Daikanyama Metaverse Studio Verification Period Drama “Silent Movement”

In 2024/10, a virtual production verification video was produced at the “Daikanyama Metaverse Studio” operated by Shochiku Co., Ltd. and Kadinche Co., Ltd.
This video is the 3rd verification project, and the purpose is “what kind of images can be produced,” “confirmation of how to use and operate software in video production,” and “other technical verification.”
Also, the video is being released on Youtube.

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Project Overview

As the title of the video “Motion in Stillness” shows, it depicts period drama-style training and duel scenes focusing on “stillness” and the “strength of movement” within it.

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Shooting method

1. In-camera VFX
It is a technology used in film and video production, and it is a method of directly incorporating special effects into images by displaying backgrounds and effects in real time on an LED display and shooting them. Conventional post-production can be greatly simplified by utilizing game engines such as Unreal Engine.
This time, I took pictures using our large LED display with a width of about 7 meters and a height of about 2.6 meters.

2. Green background shooting
It is a method of shooting by placing a green background behind a subject, then making the green part transparent with post-processing and composites it with another background.
In part of the shooting, it was necessary to show the whole body, but there was a problem with the in-camera VFX where the outside of the screen was visible due to only one LED display owned by our company.
In order to solve this problem, green background photography was adopted, and it became possible to produce full-body images.
However, there is a phenomenon where the metal part of the props reflects the green background, and they disappear together during chroma key synthesis, and the lighting is only white light from the ceiling, so lighting cannot be produced. Therefore, adjustments must be made during the post-production phase.

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About actors and props

This time, 2 active actors played samurai and ninja roles.
The props use lightweight and sturdy duralumin alloy swords and aluminum swords, and blood glue is applied to the sword to create a sense of realism.

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Background video and set production

The background image was created using “Unreal Engine 5 (UE5),” and we have invested in LED displays with “Pixotope.”
We have prepared 2 types of background footage: a training scene and a duel scene.

1. Training scene
Based on dojo-style assets sold on the UE5 marketplace, they have been created in all directions, and pale lighting has been applied to create a quiet atmosphere at night.

2. duel scene
The same data as the training scene was duplicated, and fire effects, fallen pillars, etc. were added to express the rough state where the room was burning and spreading.
Simply adding flames would create a sense of incongruity with the actual proof in the studio.
Therefore, “Point Light” is used to adjust the brightness and color of the scene.
The number of flames has been increased, and it is made so that the fire spreads starting from wood.

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Lighting/lighting

Red and yellow tube lights are arranged on all sides of the studio, and flashing effects are added to create an atmosphere that is illuminated by flames from all directions.
At first, I tried to make the lights hanging from the ceiling flash with a DMX signal, but only simple ON/OFF gave the impression that they were inorganic.
Therefore, T-shaped lights were installed on the floor, and an effect where the brightness changes as it fades was adopted.
This creates the effect of flames flickering irregularly from the floor.

The weapons used for props easily reflect the light of the lights and take advantage of the way the In-Camra VFX can see light and shadows.
The lighting tends to be flat when shooting with a green background, but the contrast between the brilliance and shadows of swords and painless swords can be expressed more naturally.

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post-production

1. Higher image quality
The training scene was shot in a dark environment, and the entire image was blurry. Also, there was a problem with noise entering the actors' faces and bodies.
To remedy these issues, image quality was improved using high image quality AI.
However, as image quality improved, the blurred background also disappeared, so I used the roto brush function in Adobe After Effects to cut out only people, and used only the original video as the background.
By removing noise from people, the image is cleaner and sharper, and the background has a sense of blur, leaving a sense of depth.

2. Add effects
In the duel scene, sparks were synthesized from above according to the camera distance, adding depth and realism to the image.
Adjustments have been made for each scene, such as adding larger sparks in telephoto scenes and small sparks in wide-angle scenes.

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At the end

The above is an overview and technical points of the period drama-style video “Silent Movement”, which was created as a virtual production verification.
While the combination of in-camra VFX using an LED display and green background shooting greatly expands the range of video expression, we were able to confirm once again that there are a wide range of verification items such as equipment, lighting, and post-production.
Going forward, we will continue to conduct further technical tests and explore new possibilities for visual expression.

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