Oakley Anderson-Moore reports for No Film School on How One Studio Is Thriving During COVID (and Why It’s a Big Deal for Indies).
(The studio tour proper starts just before 14 minutes in this promotional video.)
“During the pandemic, one studio stayed open when most others closed. How? L.A. Castle Studios has developed ‘a better way to shoot.’ And owner Tim Pipher believes it’s the way of the future — perhaps no more so than for independent film. ‘I guess some of it comes down to luck,’ explained Pipher to No Film School. His studio has been slammed with work in the midst of the shutdowns. ‘COVID or no COVID, we think we’ve got a better way to shoot.'”
What sets this green-screen studio apart from others is the ability to shoot with a live-composited set.
Simply put, you and your actor can now create inside virtual reality.
How is this possible? It’s achieved by marrying movie making and video game 3D environments. The core software is Epic Games‘ Unreal Engine.
See the Unreal Engine website and its Marketplace.
Check out L.A. Castle Studios.
My take: I love this technology! Basically, it’s Star Trek‘s Holodeck with green instead of black walls. Keep in mind, as a filmmaker, you still have to address every other component other than location: for instance casting, costumes, makeup, props, blocking, lighting, shot selection and performance. Do I know any Unreal Engine gurus?
I’ve worked in the Costume Department in CHEK TV’s green screen studio for the Indigenous documentary ‘Tzouhalem’ produced by Less Bland Productions in the Fall of 2020. I thought that was interesting and cool. https://www.cheknews.ca/production/studio/ But this Unreal Engine goes way beyond CHEK TV’s green screen studio. It looks absolutely mind blowing! I can hardly wait to see and work in an environment that has this technology which will happen at the Malahat Film Studios that was announced a few weeks ago in the local news. Thank you for sharing this video from L.A. Castle Studios. All it’s doing is feeding my enthusiasm to work with this technology. My answer is “Yes, I would love to get a film off the ground using it.”