80six commercial puts smaller LED volumes to the test

At this year’s Media and Production Technology Show in London, exhibitors from virtual production and live event company 80six set themselves a challenge.

They wanted to show that you don’t need a Mandalorian-sized LED volume or virtual production stage to shoot in-camera visual effects (ICVFX).

And they set out to prove it was possible by filming a commercial with an 8m x 3.5m LED volume during the show.

Filming the commercial at a trade show would also give visitors an up-close look at how VP studios make shooting ICVFX easier for everyone from filmmakers, cinematographers, directors, and producers to creatives.

The challenge to do something on a small scale was somewhat at odds with the ambition behind the 80six stand at the show. This was to build the largest virtual production stage ever seen at a trade show, to celebrate the re-opening of the company’s VP studios in Slough in Berkshire.

At the MPS show, 80six recreated a scaled version of its 11,743 sq ft (approx. 1,090 sq m) purpose-built VP studio. Its stand brought together technology including Mo-Sys StarTracker, Brompton video processing, disguise, Unreal Engine 5, ROE Black Onyx 2.8mm LED tiles and ETC’s fos/4 lighting range.

To make its test commercial, for a fictional Intergalactic drinks brand, the company worked with award-winning creative director Nick Jones and DOP Dave Tree.

Did they succeed in proving that commercials can be shot with a smaller LED volume in an atypical location, with limited time and budget?

You can judge for yourself in videos from the show.

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