The Mandalorian technology could do more than just make TV shows cheaper. 

Hollywood is in a rough place right now. Hell, the entire world is in a rough place right now. Businesses are still restricted to social distancing rules, making it hard to shoot TV shows and movies. But you can bet everyone is doing their best to adapt to the abnormal circumstances. While things do seem to be getting better, it’ll still be some time before work will continue like normal. 

But we live in a special age. Literally just last year, we had a show comprised almost entirely of digitally-created backgrounds. And we’re not just talking about green screen. The Mandalorian utilized StageCraft technology, which projected digital backgrounds onto sets, so that actors could immerse themselves into the worlds. Speaking with THR, Industrial Light & Magic head Rob Bredow discussed the evolution of the technology.

“We’re fortunate to get to partner with Jon Favreau on The Mandalorian. He had a huge vision of how to take some of his experience in virtual production on films like The Lion King and use that in live action. … We’d been building up those tools incrementally over the years, but The Mandalorian was really the combination of everything coming together,” Bredow said. “We’re very excited to actually have a [virtual production services] offering [dubbed StageCraft] that we’re not only using on The Mandalorian but now making available for other shows in the industry.”

RELATED – Boba Fett Joins The Mandalorian, Played By Familiar Face: Why This Is Not The Way

And speaking of opening the technology up for other shows…is there any chance this could help the industry get back on its feet? 

“We think tools like StageCraft will be an important part of us being able to get back to work sooner,” Bredow said. “We can digitally build a big percentage of sets and can be doing that while we’re in this work-from-home situation [so that] the first day we can safely return to shooting, we’ll be able to pick up as quickly as possible. We’re continuing to collaborate with art departments for upcoming shows and with production designers and directors of photography to build their digital environments. The first couple of weeks, we were making sure everybody was 100 percent productive. Now we’re in this phase of, ‘What does it look like to get back up and running and shooting these films, and how few people can we have on set to keep everyone safe?’”

This would have been explored over the course of the next year or two, pandemic or no. But with the coronavirus taking off, there’s been no better time to experiment with creating big-budget content remotely. While it is inevitable that some crew will be needed in order to make this happen, you can’t underestimate the power of innovation.

The fact that The Mandalorian looks as good as it does is pretty darn impressive. So you never know. But what do you think of the Mandalorian technology being used during the pandemic? Do you see it being used effectively in the months to come? Let us know your thoughts down below!

Continue the LRM Online conversation on Discord by CLICKING HERE!

—–

Have you checked out LRM Online’s official podcast feed yet The LRM Online Podcast Network? This includes our flagship podcast Los Fanboys, our premiere podcast Breaking Geek Radio: The Podcast, GeekScholars Movie News, and our morning show LRMornings. Check it out by listening below. It’s also available on all your favorite podcast apps!

Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts |  Spotify  |  SoundCloud | Stitcher | Google Play

SOURCE: THR