The production team on BBC One drama Better worked with video equipment supplier Universal Pixels on filming a tense three-day shoot as part of the series.
Filming on location at Prime Studios in Leeds, the company was tasked with shooting multiple internal car scenes for the crime series.
Instead of using a traditional low loader, the Universal Pixels team built an enclosed box, which was driven by disguise GX2c media servers.
“We were given nine separate plates that were required to be placed back around the LED screen for playback,” said Universal Pictures ICVFX account manager, Dan Edmonds
“disguise video mapping was key to re-stitching a 360 playback of the driving plates. Used in conjunction with custom-made LUTs this really helped us to deliver precise scenes for the Better production.”
Edmonds adds: “The disguise system also helped the UP teams to simplify workflows, and afforded the BBC production team the option to preview selects and ensure they fitted each scene as intended. The flexibility with in-built mapping processes is perfect for what was required on this project.”
Being able to control virtual production techniques was important for the overall production environment, explained Edmonds: “To have continuity was critical to the show’s director and to the filming crew. These details really make for a seamless experience. The BBC production crew had limited exposure to this relatively new kind of video process beforehand, so it was great to see how pleased they were with the speed of the shoot and, ultimately, the realistic results we could offer.”
