You might be wondering what we mean by "Movie Intruder". It means exactly what it sounds like: we take a movie and intrude it by changing the narrative and adding ourselves to the scene.
Why are we intruding our favorite movies? Well, it's fun. It is as simple as that. How? Virtual production. Just as simple.
We are developing a solution so that Virtual Production can reach its full potential. We create an environment, camera angles, lighting setup and save it to create a library of scenes that can be used by others without the hustle!
Watch the full "The Lord Of The Rings : Movie Intruder" video here:
THE WHITE WIZARD
LED WALL VS GREEN SCREEN
The Matrix pill scene was made using a LED wall, while LOTR was filmed only with green screen; no LED wall was necessary! We are not saying to stop using LED walls, if you have the tools and a bigger budget, it is an amazing opportunity to make beautiful images. What we are saying is that it is not the only way to create the look you desire. You still need to find the right lenses, the right lighting setup, and save the placements for the scene to be recreated. The only difference between these two is when we talk about the reflections and keying.
For anyone who has seen The Mandalorian, what really makes the shots immersive is the reflection in the Mandalorian's helmet and on any other shiny surface ( just like Darth Vader's helmet in Star Wars). It looks beautiful and cinematic. This is something green screens can't achieve without post production, at least not as flawlessly.
What is the problem with green screen and keying? You have to do a lot of it during post production. Good news: You can do all of it at home.
GREEN SCREEN SETUP AT HOME
LED wall in your living room may really skyrocket your electricity expenses. But a green screen? I am already thinking of changing curtains in one of the rooms or color my wall green to have it here permanently. If you have chosen to use a LED wall, you can test the environment on green screen before moving to LED wall to save a lot of money and time.
One of the reasons it feels like an easier solution is because most cinematographers have had some experience with green screens, but only few chosen ones have had the opportunity to work with LED walls. You can use tools you already know to create movies you never thought are possible.
For this setup you need a green screen, camera, 2x Apollo 1 lights ( 1x as a practical light in Kaur's hands ), 3x Voyager lights ( 2x to light up the green screen evenly, 1x for fill light), trackers and a computer with unreal engine and editing software.
Setup for CU of Kaur intruding LOTR scene
THE NEXT HALLOWEEN COSTUME
Where to get Gandalf's robe? The answer is a thrift store. I took 2 curtains and attached them together with some rope to create Kaur's robe. Sure, it was opening up from time to time and needed adjustments, but overall I think we nailed it! The simplicity of it helped us not worry about it and focus on more burning tasks.
VIRTUAL PRODUCTION
It is all about placement; we connect lights to the trackers and save their position. In this way, the next time we ( or you ) set this scene up, all you have to do is follow the instructions of the placement.
Putting lights in the right locations is actually quite fun! Distance, tilt and pan are your best friends; those are the coordinates you look for when setting up. So you take objects one by one and match its location.
Doing it together is fast and effortless, but you can definitely do it on your own too.
POST PRODUCTION
If this was a fun and educating read, You will love our Behind The Scenes vide too:
We are continuing our "Movie Intruder" series and already are preparing to make the next one!
And we can't wait to see what all of you can do with this sort of technical power/ magic!
Which movie should we do next?
