1. Shoot Foreign Sets Locally
With StageCraft, the need for a green screen to impose images in post-production is now obsolete. This is the reason why ILM, Jon Favreau, Disney, and Epic Games all backed the technology.
But as George Clooney showcased inThe Midnight Sky, StageCraft also negates the need to change locations while shooting.In modern filmmaking, this has its advantages and disadvantages.
Many like the realism of location shooting, which is something that StageCraft can never truly replicate. But when it comes to alien worlds, spaceships, and fantastical effects, StageCraft represents a new way to create those locations and effects in rich detail.
While certain visual effects can only be done and applied in post-production, StageCraft’s virtual reality function allows producers and directors to carefully inspect their “locations” ahead of time.
Jon Favreau and Robert Rodriguez spoke about the technology’s ability to change entire details in seconds to fit their directorial vision, and shared the virtual sets from two different parts of the US to illustrate.
2. Act and Perform With Real Props
Performing in front of a green screen—which forces you to imagine everything happening according to the director’s words—can be draining for actors. That’s why Ewan McGregor spoke of his fondness for the StageCraft technology ahead of his return as Obi-Wan Kenobi.
McGregor told interviewers that he enjoyed and vastly preferred the filming process on the series than on the original film trilogy because StageCraft allowed him to physically see what he’s doing and what he’s interacting with before his eyes.
This is one of the strengths of StageCraft: it can elicit better performances from actors in relation to the world around them.
The days of green screens and blue screens are now numbered, with ILM building Volumes in Los Angeles, London, and Australia—something most actors will be pleased about since their on-set experiences will be much better with StageCraft’s existence.
3. Reduced Costs of Production
The expenditure involved in taking a crew to remote locations to shoot arduous scenes can be expensive for any studio. For truly artistic movies that span many locations, big budgets have always been required.
With StageCraft, the cost of film production is dramatically reduced.There’s no need anymore to hire huge crews for location scouting, permit acquisitions, accommodation bookings, travel expenditures, etc. It’s all vanquished by the magic of StageCraft.
The technology, in theory, could save vast sums of money that would be better spent on financing smaller pictures, newer filmmakers, and those who have diverse ideas for the film industry.
4. Quicker Production and Post-Production
There are many natural obstacles to filming on location, including threats of weather, timing daylight, and managing interference from locals. It all has an effect on how well a film crew can get through a shoot, and how much they can truly get done in 24 hours.
With StageCraft, more filming can be accomplished in a single day, and more can be done during filming itself rather than offloading it to post-production teams and waiting for them to finish.
No more waiting around for the exact time of day for the exact kind of lighting you need for a specific type of scene—and if you can’t get it all filmed, you have to wait again for that time of day tomorrow.
No more postponements due to rain delays, other inclement weather events, film crews lost in a city, delayed city permits, interruptions by stray locals breaking onto set, etc.
One season of a TV series likeThe Mandalorianwould have taken anywhere fromsix to nine monthsbefore StageCraft, which is about the same amount of time it’d take to shoot aStar Warsmovie.
Now, with the level of production control afforded by StageCraft, development time is cut down to a merefour months. With fully rendered effects in place, the post-production process is much faster as well.
Sped-up production time without sacrificing quality is arguably the biggest draw of StageCraft.
Willevery single productionchoose StageCraft going forward? Of course not. But when the benefits of a new filmmaking technology like this are so great, it’s a no-brainer to expect many big-budget movies and TV series the use StageCraft going forward.
