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Virtual production to most millennials and even Gen Y's is so common now that it's expected in today's biggest movies, and Marvel Studios is reaping the benefits of this technique. Avatar, Lord of the Rings, and War for the Planet of the Apes are just some of the many leading films that have used green screens, motion capture, "previs" and other forms of virtual production to create beautiful imagery that look like it could exist in real life.
While seemingly live-action, the Lion King uses Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI), which combines real images of African wildlife to form an animated life-like animal. Creatures are animated to match their voice actors' dialogues and set in a 3-D Virtual Reality video game. Animators are able to interpret facial expressions and body language exuded by voice actors during the recording phase and illustrate them onto lions and hyenas. I guess an example would be if Beyoncé were mad, her Nala counterpart would show its teeth and indicate she's about to pounce on you.
One of the greatest things about virtual production tools is during the actual film production process. Imagine a Virtual Reality headset like an Oculus over your eyes and an Xbox controller in your hand. You're standing on Pride Rock, and you can not only walk around, you can also position yourself and your camera anywhere in the setting as the scene plays. That means you can fly up 200 feet into the air and get a bird's eye shot of Simba being held up by Rafiki.
That is how Favreau's team filmed The Lion King, and it's how he was able to pick out the best angles and camera movements in a virtual world to make it just the way he wanted it.
According to Lion King Director of Photography Caleb Deschanel, a 74 year old cinematography vet and father of Zooey "New Girl" Deschanel,
The result? Here's a frequently passed around still of Mufasa and Simba. Check out the detail on that hairy mane and the soft eyes of a real-looking lion. Beauty. I just can't wait to watch 2.5 hours of that in motion.
Unreal Engine is an example of a game engine used for movies and one of the top Google searches for the wider trend of #virtualproduction and #visualdisruption. It's with these tools that filmmakers are able to create scenes out of nothing and film virtual worlds as if they were actually there. Check out their website for stuff like Thruview, a set of tools that lets Stargate Studios (creators of The Walking Dead and CSI) the ability to shoot in real time WITH CG effects. That means an entire scene shot on camera can be immediately played back to you with all the lighting, virtual backgrounds, and colors already there. Post Production done!
What people are saying:
"While it can take pride in its visual achievements, The Lion King is a by-the-numbers retelling that lacks the energy and heart that made the original so beloved--though for some fans that may just be enough."
~ Rotten Tomatoes Critics Review
"The same old story in spiffy new pictures."
~ The Hollywood Reporter Opinion
"2019’s Lion King is a marvel of photorealism from the first frame, nearly indistinguishable from the real."
~ Entertainment Weekly Opinion
The Consensus:
By most accounts from recent critiques, the above reviews represent the overall opinion that Lion King (2019) gives a lackluster retelling of a Disney classic but deserves major brownie points for its cinematography.
The Tech:
A quick glance at the trailer's National Geographic imagery had me giddy. A Disney-animated film, my vote for the greatest of all time, has been brought to life using millennial technology, labeled in the industry as "Virtual Production" – a broad term to describe combining the real world with the virtual world.
Virtual production to most millennials and even Gen Y's is so common now that it's expected in today's biggest movies, and Marvel Studios is reaping the benefits of this technique. Avatar, Lord of the Rings, and War for the Planet of the Apes are just some of the many leading films that have used green screens, motion capture, "previs" and other forms of virtual production to create beautiful imagery that look like it could exist in real life.
While seemingly live-action, the Lion King uses Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI), which combines real images of African wildlife to form an animated life-like animal. Creatures are animated to match their voice actors' dialogues and set in a 3-D Virtual Reality video game. Animators are able to interpret facial expressions and body language exuded by voice actors during the recording phase and illustrate them onto lions and hyenas. I guess an example would be if Beyoncé were mad, her Nala counterpart would show its teeth and indicate she's about to pounce on you.
One of the greatest things about virtual production tools is during the actual film production process. Imagine a Virtual Reality headset like an Oculus over your eyes and an Xbox controller in your hand. You're standing on Pride Rock, and you can not only walk around, you can also position yourself and your camera anywhere in the setting as the scene plays. That means you can fly up 200 feet into the air and get a bird's eye shot of Simba being held up by Rafiki.
That is how Favreau's team filmed The Lion King, and it's how he was able to pick out the best angles and camera movements in a virtual world to make it just the way he wanted it.
According to Lion King Director of Photography Caleb Deschanel, a 74 year old cinematography vet and father of Zooey "New Girl" Deschanel,
“Virtual reality is more a tool than the end result. You have to live in it, in a weird way, and feel what it’s like to be at Pride Rock in order to decide what you want to do and where you want to do it. But other than that, you really are doing exactly what you do when you make a movie.”
Details for Nerds
This Foundry.com post does a good job explaining virtual production workflows in a simple manner. One example is Previs where filmmakers can pre-visualize their film through game engine animation, an enhanced type of storyboarding if you will.Unreal Engine is an example of a game engine used for movies and one of the top Google searches for the wider trend of #virtualproduction and #visualdisruption. It's with these tools that filmmakers are able to create scenes out of nothing and film virtual worlds as if they were actually there. Check out their website for stuff like Thruview, a set of tools that lets Stargate Studios (creators of The Walking Dead and CSI) the ability to shoot in real time WITH CG effects. That means an entire scene shot on camera can be immediately played back to you with all the lighting, virtual backgrounds, and colors already there. Post Production done!
For more details on virtual production and Disney's live-action Lion King, read Entertainment Weekly's EXCLUSIVE with Favreau and Deschanel while on set. Great details in that article.
VR brands that assisted with this movie included Magnopus, Vive, Oculus, and Unity.
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