television series collaborated to crack the code for what has become a game-changing creation: StageCraft, a technological marvel that immerses the cast and production crew inside their CG environments in real time with the help of a massive wraparound LED screen. live-action series and allows them to work together in real-time. Months later, the Los Angeles set of The Mandalorian was a bustling hive of activity. Sometimes she blurts out “It’s a trap!” even when it’s not. I was in the movie, but it was a game. Greig Fraser Talks Volume. Nobody could tell that he wasn’t in that room. The release will be followed by The Mandalorian Season 2, Volume 2 (Chapters 13-16) digital album available on December 18. “Their intention was to focus on capturing the interactive lighting from the screens knowing that the content playing back would be replaced in postproduction for a high-fidelity version which would maintain the exact same lighting.”, Jon Favreau introduced his own ground-breaking VR advancements developed on both The Jungle Book and Lion King, but wanted to take the effect to the next level. When The Mandalorian opens on a frigid ice planet, the titular bounty hunter zeroing in on his next prize, you can almost feel the gusts of wind howling past the unforgiving terrain. I thought, one day it will be possible that a video game will look as good as a movie. We had sparks dropping, we had steam rising, and cranes moving. He’s a wonderful, wonderful human. In conjunction with that, The Mandalorian pushed the boundaries to greater heights by using a groundbreaking virtual production technique during its first two seasons. So I took that opportunity with both hands!”, “It was that pioneering spirit from the early days of ILM and the birth of computer graphics and the birth of the Pixar computers that really got me into it,” adds Kim Libreri, the chief technical officer of Epic Games, who collaborated closely with Bluff and the crew. “It took everybody coming together and talking about their experiences and what Jon wanted to do whether it was Greig Fraser the DP, whether it was Kim Libreri at Epic, myself from ILM or of course Jon and Dave the filmmakers themselves. So you could tell that by the time we got towards the end of the show, we got quite comfortable with the technology and were excited to just continue to push the boundaries of what was possible.” And although he can’t go into details just yet, “I can say for Season Two we went above and beyond anything we did for Season One with this technologically,” Bluff hints. For instance, Favreau and other filmmakers had already been experimenting with the technology, making films like Favreau’s, Jon Favreau introduced his own ground-breaking VR advancements developed on both, storytelling, working at the right hand of Lucas himself when he first signed on to helm the animated series, , “Dave [Filoni] brings a connection to George’s original vision,” Bluff says. The Disney+ show also featured new technology in the filming space that is changing the game. It was just mind-blowing. “It feels like classic Star Wars…and it’s going to have resonance for many years.”, Such groundbreaking innovations are often the culmination of years of small, hard-won victories that propel filmmaking technology ahead inch by inch. “One of the things we wanted to do is move away from green screens and make the scale of a Star Wars TV show work,” Bluff says. But the scheduling constraints of a television show — and a, show that had to satisfy the planet-hopping scope fans have come to expect while making it feel entirely authentic and accessible no less — meant whatever the team came up with had to appear realistic and be able to be shot on a Los Angeles soundstage without the traditional challenges of location shooting. And they’re both thrilled to be working on new, in the role that I’m in advancing technology, I hope it inspires kids that were my age when I [discovered, Nearly two decades after his first role working behind the scenes building the galaxy, Bluff recalls those early StageCraft tests in the spring on 2018, when the crew working on, had mere weeks to come up with the wraparound screen prototype. Take a look how Star Wars again pushed the limits of visual effects, by using "virtual sets" in Mandalorian, with help of Unreal Engine. What better way to marinate in your feelings over The Mandalorian season finale than with the second volume of the season 2 soundtrack?. Everybody was standing on a desert or in a forest or in some hangar somewhere. “For me coming back to Star Wars in the role that I’m in advancing technology, I hope it inspires kids that were my age when I [discovered Star Wars],” Bluff says. “And we knew that we needed a technological innovation to push the boundaries and provide a solve for the production. Star Wars is Lucas’ child, but Lucas was more than just a screenwriter, but an innovator as well. A new production listing reveals that The Mandalorian season 3 will begin production in … “We talked about the idea that a TV show like Clone Wars and some episodic animated content could be done in engine,” Libreri says. “It feels like classic, …and it’s going to have resonance for many years.”, Such groundbreaking innovations are often the culmination of years of small, hard-won victories that propel filmmaking technology ahead inch by inch. “Honestly, ILM and George’s legacy had a big influence on me choosing my career path.” One night when he was studying in college in the UK, Libreri had a dream about a realistic video game that involved flying a snowspeeder over Hoth during the battle with the AT-ATs from, . So I took that opportunity with both hands!”, “It was that pioneering spirit from the early days of ILM and the birth of computer graphics and the birth of the Pixar computers that really got me into it,” adds Kim Libreri, the chief technical officer of Epic Games, who collaborated closely with Bluff and the crew. “Chapter 6 was one of the last episodes that we shot. in a largely computer generated, photo-real environment that wraps around physical sets and real actors to create a seamless effect. We had sparks dropping, we had steam rising, and cranes moving. “We learned an enormous amount from Season One,” Bluff says. When the Disney+ live-action Star Wars series The Mandalorian first premiered to audiences in 2019, fans were immediately taken by composer Ludwig Göransson’s soundtrack. They can add extra lighting into the scene that of course would appear to have an effect on the actors on the stage so, they do many, many, many things to continue to make the camera believe the magic trick.”, Season Two, Bluff says the lessons from the first eight chapters in the groundbreaking series have left the team with new ideas for even better integration of the technology moving forward. Everybody brought something to this project that you rarely find anywhere else and it all goes back to George Lucas and the wonderful movies he made decades ago.”, Krystina Arielle’s Journey from the Red Carpet to the, Bo-Katan Lives! At the epicenter, the Volume, a curved 20-foot high 270-degree LED video wall made up of 1,326 individual LED screens topped with an LED ceiling. “It’s been the most collaborative experience I’ve ever had in 20 years working in this industry,” he says. The green- and blue-screens that were once standard for shooting real actors and props before digitally swapping out the background for computer generated environments would have caused a nightmare for the post-production effects team with a central character like the Mandalorian, whose gleaming beskar armor would have reflected back the very hues intended to be cut out from the final frame. The Mandalorian Season 3 Begins Filming This April After The Book of Boba Fett Wraps. Bluff went on to land a job with ILM as part of the team of matte artists on Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith; Libreri also went on to work as a visual effects supervisor with ILM before moving on. The idea was that on the 10, of June the same year we would do a test on the stage with a much smaller LED Volume wraparound screen with our picture camera, a prototype of a costume, and many different LED environments to test the technology.”, On the second-to-last day of testing, the ILM team had concocted a 3D interior environment using thousands of overlapping images from a real location on Angel Island in San Francisco. And StageCraft’s magic effectively allows creators to produce high-resolution visual effects in real time thanks to the game engine technology. For Bluff, StageCraft is the crowning glory of two decades in the industry. Get the inside track on the man in the mask with Star Wars: The Mandalorian: The Art & Imagery Volume 2, available today from Titan Magazines, and you can order it here from Amazon or Forbidden Planet.. “The Angel Island set was actually a collection of rooms with doorways in between, and we had the camera dollying back and on screen it gave the impression that we were moving backwards traveling from room to room,” Bluff says. Stream songs including "The Sorcerer", "The Story" and more. How tall is the ceiling? But there’s nothing else there, except what’s projected.”. “I fell in love with Star Wars as a kid. And it was through those conversations that we came up with this idea of how we wanted to try to shoot The Mandalorian.”. “He pushed us all. At the time, the quality of the images meant most of the screens still had to be replaced by higher-resolution effects in post-production on the Star Wars standalone film. It’s staggering to watch the final effect unfold, as a team of artists and engineers known as the Brain Bar act as mission control just a few yards away from the Volume, a curved cocoon of glowing LED screens ready to transport those standing inside of it literally anywhere. “Jon Favreau found the breakthrough that George [Lucas] was always looking for when he first explored the idea of a live-action TV show,” adds Richard Bluff, the visual effects supervisor on the acclaimed series. They’re able to move mountains quite literally. “It was totally real. The Mandalorian takes place after the events of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in the outlaw area of space known as The Outer Rim. The Mandalorian returns for its second season on Disney Plus. He inspires us. “We learned an enormous amount from Season One,” Bluff says. Propelled by the support of Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and the sheer will of Favreau, who was always pushing the collaborative team to try new things and bringing together some of the brilliant minds capable of making it happen, the crew took their next steps into the larger world by crafting the prototype of the Volume. “This approach was a game-changer for us, not only by eliminating the green screens but by providing everyone on set with a VFX set extension that typically isn’t created until weeks after the shoot wraps. Books › Children's Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy Buy new: $11.98. And that has driven me my entire career.”. In Nove… They can move us from one end of the hangar to the other end of the hangar. immerse themselves — the actors, the camera operators, the director of photography. Day to day, the real-time rendering and manipulation of the environments being beamed on screen comes down to an elite crew of visual effects artists and ILM engineers known as the “Brain Bar.”, “They are basically air traffic control,” Bluff says, although huddled together just feet from the Volume, they resemble NASA’s stoic mission control room. Please upgrade your browser to experience the site. And in that environment we not only had the, in the virtual environment, we also had people walking around the virtual environments. The Mandalorian: The Volume virtual set adds to great storytelling The Mandalorian is pushing the limits of cinematic technologies The Mandalorian wasn’t just fun storytelling or an … So you could tell that by the time we got towards the end of the show, we got quite comfortable with the technology and were excited to just continue to push the boundaries of what was possible.” And although he can’t go into details just yet, “I can say for Season Two we went above and beyond anything we did for Season One with this technologically,” Bluff hints. “It wasn’t a wide-open space, it was a much smaller environment and everyone on set believed it was real. And when we look back in 20 years, this is a landmark. “They are the ones that are operating the massive screens. What is so interesting about the making of the show is just how much like George Lucas it really is. Some attempts using the procedural and computer-built landscapes fell flat. “Dave is incredibly creative and is a wonderful storyteller in his own right, but the fact that he was schooled by George himself keeps everybody honest. Powered by Minute Media © 2021 All Rights Reserved. Tracking physical cameras in a virtual environment was something that Favreau had helped advance with his work on, . Finally, an actor dressed in the Mandalorian’s costume was placed in the center of the curved Volume. With Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano, Giancarlo Esposito, Chris Bartlett. Learn more. The Mandalorian Cinematographer Recounts His Experience With The Volume. “We’ve been experimenting with these technologies on my past projects and were finally able to bring a group together with different perspectives to synergize film and gaming advances and test the limits of real-time, in-camera rendering,” showrunner Jon Favreau has said. We never wanted to compromise the quality of the show. Journey to amazing worlds as Star Wars: The Mandalorian, the critically acclaimed series that expands the Star Wars universe, continues to tell the story of the mysterious Mandalorian … Technologies have evolved since and it’s interesting to see they are still being pushed forward through Star Wars. Use a Facebook account to add a comment, subject to Facebook's. You feel like you’ve got an open door back to what George was trying to do in the original movies. List Price: $14.99. How deep does this go back? was a bustling hive of activity. The Volume is a wraparound screen that takes over a scene, giving background and life to any set. “We got the go ahead to start actively developing the tech sometime in the end of March 2018. Mof Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) with Storm Troopers and Death Troopers in THE MANDALORIAN, exclusively on Disney+. Site tags: #StarWarsBlog, #DisneyPlus, #TheMandalorian, TAGS: Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian, ILM, ILM Stagecraft, Industrial Light & Magic, The Mandalorian, TM & © Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Volume One of The Mandalorian – The Art & Imagery Collector’s Edition was released on May 5 of last year. “In the old days, we had greenscreen, which created our environment behind us,” Esposito said. Instead it was there on the day, people could interact with it and immerse themselves — the actors, the camera operators, the director of photography. “What we wanted to do was shoot on a small stage with small physical sets that could be wheeled in and out fairly quickly and then extend those physical sets on the wrap-around LED wall.” And by moving visual effects to the beginning of the filming process, StageCraft enriches the performance of the actors, and the experience for directors and cinematographers using the new methodology for more precise storytelling in a completely fabricated galaxy. “They are the ones that are operating the massive screens. What is this location? “That was our. “When the camera’s moving 10 feet, the mountain’s not going to move. They can rotate the world. “The Mandalorian” was a pretty good show. You feel like you’ve got an open door back to what George was trying to do in the original movies. On the second-to-last day of testing, the ILM team had concocted a 3D interior environment using thousands of overlapping images from a real location on Angel Island in San Francisco. On that most people seem to agree. “Jon helped us pull through and prove the technology out.”, As a longtime caretaker of Star Wars storytelling, working at the right hand of Lucas himself when he first signed on to helm the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, “Dave [Filoni] brings a connection to George’s original vision,” Bluff says. “We did a little test volume about six months before we started shooting, and it was a proof of concept,” said Fraser when asked by Deadline about a “breakthrough” moment. “As you start to look at all these different projects, Jon was always in the conversation and always pushing for what this next advance was going to be.” For years, “nobody quite had the answer,” Bluff says. The "volume" of a set is the total area in which the camera can see, depending on how wide the angle of view is. It’s as much of a landmark as, was when the Pixar group made its first animated short.”, “I don’t believe that the technology would have worked as well as it did without the special place that, has in everybody’s heart,” Bluff adds. “We built on what was done for Rogue One, we both utilized a wraparound LED screen but at the time they were limited to playing back pre-rendered environments from a single camera perspective,” Bluff says. I would watch the movies over and over again and I would lie in front of the TV drawing the characters. “You can see it in the work that they did and the love that they had for everything that we did. He pushed everybody to do something that’s never been done before. They are taking chances and constantly pushing the limits to create compelling stories. Fresh off projects like The Jungle Book and The Lion King, Favreau was passionate about employing new technology to enrich storytelling as he began his work on The Mandalorian. The release will be followed by The Mandalorian Season 2, Volume 2 (Chapters 13-16) digital album available on December 18. Lucas owns more than 200 patents. It’s like going back to the days when George [Lucas] was out there in Tunisia,” or more recent, to the sands of Jordan. One of the key pieces to making "The Mandalorian" was the use of a giant video wall as the background for scenes shot on a sound stage. “Wrap around green screens cause confusion for both actors and crew, limiting spontaneity and on-the-fly creativity,” Bluff says. “It’s exactly the same sort of technology as the large LED screens you see in Times Square,” Bluff says. The Mandalorian Season 2, Volume 1 (Chapters 9-12) digital album features score by Oscar®, Grammy® and Emmy® winning composer Ludwig Göransson (Tenet, Black Panther) and is available HERE. The green- and blue-screens that were once standard for shooting real actors and props before digitally swapping out the background for computer generated environments would have caused a nightmare for the post-production effects team with a central character like the Mandalorian, whose gleaming beskar armor would have reflected back the very hues intended to be cut out from the final frame. “We had the Mandalorian in the center of frame walking and he was completely integrated because the lighting from the CG environment moved with him as the camera tracked backwards. It’s as much of a landmark as The Adventures of Andre and Wally B was when the Pixar group made its first animated short.”, “I don’t believe that the technology would have worked as well as it did without the special place that Star Wars has in everybody’s heart,” Bluff adds. At the epicenter, the Volume, a curved 20-foot high 270-degree LED video wall made up of 1,326 individual LED screens topped with an LED ceiling. More often than not they were environments that were built in a more make-everything-from-scratch approach.”, When they put high definition images of real deserts and snowy landscapes, evoking Tatooine and Hoth, on the Volume, the effect felt tangible, yet somehow distant. I desperately wanted to get into any sort of creative environment, particularly the film world, through drawing.” When, broke new ground with realistic computer graphics animation, Bluff saw his opening. A lot of design and planning work needed to be done upfront – rather than in post-production – to craft the virtual sets and ensure they could be properly utilized during filming. Kristin Baver is a journalist who loved science fiction before she could even write her own name. And in that environment we not only had the Razor Crest in the virtual environment, we also had people walking around the virtual environments. “Honestly, ILM and George’s legacy had a big influence on me choosing my career path.” One night when he was studying in college in the UK, Libreri had a dream about a realistic video game that involved flying a snowspeeder over Hoth during the battle with the AT-ATs from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. “This approach was a game-changer for us, not only by eliminating the green screens but by providing everyone on set with a VFX set extension that typically isn’t created until weeks after the shoot wraps. Tracking physical cameras in a virtual environment was something that Favreau had helped advance with his work on The Jungle Book and more recently, The Lion King. Even meant literally gob smacked at how good it looked a virtual environment, we heard of! S costume was placed in the outer reaches of the show old days, we also had people walking the... Lucas was more than just a screenwriter, but it was there the... The hangar to the Mandalorian Cinematographer Recounts his Experience in working on day... Trying to do in the end of the TV drawing the characters want to go behind the scenes and more. What Jon Favreau was doing on the day, people could interact with it and greenscreen, which was much! That Favreau had helped advance with his work on, mof Gideon ( Giancarlo Esposito, Chris.! Wars stories of other books are available for Amazon Kindle in Random House 's Comix! What ’ s never been done before the other end of the TV drawing the characters of photography it! 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