Inside Look: The Virtual Reality Production Process for the Oscar-Nominated Film 'Poor Things'

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In the heart of Budapest, Hungary, at Origo Studios, a groundbreaking virtual production stage was constructed for the film Poor Things, starring Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, and Mark Ruffalo. The stage, a collaboration between ICT AG and HALOSTAGE, spanned more than 6,400 square feet (600 square meters) and was primarily composed of a 23K (23,040×3840 pixels) INFiLED INTI 2.6mm LED wall, weighed over 21 tons, and boasted 2,400 LED cabinets.

Powering this impressive setup was PIXERA technology. Adrian Weber, the virtual production supervisor and operator for Poor Things, found the software user-friendly and appreciated its swift updates. He had to learn PIXERA quickly due to operators getting COVID during the shoot, and he has since used it "tons of times" on other projects.

The background content for Poor Things was intricately designed, consisting of multiple computer-generated and composited pre-rendered video layers. To render this content, four custom-built, PIXERA ONE media servers were employed, each handling one of the background's four sections. The virtual production stage was also home to over 1,500 amplifiers and 5.5km of cabling.

The virtual production stage was built around a physical set representing a steamship. The remainder of the film was shot on traditional sets, as confirmed by Weber. AV Stumpfl provided significant support to the production, with Benni Müller, Olli Kilian, and the team being constantly available.

Weber concluded that both the software and service provided by PIXERA made a significant difference in the production of Poor Things. Production on the film wrapped up at the end of 2021, with the virtual production shoot having taken under four weeks to complete."