ReadySet Studios provides virtual production and ICVFX for Netherlands’ Eurovision entry
The set included a central ‘portal’ with doors to ‘connect’ the multiple virtual scenes the artists walk in and out of from one location to another
Amsterdam-based ReadySet Studios has provided virtual production (VP) and in-camera VFX (ICVFX) services for Mia Nicolai and Dion Cooper’s Burning Daylight music video, the official entry representing the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.
The song has already qualified for the Grand Final on Saturday.
For its official video, ReadySet Studios built physical sets of various locations, including a restaurant, multiple versions of a living room with action taking place at different times of day, and a nightclub scene with a small stage where the artists perform with virtual sets of a nightclub setting.
“As the first full-service VP/ICVFX studio in the Netherlands, we were excited to collaborate with Bruut Amsterdam and showcase the benefits of virtual production and the versatility that our studio can offer in creatively capturing our national music talent for one of the most highly anticipated televised events in the world,” said Idse Grotenhuis, ReadySet Studios’ managing director.
“The Burning Daylight storyline takes place in a variety of locations that, if using traditional production techniques, would have required the crew to travel to multiple locations,” added Grotenhuis. “Filming on the LED volume allowed our virtual art department to quickly change story locations while credibly showcasing ReadySet Studios’ agile storytelling approach and real-time, sustainable production solutions.”
“Working with the ReadySet Studios team, I could modify content quickly and easily, exactly to my liking,” said the video’s director Gregory Samson. “We could never have shot the video within budget to achieve the desired look if we had built all this as a set. Without having to rush or travel gave me much more time to work with my actors and crew to create something beautiful.”
The set included a central ‘portal’ with doors to ‘connect’ the multiple virtual scenes the artists walk in and out of from one location to another.
“The physical set served as an anchor to the virtual scenes to mirror the turbulent situation between the two main characters allowing them to cross borders between day and night,” explained Florian Legters, ReadySet Studios co-founder and chief production designer. “It also provided a space to convincingly show places that could never be close to each other or prove impractical in real-life single shots.”
Planet X’s Robert Okker, head of virtual production/VFX supervisor, was responsible for the design and execution of the Burning Daylight virtual sets and overseeing the technical aspects during the shoot.
“Shooting on the LED volume offers versatility to capture multiple angles for final pixel in all directions,” said Okker. “We utilised Unreal Engine and Stype RedSpy 3 for real-time camera tracking to create Burning Daylight virtual set elements optimized with predetermined interactive lighting and colour schemes. Although combining the photorealistic requirement while preserving real-time performance is always a challenge, the VP/ICVFX workflow allowed us to respond credibly to feedback from the director, DoP, and other creative stakeholders throughout production and even offer last-minute tweaks and adjustments.
“Collaborations between the gaffer and on-set Unreal artists further ensured accurate blending between real foregrounds and virtual backgrounds,” he added.
