How ATM Virtual Helped Turn the World Upside Down with Virtual Production

Stanley Kubrick said: “If it can be written, or thought, it can be filmed.” That may be true, but only if you have a big budget and a lot of time. What about situations where the budget's limited, and you only have three weeks for the entire project, from go-ahead to delivery? Most filmmakers would say that this is impossible. But ATM Virtual took to the challenge. 

The F25 Production House and film director Armin Kurasz considered options to overcome these issues when shooting an ad for Febrisan. First, an old-school solution was considered, with building a physical, rotating set, like in Kubrick’s '2001: A Space Odyssey' or Christopher Nolan’s 'Inception'. However, they quickly realised this would be too expensive, and preparation would take a lot of time.

The second option was to do it on a green screen, and then deal with it in post. However, it was impossible in the time allocated for the whole project.

So, only one option was left: Virtual production. The clients chose to work with the ATM Virtual team, at the ATM Virtual studio in Warsaw. An entire apartment was created in Unreal Engine, and rendered live on the LED screen, using a professional camera tracking system. Only the elements in the foreground and the actors were physical.

Monika Wagner, F25 Production House comments: “We were one of the first production companies in Poland to use this technology, and now, more and more we see that this is the future of filmmaking. Agencies can create ambitious ideas. And we can deliver that with virtual production in an affordable budget."

Virtual production allows you to show any 3D content on an LED screen. All without complicated post production. In-camera, like on a real film set. 

Maciej Kapłucha, virtual production manager, ATM Virtual, says: “We used an LED Screen, camera tracking system and Unreal Engine to generate some kind of illusion for the camera, making it seem like there was no screen - just the real world behind it. It’s something different and more realistic than just putting a stock image on the wall."

Armin Kurasz, one of Europe’s most experienced directors in virtual production, decided to use some tricks and solutions to shorten the pre-production process and have outstanding final effects. The team started working with an existing virtual apartment, and with set designer Natalia Mleczak, made changes to fit the creators' artistic vision and client needs. They were able to move the walls, change colours, textures, window size and even views behind the windows.

Natalia Mleczak, set designer, said: “We can change, add or create almost everything! It’s a great new tool for set designers because now we are not limited by materials or construction costs.” 

The most important effect in Febrisan’s commercial was the rotating world. And the Unreal Engine allowed the team to do just that.

Armin Kurasz, director, says: "In virtual production, we are not limited by physical laws. What’s more, we create them as we need. That’s why we could easily rotate the whole scene, and even turn off the gravity! Virtual props were just floating in the air like in space. Everything on set, without post production."

A very important part of preparing a virtual scene is working with the DOP on setting up the light. Virtual worlds need to be perfectly matched with the physical, and lighting helps us create better illusion

Tomasz Ziółkowski, DOP, comments: "Creating the light for the Unreal Engine scene is very exciting because you decide where the sun is, and what part of the day you are shooting at. We can now shoot at Magic Hour during the whole day and night."

On set, the team also used stunt’s support to make physical props and actors levitate. Everything happened on set, with no need to do complicated CGI animations afterwards.

Monika Wagner said: "We see an almost final effect on set, in monitors. It’s very useful for creators but also for clients and agencies because now it's easier to discuss shots and simplify the decision process."

But this technology doesn't help only the film crew. Actors can now focus on acting, because everything they need to see, is on the film set.

Ola Żebrowska, actress, said: “It’s really amazing because compared to a green screen, we can actually see what’s going on. We don’t have to imagine how the scene looks, where the objects are, and what the general mood is. It was very exciting that I was able to see how the world is rotating, and see almost the final video at the end of a shooting day."

Post-production's most difficult part was removing the ropes of physical props and actors. But the apartment was virtual, so the team could use the clean plates to just copy parts of the apartment and hide unwanted elements. The week after the shoot, and three weeks after the go-ahead…  they had the final result.

Radosława Bardes, managing director ATM Virtual said: “Virtual production can simplify the film production process. Now we can do many things faster, cheaper and with better final effect than with green screen. But VP helps not only with that - now we can be infinitely more creative and make commercials and feature films that would be next to impossible to make in any other way.

After putting commercials and behind the scenes clips online, ATM Virtual received amazing responses from the film industry from all over the world. It was reposted by the biggest Instagram profiles like Filmmakers World, Cinematography etc. (each over 1 million subscribers). The BTS video went viral with millions of views and hundreds of positive comments, in just a few days. 

Febrisan - Virtual Production Behind The Scenes from Armin Kurasz on Vimeo.