Behind the Screens: How Camp Lucky’s LED Volume is Fuelling Infinite Creativity
In 2024, the industry is increasingly familiar with virtual production technology. LED walls with razor-sharp definition, and techniques such as pre-visualisation, have been helping filmmakers to bring ambitious dreams and wild imaginations to reality over the past few years. And the impact - when it comes to both efficiency and creative potential - has been transformative.
But this is still a relatively new era. Progress is happening because of pioneers who have invested capital, time, and energy into the tech. Camp Lucky, a team of experienced artists and producers based out of Texas, is one of those pioneers. Speaking with LBB, executive producer Brandon Tapp reflects on how the studio’s state-of-the-art Volume has changed the way he works for the better.
“We’ve always strived to be early adopters of emergent tech, and find new methods of production which would help us better respond to our clients’ needs”, he says. “And now, with the Volume wall, we can not only deliver on the ask but often expand far beyond it.”
For anyone walking into Camp Lucky’s studio, the wall makes for quite an immediate sight. At 51 feet long and 15 feet tall, its snaking J-shape allows for an enormous range of camera movement. That all takes place within a generous 3400 square feet of vehicle-friendly support space.
When LBB spoke with Brandon earlier this year, the EP noted how the organic demands of the modern industry necessitated an increase in both the diversity, and sheer amount, of content. At the same time, expectations regarding quality remain high, leaving production caught in the middle. But another benefit of the volume is, as he goes on to explain, that it helps Camp Lucky to meet these challenges.
“It’s very rare now that you’ll only produce one film from a given shoot. More often, you’re looking for a few six-second pieces, a thirty, something else for TikTok and, oh, if we can put some BTS together for socials then that’s great too!”, he says. “Prior to the Volume, it would potentially take days or more to build or scout the right sets, ensure we get the right weather conditions, or simply travel to wherever needed. But now, all of that becomes so much more practical. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still a lot of work involved for the art department in tying it all together and making it feel real, but it’s still a great step up from the alternative”.
Because of the wall’s convenience, the team now have access to a wide variety of backdrops and assets - and they can use them all day long. For many projects, the days of organising complicated blocking-off of city roads, or frantically scrambling to finish a shoot before the sun disappears are now gone.
“It’s an investment which has paid off, but not only from a practicality standpoint but also creatively,” continues Brandon. “We’re able to make shots happen, and put people in places, which wouldn’t have been possible without the Volume.”
By way of an example, Brandon points towards the studio’s work with Ram - including how Camp Lucky director Jeff Bednarz made an ‘impossible’ shot possible thanks to the Volume.
“With the Ram ad, we managed to get that truck trawling through a neon cityscape, and finally up to a beautiful lookout point over Las Vegas for the final moment”, he recalls. “But the thing is, that ‘lookout point’ over Vegas doesn’t exist. There’s nowhere you can actually stand and see the city in that way. But, by putting it up on the Volume, we made it happen”.
Looking forwards, there are a couple of ways in which Brandon can see the Volume continuing to improve. “Whilst it does give you an incredible amount of camera tracking in 3D, one area where I think the tech will continue to evolve is in tabletop shoots”, he says. “In a lot of those projects, you tend to zoom in incredibly close and slow the footage down to a crawl. In those moments of super-slow framerate, you’ll find the Volume might flicker”.
To counter that, Brandon continues, the Camp Lucky team creates a miniature physical breakout set to ensure the required shots still happen for tabletop projects. “But I can see that as an aspect where the tech will continue to improve and make that even easier”.
Just over the past few years, the leaps forward in virtual production tech have been extraordinary. And, by investing in a stage early, Camp Lucky’s capabilities and expertise have grown in tandem with the tech. Now, the studio is able to lend an expert ear to clients looking to make the most out of the Volume.
“We’re at a stage now where people are coming to us saying that they think their campaign ‘should’ be a Volume shoot”, says Brandon. “So you can see that there’s a high level of awareness out there now, and I’d expect that to only continue growing”.
Whatever happens, LED volumes and virtual production technology seem, like Camp Lucky themselves, to be a firm part of the industry’s future.
