In-Camera VFX and Virtual Production
Volume 3: Oregon’s First In-Camera VFX Stage
The Evolution of Filmmaking
Volume 3 was the 3rd design iteration of Oregon’s first ICVFX LED wall stage that I developed with Picture This Production Services. Featuring 60′ x 13′ of LED walls, the volume provides ample space for a multitude of production styles. The latest in computer technology allowed Unreal Engine to render motion tracked scenes in real time for fully editable 3D set extensions.
Coach Sarge Cine
The Stage
Volume 3 is located at Coach Sarge Cine in Cornelius, OR (about 25 miles west of Portland). The main studio is 4500 square feet (50′ x 90′) with an 8′ x 8′ lighting grid 18′ off the floor. The stage comes with complete stage grip package and they have all of the lighting and grip equipment you will need for your production. Check out Coach Sarge Cine for more information.
Picture This Production Services
The LED Wall
The core of Volume 3 is Picture This Production Services’ three Led walls collectively measuring 60′ x 13′.
The main curved wall is 32′ x 13′ of 2.6mm pitch LED panels completing a 45 degree curve.
The other two walls are identical movable walls consisting of 4mm pitch panels measuring 14′ x 12.5′ each. These walls marry to the curve wall for a seamless transition but their true potential comes by using them as reflection and light sources. These moveable walls can also be used for creative reveals by layering the LED walls.
Powered by Intel
Unreal Engine
The rendering machines utilized at Volume 3 are the latest Intel Xeon based systems paired with the top Nvidia graphics cards. This allowed for the high demands of the Unreal Engine In-Camera VFX system to render fully immersive 3D environments in real- time.
Picture This Production Services has fostered a close relationship with Intel, who provided the latest and greatest in their workstation CPU lineup, all put together in a top of the line HP system.
OptiTrack
Motive: Tracking
Camera tracking is an essential element of achieving the parallax effect with Unreal Engine. At Volume 3, we had two ways to achieve this.
The first is with optical tracking using an IR emitter placed on the camera and tracking cameras placed around the volume. The Volume featured 8 of these cameras all synced and calibrated with Opti-Track’s Motive software.
The Bolt
The second method was by using the mechanical tracking of Camera Control Northwest’s Bolt. The Bolt is a 7 axis motion control Cinebot that can consistently perform precise moves that are impossible to achieve otherwise. Mounted on it’s track, the bolt can travel up to 5m/second, all with pinpoint mechanical accuracy.
The Bolt has an added benefit over optical tracking in that it can send its recorded moves to Unreal before it happens, removing any rendering latency that may occur at these high speeds.
Real – Not Unreal
Video Playback
Unreal is a great tool but it is not always what is required. Motion graphics and video content look great on the wall for both video and photo shoots.
If there was interest in using the wall specifically for playing back content, a template file was provided with correct specifications for the LED walls.
