Earlier this year, Final Pixel dedicated significant resources to researching and developing the latest virtual production technology and techniques. The goal was to deliver an accessible model to help brands use virtual production immersive engagement. They employed this on a recent Oracle Red Bull Racing project.
Final Pixel worked with strategic partners XPLOR and Production Park in West Yorkshire, UK, to create one of Formula 1’s first virtual production campaigns, launching Oracle Red Bull Racing’s newest Formula 1 race car, the Oracle RB19, to a global audience.
Final Pixel’s team of artists, known as “worldbuilders,” designed, built, lit and optimized the virtual environment for use on the virtual production stage. The team’s work can span 2D plate creation from existing assets all the way to fully bespoke 3D environments built in Unreal Engine. Creating photoreal, optimized environments in Unreal Engine is Final Pixel’s specialty, which it has honed over multiple VP shoots in recent years.
To capture the background plate, the team used a DJI Mavic 3 Cine Pro Aircraft drone with AKS, an Inspire 2 aircraft kit (includes backup), a Zenmuse X7 camera and gimbal, a Zenmuse X7 Hasselblad lens set, a Red Komodo 6K camera kit and a Nikon Nikkor AIS Vintage Prime lens set that included 15mm, 20mm, 24mm, 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, 105mm, 135mm and 185mm lenses.
Final Pixel produced the campaign at both its LA and UK offices, with a two-day shoot at XPLOR, which is located at Production Park. The project was shot entirely on XPLOR’s fully customizable LED volume using an ARRI Alexa 35.
The biggest challenge in producing the shoot was the timeline. Final Pixel delivered the project in just one month, using Disguise to manage the workflow. Because Final Pixel nailed the workflow and the pipeline, the Red Bull shoot went smoothly on-set.
The resulting short film immerses viewers in a fantastic road trip across the United States, which would have been logistically impossible without virtual production. Not only did virtual production aid the sustainability of a carbon net-zero production, it also solved problems that would have rendered the creative brief impossible.
For example, at the time of the shoot, the embargoed Oracle RB19 car was confidential and could not be seen in public, so shooting on-location was unfeasible. To solve this, the team at Final Pixel blended real archive footage, video plates and drone footage with environments completely built in Unreal Engine as well as CGI and VFX to create an immersive experience.
