[I’ve pieced together parts of recent stories from different sources to tell the story of how Samsung’s latest huge, modular television will be used as the foundation of a new virtual production studio in Korea (I join the author of the last excerpt in disappointment that “for those of us still hoping to one day live in a home with virtual walls that can change their decor at-will, pricing for The Wall still puts it well out of reach for most domestic installations.”). For more information see the link in this sentence from the Engadget story: “virtual production is expected to become the norm in filmmaking within five years, according to an industry report by the Göteborg Film Festival“ and the TV Technology story “SMPTE Outlines New Virtual Production Initiative.” –Matthew]
[Image: Source: Engadget. Credit: Samsung]
[From New Atlas]
Korea gets its first Mandalorian-style virtual film set
By Loz Blain
July 26, 2021
Virtual set filmmaking has proven itself incredibly practical and flexible in a very short time, with Disney’s The Mandalorian pioneering the technology in the streaming equivalent of prime time. To briefly recap, the show is shot on a large, flat sound stage surrounded by enormous video screens that wrap around the physical set, including the roof. These video screens show moving background images designed in a high-res video game engine, using extraordinary technology that responds to camera movements and lens settings.
The result: an unprecedented ability to simulate an incredibly broad range of location shots without ever leaving a single warehouse-sized studio. It’s a revolution in cinematic lighting, because the virtual environment is the lighting, and it works beautifully with reflective surfaces. It also gives directors the godlike ability to literally move mountains, or change the time of day to get a better frame. And the ability to create alien planets or fantasy landscapes is nearly boundless.
The final product looks amazing, it’s vastly cheaper than flying cast and crew around the world, and in times of plague, it makes it much easier to ensure your team stays safe at work. It can’t do 3D, so it’s not much chop in the blockbuster movie world, but streaming services are where it’s at today anyway, and it’s perfect for that.
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[From Engadget]
Samsung’s ‘The Wall’ will be used to form a virtual movie studio
By S. Shah
July 26th, 2021
The emergence of virtual productions like those popularized by Disney’s The Mandalorian have given display giants a new niche for their massive screens. Sony, which boasts a movie production arm, is already using its modular crystal LEDs to provide backgrounds for shoots. Now, Samsung is getting in on the act through a new partnership with major Korean movie and TV show producer CJ ENM.
The pact will see Samsung provide its massive MicroLED TVs, known as The Wall, to the studio’s virtual production facility when it opens in Paju, Gyeonggi Province later this year. CJ ENM previously struck a deal with Fortnite maker Epic Games to use its Unreal Engine game engine — which also provided the digital backdrops for The Mandalorian — for future projects.
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[From New Atlas; see the original for more details about the 2021 model of The Wall]
Samsung gets down to business with 1,000-inch The Wall display
By Paul Ridden
July 19, 2021
Samsung started scaling The Wall back in 2018, with a modular 146-inch display outing at CES. A few larger models followed, and then home owners with a big enough space were given the opportunity to install a 292-inch, 8K Micro LED flavor in mid-2019. Now the company is getting down to business for the 2021 model, which shapes up as a monstrous 1,000-inch version aimed at commercial applications.
“Samsung is dedicated to creating the most innovative displays for those at the forefront of video creation and brand experiences,” said Hyesung Ha, Samsung’s Senior VP of Visual Display Business. “The 2021 The Wall is our most immersive and versatile display yet, giving businesses complete control to create their dream environments.”
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[From Slashgear]
Samsung’s vast The Wall TV lines this virtual studio and I want to live in it
By Chris Davies
July 26, 2021
Samsung’s The Wall may be impressive in a “huge TV” way, but the display-maker is taking things to a whole new level by using a vast, seamless screen as the backdrop to a new TV and movie studio. The Wall relies on modular Micro LED panels, which can be slotted together to make much bigger screens, or – as in the new CJ ENM virtual studio – an impressively curved one.
So far, we’ve seen The Wall tapped for digital billboards in malls and airports, but this new media partnership will take the tech to another level. Being built in Paju, Korea and expected to open later this year, it’ll consist of an oval screen with a diameter of more than 65 feet, and standing 23 feet or more tall.
The result will be “a seemingly endless backdrop to capture content,” Samsung explains. Rather than using green screen or other compositing techniques, which involve time consuming post-processing to add in virtual scenery, this new studio based on The Wall will be able to add high-resolution backgrounds during primary filming.
“This virtual production studio will use LED displays and connected cameras to create virtual settings in real-time,” Samsung says. “This solution will save time and reduce image compositing and on-location production costs while helping filmmakers to see the camera on the live-action set in any direction.”
It’s a segment Samsung clearly sees as perfectly matched for The Wall’s fairly unique talents. For a start, the screen technology is super-flexible. Display panels can be curved or flat, mounted on the ceiling, or effectively lining a room for nearly full immersion. Announced earlier this month, the 2021 The Wall improves on contrast ratios and broadens viewing angles, for deeper blacks and a wider sweet-spot for viewers.
There’s also HDR10+ and cinema LED quality, and the ability to optimize the frame rates to what production houses require. For 2021, for example, Samsung added support for 23.976, 29.97, and 59.94Hz, and there’s also a new Frame Rate Sync system. Samsung says that its new molding process also helps cut down on moiré pattering, which can be an issue when trying to film other LED screens, and there’s color adjustment and remote management too.
In all, The Wall can be constructed into displays measuring over 1,000 inches, and – depending on layout – 16K resolution. CJ ENM, which produced Parasite and more, expects to open the new studio later this year. Sadly for those of us still hoping to one day live in a home with virtual walls that can change their decor at-will, pricing for The Wall still puts it well out of reach for most domestic installations.