Jean says: “Balance is a film that follows BEN, an aspiring astronaut in his 30s based on the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, looking to finish the final stage in his astronaut training camp. Our protagonist is trying to follow in his father’s footsteps to eventually become a prominent figure in the astrophysics realm.”
Jean will use virtual production (VP) to create the visuals for his film meaning that he can create an authentic, desert landscape from the film and TV studios at Stockwell Street.
He says: “VP can be used to transport us to either fantastical or photorealistic worlds, helping creatives manipulate the environment to meet their requirements. No longer are we restricted to the constraints of a physical location. Virtual production will be used in my film to recreate an environment that otherwise wouldn't be easily accessible for myself and for my crew, the Utah desert.”
VP is an emerging technology that is creating a new way to make films, allowing environments to be designed and created without the need to travel to locations. This has led to a skills-gap that the film and TV industry is looking to fill with people trained in VP techniques.
Senior Lecturer in Film and TV Production, Dr Jodi Nelson-Tabor, says: "Having the opportunity to collaborate with and bridge the latest industry practice with student’s research in Virtual Production development has afforded the University of Greenwich Film and TV students a hands-on, practice-led approach within an 8-week workshop. Our partnership with Final Pixel, a global creative studio specialising in end-to-end Virtual Production for Film, TV and Advertising has given the students an opportunity to experience Virtual Production techniques and workflows.
"These job-ready skills and competencies will give students the confidence and awareness of VP creative and technical roles across all specialisms in our aim to help solve the skills gaps in production where a crisis continues to grow to meet UK film and television production needs."
For Jean, it was the ability to take his film to new environments regardless of time and budget that made using VP so advantageous,
"VP allowed me to place my story at a different time and in a different location that usually isn't that accessible, or at least not with a student film budget. I wanted to take my story a bit further, outside the restrictions imposed by the locations budget and outside of contemporary production design.
"VP is a wonderful tool and I do encourage everyone to have a go at it, even if it may be intimidating at first, the rewards will take your production to the next level, furthermore, it's a technology that's just getting off the ground, there's something exciting about this aspect as well."
