Wave&Co at MIA: Onextra’s In-Camera VFX LED screens

Wave&Co at MIA, the international audiovisual market, as the sponsor for the virtual production of OneXtra.

MIA is a project conceived and implemented by ANICA (National Association of Film, Audiovisual and Digital Industries) and APA (Association of Audiovisual Producers), supported at Italian ministy level and sponsored this year by Eurimages; as well as the most important event of the sector in Italy, fully included in the international agenda of events dedicated to the audiovisual sector.

Hosted until 15^th October 2022 in the virtual production demo room at Palazzo Barberini (Rome), visitors could experience the new In-Camera VFX in real time, then live an unprecedented immersive experience and understand the potential of this new methodology that sees LED screens as a fundamental part of the production process.

Ledwall and In-Camera VFX

In-Camera VFX is a general definition of all the new techniques for shooting visual effects in real time, while shooting a film that is based on a combination of:

LED lighting,
live camera detection,
real-time rendering and exploiting the lighting power of LED screens and their total absence of noise.

This new methodology of virtual production represents a breakthrough for VFX, especially because it allows to overcome the green screen technique, thus ensuring an efficient and cost effective production:

Creatives (actors, directors, cinematographers…) can find themselves directly immersed in the setting, without having to leave to imagination what they will otherwise see in post-production on the green screen.
You will not need to request permission for shooting in real locations.
Better lighting: instead of reproducing the light of a setting through light points, a virtual location is used to illuminate the set, with a much better immersion effect.
Easier customization and faster shooting.
Smaller budget: the post-production of green screen shots are more expensive than the In-Camera VFX that guarantees the same result, if not better, and in less time.

The most suitable LED screens for digital production

Only some LED screens are suitable for virtual production, they are more performing screens, chosen according to the type of set needed. Hence the need to deploy the correct competences for this application, together with the timely availability of LED screens, are a must.

For example, for a large scenography, where more than 500sqm of LED screens are required, screens that have a large lighting represent the right coice, maybe at the expense of the dot Pitch; the latter parameter would be rather needed, instead, for small sets or camera car (where the screen is relatively close to the shooting team) where higher image resolution is required, as in the case of our Materia mini LED 1.5 used for the set created at MIA 2022.

Wave&Co and Onextra

Wave&Co has chosen by Onextra as a partner because of their specific competences in the virtual production. On the other hand, Wave&Co ” have high quality products and a LED screens availability that allows you to set up even large set ups”.

These were the words used by CEO Giacomo Talamini that specifies:

“It was natural for us to choose a company that could meet the complex needs of a television series, or a high budget film, where small set-ups are no longer enough. Wave&Co fully meets these needs”.

Who is Onextra?

Onextra was born from the union of Hive Division, a hybrid between a production company and a VFX studio, and Centounopercento, a software house specializing in video games.

Onextra deals specifically with In-Camera VFX, a technique for special effects used to replace the use of the green screen by projecting content on LED screens that are then taken directly from the camera.

Why use this technique:

Cost efficiency: greatly alleviates costs and delays associated with extensive chroma key use
Risk mitigation: using shutter boxes or stages for shooting reduces the risks related to inconveniences, such as bad weather.
Creativity without limits: the world can be shaped as creatives wish without any limits, therefore ensuring great flexibility of custumization on contents that are then optimized for these purposes.

How does the Onextra service work?

The project is examined by the Wave&Co and Onextra teams, which combine the knowledge in the production of lines, visual effects and LED screens to formulate a production plan and budget suitable to take advantage of the technical capabilities.

After that, real locations are scanned and virtual locations are created from scratch, so creatives can view them using VR headsets or on Wave&Co screens.

Then motion capture technology is used to refine actions and choreography, allowing the film to take shape, months before shooting.

Finally, during production, the Wave&Co and Onextra teams manage the entire technical process necessary to visualize virtual environments and integrate them perfectly with the contributions of other departments.

If you also want to know more about LED screens for use in virtual production, contact us. Our team of experts will advise you on the best technology.