Everything is fake.
January 1, 2010 8:50 PM Subscribe
Stargate Studios opened in 1989, and has been doing visual effects for some the most successful tv shows of the past few years such as Heroes, Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy and 24. Green screens allow them to artificially blend and create scenes that you wouldn't expect. Their official website has more on their Virtual Backlot and other Tech Demos.
Yeah, that shocked me too. The entire scenes are pretty much CG.
posted by OrangeSoda at 9:36 PM on January 1, 2010
posted by OrangeSoda at 9:36 PM on January 1, 2010
YATTA!!
posted by blue_beetle at 10:32 PM on January 1, 2010
posted by blue_beetle at 10:32 PM on January 1, 2010
Wow. I would never have known. Especially the Ugly Betty stuff: I always thought they shot on location a lot. I'm having like a whole ontological crisis here.
posted by SoftRain at 10:35 PM on January 1, 2010
posted by SoftRain at 10:35 PM on January 1, 2010
Wow, that's really amazing. I had no idea there was so much green screening in shows like Ugly Betty.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 10:47 PM on January 1, 2010
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 10:47 PM on January 1, 2010
They have way more examples of the Virtual Backlot than I would have expected. They have a whole archive of the different cities/locations you can choose from. Pretty cool company!
posted by azarbayejani at 11:22 PM on January 1, 2010
posted by azarbayejani at 11:22 PM on January 1, 2010
This comment was filmed in front of a green screen.
posted by device55 at 12:40 AM on January 2, 2010
posted by device55 at 12:40 AM on January 2, 2010
Does anyone know which compositing s/w is used typically in these high-end productions? I'm guessing it's not Keylight/AE.
posted by Gyan at 2:56 AM on January 2, 2010
posted by Gyan at 2:56 AM on January 2, 2010
Gyan: Not sure in this specific case, but Nuke is very widely used lately, especially after Apple left Shake to rot. I think Fusion is reasonably popular too, and older standbys like Flame/Inferno are still used a lot, although from what I'm seeing, they're more popular in the commercial/"client looking over your shoulder" space now.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 4:30 AM on January 2, 2010
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 4:30 AM on January 2, 2010
When actors dream, do they just see endless expanses of green? Also, as XQUZYPHYR implies, this is bad news for cities like New York that typically receive millions of dollars a year in fees for location shooting.
posted by gwint at 5:44 AM on January 2, 2010
posted by gwint at 5:44 AM on January 2, 2010
this is bad news for cities like Vancouver, Canada that typically receive millions of dollars a year in fees for location shooting.
FTFY
posted by schwa at 6:09 AM on January 2, 2010
FTFY
posted by schwa at 6:09 AM on January 2, 2010
Marvelous. While greening the Capitol or Times Square makes tons of sense from a production standpoint.. but Ugly Betty? Has what, four locations? Five? I guess I'm not familiar enough with the show but how cheap can this possibly be to warrant use when you don't have large crowds/locations to lock down?
Impressive...
posted by cavalier at 6:51 AM on January 2, 2010
Impressive...
posted by cavalier at 6:51 AM on January 2, 2010
this is bad news for cities like Vancouver, Canada that typically receive millions of dollars a year in fees for location shooting.
FTFY
In what way, schwa? Are you unaware that NYC is the site of countless TV & film shots per year?
posted by IAmBroom at 7:21 AM on January 2, 2010
FTFY
In what way, schwa? Are you unaware that NYC is the site of countless TV & film shots per year?
posted by IAmBroom at 7:21 AM on January 2, 2010
I remarked how fake the Paris backdrop of a scene was, only to discover that it really was Paris and the show was made by a French production company.
A tiny bit off-topic, but I remember on the extras from Master & Commander the special effects guys talking about how they'd watched actual archival footage of sailing ships at sea to see what it should look like--and the archival footage looked really fake. So they had to figure out how to make it fake in a way that would look real on film. I found that interesting.
posted by not that girl at 7:25 AM on January 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
A tiny bit off-topic, but I remember on the extras from Master & Commander the special effects guys talking about how they'd watched actual archival footage of sailing ships at sea to see what it should look like--and the archival footage looked really fake. So they had to figure out how to make it fake in a way that would look real on film. I found that interesting.
posted by not that girl at 7:25 AM on January 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
this is bad news for cities like Vancouver, Canada that typically receive millions of dollars a year in fees for location shooting.
Interestingly, their website notes that they also have a Vancouver studio.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:28 AM on January 2, 2010
Interestingly, their website notes that they also have a Vancouver studio.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:28 AM on January 2, 2010
This NYT article from 2003 claims $227 million from location fees in 2001. I'm not having luck finding the equivalent for Vancouver, but it's clear a lot of filming goes on there.
posted by gwint at 7:34 AM on January 2, 2010
posted by gwint at 7:34 AM on January 2, 2010
Samantha Tapping (a Stargate SG-1 alum) produced a show for the web that got picked up by Sci-Fi called Sanctuary. Part of the whole sell pitch was that using this type of technology was much cheaper than shooting on locations and building sets. The tv produced stuff can be pretty interesting.
I hadn't before this video, like everyone else, realized how widespread the use of green screens were. And they did work on the 1996 Olympics...wha?
As for Bones, it can be painful to watch (as much as I enjoy the show) to see landscape that is blatantly southern California and not Virginia.
posted by Atreides at 7:43 AM on January 2, 2010
I hadn't before this video, like everyone else, realized how widespread the use of green screens were. And they did work on the 1996 Olympics...wha?
As for Bones, it can be painful to watch (as much as I enjoy the show) to see landscape that is blatantly southern California and not Virginia.
posted by Atreides at 7:43 AM on January 2, 2010
Yeah, we're going to be seeing more of this Virtual Backlot technology because it is so much cheaper than hauling a crew to a new location all the time... and also the conditions can always be controlled(No bad weather).
posted by OrangeSoda at 7:52 AM on January 2, 2010
posted by OrangeSoda at 7:52 AM on January 2, 2010
this is bad news for cities like Vancouver, Canada that typically receive millions of dollars a year in fees for location shooting.
Vancouver needs to develop more original, sustainable industries that do not rely on the whims of currency markets and executives residing thousands of miles away.
posted by KokuRyu at 8:40 AM on January 2, 2010
Vancouver needs to develop more original, sustainable industries that do not rely on the whims of currency markets and executives residing thousands of miles away.
posted by KokuRyu at 8:40 AM on January 2, 2010
It looks like photosynth, in the demo reel, when they pull in all the various elements that make up the scene... many hate cgi, but this type of technology will bring the ability to be Anywhere... to the basement indie films of tomorrow. Some then will say... bah who needs that... just write a good story already...
So, ok, now we have written a great story, now we need to be able to pretend to be in paris (with a shoestring, and briefcase full of hope. And a bucket of weird stories that hollywood traditionalists wouldn't touch with a 10 foot boom pole...)... cgi tech; takes people ten more steps towards this ability being affordable reality.
posted by infinite intimation at 11:28 AM on January 2, 2010
So, ok, now we have written a great story, now we need to be able to pretend to be in paris (with a shoestring, and briefcase full of hope. And a bucket of weird stories that hollywood traditionalists wouldn't touch with a 10 foot boom pole...)... cgi tech; takes people ten more steps towards this ability being affordable reality.
posted by infinite intimation at 11:28 AM on January 2, 2010
There is a reason it is a revenue source for cities to be used in location shooting... but not everything that benefits a city, or country is beneficial to some artist with a good story and motivation to create that vision; hollywood of tommorrow can be a basement, and this reel was awesome to me, as I have long thought that the true value for cgi was not in making a billion dollar movie event sci fi scectacular summer blockbuster... but in using it to make simple dramas, subtle additions and artistic alterations (getting a great sunset, rather than sitting around with your production crew waiting for that perfect lighting... just write it well; cast it well, and just shoot it. Alter as needed.
I don't see cgi mega spectaculars being the major benefactors from this type of tech, it will be the places where it is used and no one even notices that is where cgi takes wing.
posted by infinite intimation at 11:37 AM on January 2, 2010
I don't see cgi mega spectaculars being the major benefactors from this type of tech, it will be the places where it is used and no one even notices that is where cgi takes wing.
posted by infinite intimation at 11:37 AM on January 2, 2010
Besides, Stargate Studios already has a Vancouver location
posted by KokuRyu at 4:40 PM on January 2, 2010
posted by KokuRyu at 4:40 PM on January 2, 2010
Amanda Tapping, the SG1 character was Samantha Carter.
posted by MikeKD at 9:37 PM on January 2, 2010
posted by MikeKD at 9:37 PM on January 2, 2010
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posted by msbutah at 9:26 PM on January 1, 2010