The events were staged in response to the growing appetite for information about virtual production technology
UK - Video technology rental company and technical creative production specialists, 80six, recently hosted a series of virtual production Discovery Days at its new virtual production studio facility in Slough.
The events were staged in response to the growing appetite for information about virtual production technology and techniques, and allowed those in attendance to gain insights into the world of virtual production. Directors of photography, film and TV producers, cinematographers, and representatives of production and post production houses, all took advantage of the opportunity to explore the workflow and real-time technologies required to power both live and on-set productions.
3LR Lighting Ltd, representative for international manufacturers of architectural, film, entertainment and broadcast lighting and control, was an event partner, alongside ROE Visual, Brompton Technology, Cooke Optics and Mo-sys. US manufacturer of LED lighting and control, ETC, represented in the U.K. by 3LR, was present to demonstrate its fos/4 LED fixtures in a working virtual production environment.
Barry Grubb, 3LR business development manager for broadcast, television and film lighting, comments: “It was great to see ETC present the fos/4 range to an audience of directors, DoPs and other key players in the film and broadcast sectors. It’s historically very difficult to gather all the right people in one place at one time, and this event gave us a unique opportunity to meet with, and spend some focused time, talking to key players and decision makers in the industry. It was a chance to show the lights being used within the environment they are intended for, as opposed to a ‘dry’ demo.”
Declan Randall, ETC training programme coordinator for UK and Europe reflects on the success of the event: “We had a selection of fos/4 Panels and Fresnels set up, controlled by our flagship Eos Ti console, within an LED Volume environment. This gave us the opportunity to demonstrate their awesome colour capabilities and incredible output - tested on camera, within an LED backdrop.
“The industry is rapidly adapting the use of LED Volume studios, and we were able to demonstrate that the fixtures are not only bright enough, but that the power of the X8 array, including the deep red emitter, makes a significant difference to the light quality and colour rendering. Everyone in attendance was really impressed. I think people were blown away - they didn’t know that such a precise degree of colour and control was possible with LED - the deep red emitter was seen as a game changer in the way it homogenised with the LED volume. It was a great event, and hopefully the first of many.”
80six commercial director, Dan Hammill comments, “The Discovery Days were incredibly successful and inspiring, with industry-leading manufacturers and suppliers all coming on board to present their latest offerings. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience and we’re already planning more of the same for the new year.”

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