FAQ 

 Unreal Engine 

Unreal Engine is one of the most powerful 3D game engines available.  It offers the ability to create photo realistic immersive 360 environments with dynamic lighting, volumetrics and particle effects such as rain, snow, water, fire and more.   Used in conjunction with our Stype Red Spy optical camera tracking system, we're able to sync the real-world camera with a digital camera in the UE environment to create a seamless integration of camera movement that accurately blends the virtual world on the LED wall with your actors and physical set.    It has been used is such high-profile projects as Disney Lucas Films' The Mandalorian.  

Use when:

• You need a custom-built environment that you can't find anywhere else

• You are not shooting with a locked camera

• You want the ability to make on the fly changes to a scene such as time of day, object positions, camera angles, lighting or volumetrics.  

Driving Plates

Driving Plates refers to a video captured from the perspective of an occupant inside a moving vehicle.  These videos are used in composited visual effects (VFX) shots or onstage playback. They are positioned outside the windows of a static vehicle to create the illusion of movement during scenes involving driving or travel. These plates can come as a single file showing the front, rear, side or top view of a moving vehicle or as a set of files that covers all views from the vehicle. 

Use when:

• You need to film interior shots from a vehicle that give the illusion that the vehicle is driving or otherwise in motion.

• You need to capture the lighting and or reflections of a moving scene on the windshield or body of a vehicle

• You need to film close up exterior shots of a vehicle that give the illusion that the vehicle is driving or otherwise in motion

Stock Video

Stock Video can include video files of real-world places or prerendered CGI, animation and abstract backgrounds created in a graphics program.  Playback is typically through Resolume Arena or Resolve and can be played either on a loop or once through.

Use when:

• You are shooting with a locked camera but still need a moving background such as blowing trees, clouds, people walking etc. 

• You need a VJ set up or similar backdrop that does not require real world parallax for camera movements

• You do not require real time changes to the scene such as time of day, lighting, perspective, object placement and volumetrics
  
  

Stock Images

Stock Images can include photos or scans, a single frame of a video or animation, or any rendered image created in a software program or app.

Use when:

• Background motion is not an important element for your shot

• You're shooting with a locked off camera

• You're not shooting with a locked off camera, but the camera's movement does not need to sync with the background environment

• You do not require real time changes to the image such as lighting, perspective, or object placement

Resolution (Pixels / Bits) : 7600 x 2000 /  10 Bit

Size: 64.5 / ft (total length)  / 40.5 ft (diameter) / 14.5 ft (height) / 20.5  (center curve depth)

Curve: 5 Degrees

Pixel Pitch (mm): 2.5

Refresh Rate: 3840

For a more in-depth look at our wall specifications please download our Wall Specifications Guide

Yes! 

These are our general guidelines for how we accept media for the XR stage. Any tech discussions with the XR team will supersede the guidelines below. We understand that each project has different requirements and we’re happy to discuss them with you!

For a downloadable version of our Deliverables Cheat Sheet Please click here.

LED BOOKINGS

Preferred Media Resolution:

• We recommend 4K UHD 3840 x 2160 for virtual background content that fills the screen top to bottom.

• Logos and smaller images can be lower resolution, depending on intended screen size.

• When in doubt, higher resolution is preferred so images can be enlarged without visual quality loss.

• Use our XR stage pixel maps attached separately.

Preferred Media Codecs

- Apple ProRes 422 for video content

- Apple ProRes 4444- option for videos with fine color gradients like a full screen blue sky or

fluid CG designs. This reduces possible color banding. This option should be talked about with

the XR Team in planning.

- PNGs or JPEGs for still images

- Formats like EXR, TIF, image sequences, and other HQ formats are accepted with notice from the XR team.

Preferred File Framerates

- Framerate of media would be the same as the rate you plan to film at I.E. (If your filming at

23.98 then media will be 23.98)

- If you Plan a Unique effect like running playback at Double speed so you can Create Slow

Motion effect Bring that up in advance there are ways to do that.

XR BOOKINGS

Unreal Engine Projects

• UE projects must be version 5.3, 5.1, or 5.0 (preferred Unreal 5.3)

• UE projects must come with the following information:

1. Which level assets to display

2. Any third-party plugins required for the project to open and run

3. Use our optimization guide to streamline getting your project on our stage.

WHEN

We highly recommend sending media to the XR team as early as possible to maximize your time on stage. The XR team makes backups and checks client media so all content can be correctly displayed as intended. Sending media early allows the XR team to do this before you step onto the stage. This saves time and can help solve potential issues early in production.

HOW

Sending Files to the XR Team

Use our Wetransfer link to send large files directly to the XR team. We have a pro account with Wetransfer so it is faster and more convenient than Dropbox or Google Drive.

https://thunderstudiosxr.wetransfer.com

Naming and Organizing Files

Please organize your files! It helps us greatly to have media organized according to a shot list or other production schedule.

Naming files is also very important. Please make sure the file names are what you intend to call them on set. 

For example, grassyfield_cloudy_1.mov is a better name than A001_C002.mov or adobestock_123456.mov. 

We recommend attaching media file names to the shot list if possible. Long names are hard to read inside playback software 

For example, Files Named Client_de24_photoshoot_comet_sh613_design_v01.mov would be better named as sh613_design_v01.mov in a folder called de24.

Folders allow organization and easy understanding of where files are coming from.