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Investigation 11/1: Rear Projection

Friday October 30th marked the release of the second season of the hit show The Mandalorian. While there are many things that contribute to how great of a show it is, the one aspect that has peaked my interest the most would have to be it's use of virtual sets. Virtual sets created in real time using the Unreal Engine makes the world of Star Wars come alive on-screen at home and for the actors during filming. While the technology that creates virtual sets is amazing and will likely change the way that all films and shows are made, it is definitely something that smaller productions and individuals won't be able to make use of. Instead, the tool available to all film makers that I will be discussing today is Rear Projection.

Why Use Rear Projection

Rear Projection allows for a cheap and easy way to transform the background of your scenes. The concept of rear projection involves the projection of a pre-recorded video behind your actor. This allows for the actor to act within the scene of the background you are projecting. Rear projection works best for scenes where it would be difficult to time dialogue or acting with action occurring in the background. The most common example of rear projection is within driving scenes as it gives the illusion of a vehicle moving without requiring the actors to have to both drive and act at the same time. While rear projection may seem like a great way to achieve in-camera visual effects, other techniques do have strengths over rear projection such as green screen. Despite this, rear projection still remains a fairly cheap and effortless way to transform your visuals within your film. Embedded below is an example an actor being inserted into a scene using rear projection from 1933's King Kong.

How To Properly Use Rear Projection

Setting up your set for rear projection properly is what determines how good your effect will look. If done improperly, the audience will instantly see the effect as fake, bringing them out of the experience. However, if rear projection is setup properly, it can seen more convincing than techniques like green screen. When setting up your set, it is important to use a white, semi-transparent material to use as your projection screen. It is also important that your screen is setup properly so that it is located where you want within your frame. Next, your lighting needs to be positioned so that it is consistent with the lighting of your projection as to not make the effect look unnatural. Lastly, make changes to your projection and your lighting until the results match what you desire. After this, your rear projection will be complete and hopefully look great.

Work Log

  • 10/26 - Football Practice Recording (No Project Work)
  • 10/27 - Made adjustments to script Football Practice Recording
  • 10/28 - No Project Work
  • 10/29 - Adjusted sequence of some scenes
  • 10/30 - Made adjustments to script and drafted shooting schedule
  • 10/31 - Assembled some costume parts
  • 11/1 - Visited locations to gain a better idea of space and prepared actors for filming
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