More Volume
Turn it up, turn it up, turn it up.
I recently started watching a show called 1899 on Netflix and while I’m not far enough into the story to really be able to recommend it—and reviews online are decidedly polarized—I can tell you that the cinematography and the overall look and feel are terrific. The show was shot using an evolution of the virtual production technology (known as “the volume”) that Industrial Light & Magic developed for The Mandalorian. For 1899, the filmmakers took the volume up a notch and added practical rain effects as well as a 360-degree rotating stage that allowed more complex shots across 30 different sets to be captured in camera.
In 2013, director Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy, Top Gun: Maverick) used a massive front-projection system to create what was basically an analog version of the volume for the Sky Tower sequences in the Tom Cruise sci-fi film Oblivion. There’s a terrific short documentary called Promise of a New World - The Making of Oblivion that shows how some the effects were created, including the incredible full-scale vehicles and the Sky Tower apartments.
Additional links:
The Virtual Production of The Mandalorian Season Two
Light & Magic on Disney+
Thanks for that bts on oblivion - was a really interesting watch.
I watched it and loved it. If you love mind bending science fiction, watch Dark, made by the same producers.