NEW YORK CITY - Pier59 (https://pier59studios.com) has completed work on a number of projects that take advantage of the studio’s virtual production space.
Louis Vuitton's La Beauté campaign is a clear example of the versatility offered through virtual production. The Pier59 creative team built four desert worlds from scratch in Unreal Engine in roughly two weeks, then ran them on Stage C against an eight-meter rotating platform with the LED background gen-locked to the turntable's speed. As the practical decor spun, the virtual environments could be moved and rotated independently, which also including a sweeping camera move.
A crane-mounted Molebeam, handled by a three-person team and a dedicated lamp operator, wrapped a moving sun around the hero and cast matched shadows on the talent and wall together. Practical sand was color-matched to the virtual rocks and dunes. Integration of the practical and VP elements were judged on a monitor.
"To shoot the whole campaign in a virtual production studio was the only solution to execute," explains director Damien Krisl.
Another example of the studio's recent virtual production work is a campaign for luxury beauty brand Shiseido featuring Anne Hathaway. The video's effects were shot in-camera in realtime. Cinematic lighting was paired with photoreal LED environments to create the warm glow that surrounds the actress, showing off her perfect skin.
The virtual environment evolved from stock footage references into Unreal Engine, where it was art directed and overseen by the Pier59 team to ensure the blend of real and virtual remained consistent and true to the original creative intent and director’s vision. On stage, the curved LED wall wrapped the talent in light from behind and the sides, while the movable, articulated LED ceiling functioned as a tunable softbox.
“It was nicer on her face,” explains cinematographer Nicola Loir. “I could really change the colors and the speed of light.”