A short film created as part of a project to showcase the capabilities of Sony technology is already changing the way the company creates content.
Noir-inspired “Killian’s Game” was the first project to come out of the Sony Content Technology Strategy Committee, a “and growing” group of about 100 people, according to Daniel De La Rosa, vice president of post- production at Sony Picture Entertainment.
Behind the scenes, up-and-coming Hollywood creators worked on the projects and nine-minute packs in new filmmaking techniques developed by combining the creators’ ideas with Sony Group’s multifaceted technologies.
“There have always been requests from R&D teams to visit sets because it helps them shape their development process,” De La Rosa explained. “The answer is usually no.” However, the combination of virtual production, streaming the set, and technology allowed them to do just that.
He also illustrated how content creation now revolves around the availability of critical assets. “If someone were to ask, ‘We’re going to make the Spider-Man asset, so what do we need to be able to use it in an interactive or video game experience?’ this process has taught us what to look for to make everything more backward compatible.
Co-writers and co-directors Collin Davis and Matt Litwiller had a script, but available technology informed several creative changes.
“It became an exercise in how best to use some of the tools to enhance what we had,” Davis explained, saying the Airpeak S1 drone allowed them to “imitate” The Shining’s opening sequence. of Stanley Kubrick and to obtain “mysterious shots to create tension.
“We have always tried to give feedback and make suggestions, but not eat away at creativity or change our minds because of technology,” promised Yoshikazu Takashima, senior vice president of advanced technology at Sony. “If the DP wanted to use another brand of camera, we would let them, and Sony could find out more about compatibility and why they chose the other.”
De La Rosa added, “We also worked tirelessly with DP Doug Potts to find the same set of lenses in Japan that he used in the United States. They used our VENICE 2 cameras in both locations with Kowa anamorphic lenses, so we rented them to make them as smooth as possible.
“Killian’s Game” was shot partly on location in and around Los Angeles, but also in Tokyo using Crystal LED B-Series screens on the Sony PCL Inc. virtual production stage using 360° renderings of locations Americans.
“The final scene where two guys set the house on fire was shot in Tokyo on a C-LED wall, and we intercut with inserts that we shot in LA,” co-director Litwiller recalls. “It took a lot of planning, but we were amazed at how well it turned out.” Fire was created by award-winning visual effects studio, FuseFX.
“It’s not something we would have written for a short on a relatively modest budget, because you just can’t light stuff on fire,” David added. “It’s too expensive.”
To recreate the place that was ultimately destroyed on screen, David, Litwiller and their DP spent a day and a half filming what they needed and another four hours in LIDAR scanning the same space. “They set up this round device, it scanned the room, then you would take texture shots, and then they can use all of that to create a full 3D environment that can then be moved around however you want or projected onto a screen,” David enthused, describing the results as “breathtaking”.