You might recognize the Fuzzy Door label from ‘Family Guy’ or ‘The Orville’, both Seth MacFarlane-helmed TV series. But in April 2023, a tech branch of the production company was formed to seemingly work on this new technology, called ‘ViewScreen’. Let’s see what it can do! Virtual Production seems like a relatively new term in the filmmaking industry. However, blending real and non-real elements in the same frame is something filmmakers have been doing since the very beginning. While calling it a “new” branch of visual effects is definitively wrong, it has undoubtedly seen a Renaissance over the last few years. Older techniques, such as rear projection, have been made new again with the advent of Stagecraft Technology. And now Seth MacFarlane, who is best known as the creator and star of the TV show “Family Guy”, enters the ring with a helpful tool, that carries a rather Roddenberry-esque name: “ViewScreen”. What is ViewScreen? ViewScreen uses augmented reality (AR) to display VFX components within a composed shot. Put very simply, ViewScreen allows to you see real and non-real elements in the same frame. You can photograph an actor in a room, but on your monitor, you would see your actor standing next to a CG character that is controlled by a separate device. This technology was put to the test while filming the new “Ted” TV series, where MacFarlane was able to “direct and animate Ted’s face and body movements during the filming of the Ted TV series (airing on...
Published By: CineD - Friday, 29 December, 2023