MGZstart @LEDcave: ICVFX demo

Virtual Art Department
2023

The Mediengründerzentrum NRW in co-operation with LEDcave Cologne, a German leader in virtual production stage technology, sought to showcase the capabilities of LED volumes during a demo day for MGZstart stipendiates. The event required immersive, visually diverse environments and assets that would demonstrate the potential of real-time filmmaking and virtual production to established and emerging film makers. The challenge was to create and prepare these assets quickly, ensuring they were optimized for the LED volume and aligned with the technical and creative goals of the demo.

As fellow MGZstart stipendiates and the Virtual Art Department, we provided comprehensive virtual art department services, including concept development, 3D environment design, and asset optimization for LED volumes. We created a selection of digital environments in Unreal Engine 5, with the aim of selecting a scene compatible with available actors, physical sets at the location and costumes.

Having chosen a mountainous setting with traces of industrialisation in collaboration with the participants, we created previs shots to plan camera movements, lighting, and interactions within the virtual environments, supporting a smooth experience during the live demo.

After optimisation and pre-lighting, we delivered high-fidelity, real-time-ready environments tailored for LEDCave’s specific technical setup, maximizing visual impact and performance, and ready for the demo workshop.

We are grateful to LEDcave and MGZ for hosting the event, and for showing emerging film makers around the amazing stage facilities!