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
