Toru

 

See the work at Cartier.com

New Zealand artists Taika Waititi and Carlo Van de Roer collaborate on 'Toru', a three channel video installation. Inspired by the significance of Tokotoru, or Trinity, in Maori culture, the work weaves together themes of unity -- earth, sea, sky -- and references to mythology, including the Maori myth of Tane retrieving three baskets of knowledge -- the basket of light, the basket of darkness and the basket of pursuit.

Each film operates as a different recollection or interpretation of the same performance. A new filmmaking approach called PlateLight enables the filmmakers to capture the same moment with different lighting conditions as separate pieces of footage. This results in three versions of the same film, presenting a record of the past as photographically accurate, yet fluid and authorable like myth. 

PlateLight was developed by Satellite-Lab, an R&D studio co-founded by Carlo Van de Roer and Stuart Rutherford at the New Museum to develop new in-camera based film-making approaches, maintaining the integrity of a real performance and real lighting in the face of a movement towards artificial filmmaking approaches.

Toru draws inspiration from the embrace of art and technology in the Light and Space movement of Southern California where the work was created. The set was designed to present a changeable representation of place through lighting and references to architecture. The project was shot in Los Angeles, not far from where Robert Irwin and James Turrell experimented with the perception of space and material through light.

Toru, 2024 opened at the West Bund Art Center in Shanghai. Created for Cartier with the support of the Maison. In a physical space, the films are presented on three screens as a triptych. Online the work is presented as interactive, enabling the viewer to control the lighting.

Toru Technical Case Study

Toru, 2024. Installation at West Bund Art Center, Shanghai.


Stills images of the three channel video installation:

THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER

The first use of PlateLight in cinema. In-camera interactive lighting, controlled in post.

We developed film-making approaches for several parts of Love and Thunder, including the Shadow Realm, inhabited by Gorr (played by Christian Bale). Working closely with Director Taika Waititi, VFX Supervisor Jake Morrison and Director of Photography Baz Idoine we developed a look based on moving starlight and interactive lighting effects.
Using our PlateLight technology, all the in-camera lighting was controllable in post, providing creative freedom for Taika on set and enormous flexibility for VFX (Method Studios put this incredible scene together) and editorial without having to resort to full CGI.

THE MAKING OF THE MOON OF SHAME:

THE MOON OF SHAME SEQUENCE:

THE SHADOW REALM. MOVING LIGHT CONTROLLED IN POST.

This sequence is set on a small rotating moon, where light from the sun is constantly moving through the sky.

Our PlateLight technology enables a scene to be re-lit after its shot, using any of the lighting setups captured during filming. So we installed lighting set-ups for various positions of the sun, then in edit and post, the desired position of the sun can be chosen and used. We are also able to blend through these lighting set-ups to create moving light.

The outcome is full control over the angle and position of lighting as well as the speed and direction of this moving light. So every shot can have just the right lighting as required for our story, continuity and look — without having to worry about such things on set. This allowed Taika, the cast and entire crew more creative freedom to create their magic.

THE SHADOW REALM. LIGHTING FROM THE SUN

We wanted our controllable, moving light to look like the sun. So we built the largest scale PlateLight installation to date, each angle of incidence delivering illumination from such a distance as to have a hard, parallel beam look, like the sun. We worked with DOP Baz Idoine and VFX supervisor Jake Morrison on a look that was both courageous and controllable.

INTERACTIVE LIGHTING

There’s no shortage of spectacular, light emitting weapons in Love and Thunder. Platelight provided an approach for interactive lighting from these weapons on our characters and scene using in-camera lighting, controlled in post.

Any required angles of lighting are captured during filming, these are then used selectively in post to achieve the desired look. The timing, color, intensity etc. of each lighting set-up can be controlled independently.

The result is real interactive lighting, fully controllable in post, without the need to build complex 3D characters.

MOVING LIGHT IN ZERO GRAVITY

We have developed a visual language of moving light within slow motion footage which has operated as reference for the world of low gravity and moving light.

This visual language was created using DynmicLight which is a filmmaking approach using light sources moving faster than the speed of sound.

More about DynamicLight here

BEHIND THE SCENES

LG Signature + Misty Copeland

We were given the opportunity to create a world of light, music and dance through a series of commercials for LG Signature with the extraordinary Misty Copeland

THE APPROACH

Of the series of commercials we created with LG Signature, this one became our favorite. Inspired by the thin, light illuminating glass plane of the OLED Rollable TV, we see a stage of thin, glass like planes. Misty interacts with and moves through these planes, which can emit, reflect or change light.

Our director Carlo Van de Roer worked with James Whiteside of the ABT and Misty on choreography that leads us through this world of changing light planes and reflection, accompanied by a musical score created for us by Ezinma.

THE SHOOT

This was an enormously fun collaboration, bringing together extraordinary dance, choreography, music, robots and film-making tools like PlateLight and DynamicLight all on one day — it felt like magic.

TECHNOLOGY

PlateLight was used to capture multiple lighting looks for the scene in the same take. We then separated these different in-camera lighting looks using the shapes of the vertical planes.

DynamicLight gave us moving light to carry the energy of movement within moments of slow motion.



THE POST

PlateLight provided a great deal of flexibility for creating the planes of light and for timing of changing, interactive lighting. Because we have the scene recorded under multiple lighting looks we can control the lighting and timing of this lighting after it has been shot, while retaining an in-camera look and feel.

Lexus Aura Experiment

Can the experience of a Lexus change the way you’re feeling? What could that change look like?

THE CONCEPT

Our friends at Team One and Lexus asked how we could depict emotional change visually. So we went on a journey with three individuals as they experienced the Lexus LS 500 to see if we could find out.

We monitored biofeedback from each person before, during and after their experience with our Lexus car using sensors. The data from these sensors was depicted as color and light, so we could visually witness their experience and change — a reference to the methodology of Aura photography.

The data from our sensors dictated the changing lighting and color through our PlateLight technology.

BIOFEEDBACK

The sensors we used to monitor our subjects experience provided us with feedback such as galvanic skin response (GSR), electro-dermal and temperature readings.

PLATELIGHT DRIVEN BY DATA

Our subjects were filmed under multiple lighting looks at the same time, on the same camera.
Data, derived from the sensors they were wearing, dictated which lighting and color was used.
In this way, the light and color depicted the information acquired from the sensors and we visualized their emotional responses.

Dolby

Here and Then. Sand and glass sourced from the construction of a domestic space. Created for the 60 foot wide screen at Dolby Gallery in San Francisco.
Directed by Carlo Van de Roer. Music by Joshua Eustis.

This is a one minute edit from seven minute film.

The action in this film takes place in a fraction of a second. Multiple light sources, moving at several times the speed of sound, are recorded simultaneously — each providing separate footage of the same moment.

THE PROJECT

The 60 foot screen and audio capacity of the Dolby Gallery provided an opportunity to create a powerful experience for viewers, both inside the venue and outside through the glass walls.
All the content in the seven minute film was captured in camera using optical devices like dichroic glass which will change the color of light under different angles of incidence.
By recording these past moments arrested in time and viewing them under changing lighting conditions, this project considers the past as changeable. Our set references the windows and walls of a house, a stage for changing history and identity.

<— Installation on the 60 ft wide screen at Dolby Gallery in San Francisco

TECHNOLOGY

DynamicLight allowed us to move light sources on multiple paths around slow motion moments, activating a world arrested in time through changing, moving light.
Each travelling light source moves at supersonic speed via a lighting array, enabling moving light while the rest of the world is arrested in time.
Filmed on Phantom and Red cameras.

THE RESULT

The final film was exhibited on Dolby HQs 62ft display, with a track composed by Joshua Eustis (Telefon Tel Aviv / Nine Inch Nails) through a 52 channel surround sound Dolby Atmos system — an incredible experience. Rather than attempting to replicate that online here, we rebuilt part of this film as a one minute 16x9 experience, focusing on the moments in the film we came to love the most.

La Mer Genaissance & The Mystery of La Mer

We have worked with La Mer on multiple campaigns, these have been wonderful collaborations — an opportunity to bring to life a fascinating world of science and luxury product, using unique in-camera cinematography.

 

IN-CAMERA APPROACH

We wanted these spots to retain a real life in-camera approach, for the human warmth, for the real world science and for the stunning reality of the products.
To achieve this we employed our PlateLight and DynamicLight technology.

PRODUCT

We filmed these stunning products with PlateLight, which enabled us to film multiple static and moving lights at the same time. This resulted in multiple pieces of footage of the same shot, each piece of footage being of a different lighting set-up.

This means we can light or relight the footage in post, it provides the flexibility and control of CG, but with live action footage, so the result is 100% real. This allows us to light products with absolute precision and control, no compromises. So we can bring products as stunning as La Mer’s Genaissance series into a new light.

All this in one take.

SCIENCE

The story behind La Mer’s products is a history of the natural world meeting science. This is a fascinating visual playground for us, where we get to bring new film-making technology into real world science. Here we discover, reveal and share new glimpses into this world as never seen before.

SAMSUNG SUNRISE GOLD

Samsung was about to release their Galaxy phone in sunrise gold. We released some DynamicLight and PlateLight magic.

THE APPROACH

To launch Samsung’s new Galaxy phone in sunrise gold, we plunged it directly into a golden dawn.
We wanted this to look and feel real, so we created in it in camera, with multiple robots, tanks of liquid gold, our DynamicLight and PlateLight technology and our good friends at PSYOP.

TECHNOLOGY

DynamicLight brought the moving light magic to slow motion moments.

Filming with PlateLight meant we were able to film each of the lights in our product lighting set up as separate pieces of footage. By combining these different lights in post we were able to light and relight the product after it was shot.

THE RESULT

An in camera look and feel, with all the flexibility for controlling lighting in post that would usually come with creating in CG. This approach has been referred to as real life CG