of films that make sense to shoot on location and Stagecraft ain't gonna change that.

 

[Kane52630]

Oblivion also used something similar.

 

[HammerDown]

This “revolutionary” technique is as old as Hollywood itself. Movie backdrops revamped to suit the present needs of cinematic mass production.

There’s definitely a lot of pros to using such a technology but hopefully they can balance it out well with filming on real sets, using real landscapes, on location filming... If they push this sort of tech into everything and everywhere in order to save time and money it will definitely start to look strangely familiar and cheapen the look and feel of it.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Yeah, I agree. Like any piece of technology, it shouldn't be a crutch. It's still a tool. It may look and feel more real than CGI, but like CGI, it must be used properly. It could stifle things too if it's not careful. Unfortunately, like CGI, I can see filmmakers liking it for the wrong reasons. Whereas CGI was seen as this thing as unlimited possibilities and abused it, in this case, filmmakers can get hung up on the realism of it and it could be stifling.

In a perfect world, there's a balance of all these technologies in a proper context.

 

[Sawyer]

It has its place in a certain brand of production.

There are a lot of films that make sense to shoot on location and Stagecraft ain't gonna change that.

IMO, green screen should be the first stop if we’re talking about replacing aspects of production. Like, if we were ever to take another crack at Watchmen, how great would it be to see Mars rendered with something like this, rather than wall to wall greenscreen?

But yeah, I highly doubt location shooting is going anywhere.

 

[Persona]

Certainly, I could see it replacing green screen as the industry standard for mostly static scenes that need compositing.

I wouldn't expect most shows and movies to use it as much as The Mandalorian does. Most shows and movies don't need to, but also for some it would not fit the aesthetic or aspirations any more than a bunch of green screen would. It is basically an advanced version of matte paintings. That sort of fits Mandalorian's retro Western serial vibe and is kinda needed, too, for trying to do all the different planet locations without just plopping the actors in front of green screen all the time. But the shows that have worked better with real locations and sets are still gonna work better with real locations and sets.

As someone said, if everyone starts using it we are definitely gonna notice. Maybe it will revolutionize the industry, but I kind of hope not. I kind of just hope it's a better version of backdrops.

 

[HammerDown]

I think that location shooting could be affected heavily by this sort of tech.

I bet it costs significantly less to film on a studio with these capabilities than moving a big crew, sets, equipment, actors... to a location for a significant period of time in which they still gotta take care of everyone’s needs, accommodations, catering... The logistics of such an operation coupled with the issues they face like weather changes, delays, shooting permits, leaks...

This tech removes a ton of potential problematic and expensive stuff out of the equation. That’s key and can’t be overlooked.

I do think that this sort of tech helps the actors (adding to their immersive experience translating in better performances) and filmmakers (adds a range of other great possibilities to be explored).

But I’m also aware that this is all in service of the studios and their significant increase of content to feed their streaming platforms and that in itself draws a direct parallel line with practicality and cost saving which sit at the top of their priorities.

 

[HammerDown]

When thinking about this technology and looking at the Mandalorian’s success in implementing it, I almost immediately think about all the recently announced content for Disney+, including 10 Star Wars series, 10 Marvel series, the movies...

I suspect that they are going to use this tech to a great extent. Hopefully the serialization of the MCU and Star Wars doesn’t all get too homogenized by a lack of restraint.

I would hope this tech is used sparingly in function of quality. Though I fear it could be used frequently to supply quantity.

 

[writer0327]

Phenomenal. I do believe that this eventually will become a replacement for location shooting. Just like CGI replaced so much of what films used to use, so will Stagecraft.

 

[Schlosser85]

It’s a great tool for times like this, but I wouldn’t want it to completely replace location filming.

 

[Fincher]

I can see how it replacing locations could be a concern (although, like other technologies, it should improve as it goes), but if the situation with Coronavirus and its impact on theaters makes it harder to get some projects off the ground, this might be the only option for that middle tier.

 

[Primal Slayer]

I think this is definitely something that can help lower budget shows look like higher budget shows/films. TheCW should invest in these, especially for shows like Superman/Legends of Tomorrow/The Flash.

 

[Sawyer]

It’s catching on…

Warner Bros Leavesden Opens Virtual Production Stage – Deadline

 

[Sawyer]

Hnnnnngh…

 

[Sawyer]

Virtual production comes up a bit in regards to the Weta deal…

Weta’s Deal With Unity: How It Will Work – The Hollywood Reporter

 

[Sawyer]

 

[Sawyer]

 

[Sawyer]

HBO Max has a featurette discussing the use of this on The Batman.

 

[Kane52630]

 

[BeserkerHilf]

I'm curious to watch this again on the 4K disc, because while it's very convincing, I was certain that I was catching some flickering LED panels off in the distance.

 

[Kane52630]

 

[Doctor Jones]

The volume is like green screen where it's just a tool and shouldn't be overused. If done wrong in the wrong context, it can look very bad and fake. The recent SW shows are an example of this. It's pretty ironic where Lucas overused the green screen effects and now that same franchise that tried to push away from that is repeating the same mistakes in a different way.