American Cinematographer - March 2021 - 40

ACCELERATED EVOLUTION

Arri, Inc. Integrates Advances

By Noah Kadner
As a leading manufacturer of camera, lenses and lighting equipment,
Arri has long had a vested interest in virtual production. Greig Fraser,
ASC, ACS; Barry " Baz " Idoine; Matthew Jensen, ASC; and David Klein,
ASC have used Alexa LF cameras on the trailblazing Disney Plus production The Mandalorian (AC Feb. '20) to capture in-camera visual-effects
scenery on LED-wall volumes. Arri lighting offers remote-control capabilities via DMX and wireless protocols, which can be synchronized to
virtual sets and remotely operated. Recently, Arri installed LED-volume
stages at its facilities in Burbank, Calif.; Germany; and the U.K. to assist
with R&D efforts.
" We see advantages in this transformation of the creative process
because it incorporates our cameras and lights into an integrated solution, " says Glenn Kennel, president and CEO of Arri, Inc., and an ASC
associate. " We're always tracking early adopters, and we have supported
ILM with the setup and operation of The Mandalorian, but Covid really
amplified interest in virtual production. "

ASC associate Stephan Ukas-Bradley, vice president of strategic business development and technical marketing for Arri, Inc., adds, " The
stage in Burbank has a 25-foot curved LED wall with two 8-foot sidewalls and is 15 feet tall. The screens are all on risers with casters, so we
can move them around and be flexible. The stage is not intended as a
commercial-use facility, but rather to engage with creatives to demonstrate the power of this way of working. With the stages in Europe, we
can compare notes with productions in different regions to see where
the bottlenecks are and hopefully address them to make everything easier, more cost-effective, and better to work with. "
Arri has also worked to raise awareness of its products' remote capabilities, which facilitate smaller, dispersed crews. Kennel explains that
once equipment is set up at a location and connected to a secure network, the visual-effects supervisor can direct, load images and control
the camera remotely. Arri's Camera Access Protocol offers developers in
its Partner Program the ability to control many aspects of Arri cameras
via an internet connection or over a bonded cellular network. " We also
have to ensure that the proper security is provided before remote workflows can be fully enabled in this environment, " Kennel says. " Content
producers and studios are rightfully very concerned about the security
of their images. "

Lux Machina's Insights and Improvements

By Noah Kadner
Consulting company Lux Machina specializes in virtual production and
has provided LED screens and the infrastructure (stage and crew supervision and operation) to drive real-time visual effects through them for
live broadcasts including the Academy and Emmy Awards; features such
as Oblivion, Rogue One and Solo; and series like The Mandalorian.
" We've done three or four full-production LED-wall shoots during
Covid to great success, " says co-CEO Philip Galler. " One of the new

LEFT: TOP PHOTO COURTESY OF XD MOTION. BOTTOM PHOTO COURTESY OF MELS STUDIOS AND
POST-PRODUCTION. RIGHT: IMAGE COURTESY OF DIMENSION STUDIOS / DNEG.

Above: XD Motion's Arcam robotic cameras are mounted on " cobots "
(collaborative robots). Left: A virtual-production session at a Mels
Studios and Post-Production facility. Opposite: On the set of the shortform production Gunslinger, a Dimension Studios/DNEG collaboration.

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American Cinematographer - March 2021

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