Camille—Virtual Production Case Studies Considerations for Working With LED Walls for Independent Filmmakers

Abstract

Camille is a short research and development (R&D) film created with the intent to share learnings with other filmmakers. By design, the film references Terrence Malick’s “Days of Heaven” and paintings by Andrew Wyeth. The director was interested in exploring ways to create naturalistic images and verité camera work using light-emitting diode (LED) volumes to prove that it is possible to capture supporting visual effects in-camera that add value to a project (even on an independent budget). Key reasons for using LED wall technology were: 1) no time or budget to travel crew to a real location; 2) no budget for permits, fire crew, and safety to execute a fire scene; and 3) to create extreme weather systems that could be art directed and scheduled around actors’ availability. This article outlines key case studies that demonstrate how the creative team incorporated realtime workflows, a new department and display technology into the filmmaking process, revealing both successes and pivots in the process.