An Unusual Film Shoot

It was Friday, the 13th of September 2024. A professional filmmaker, my students, and I ventured into a Vancouver production studio to film experienced actors perform scenes of dialogue not intended for any film. We didn’t bring microphones because we only cared about the performance, the video being captured, and the learning opportunities.

We filmed one scene in front of a green screen and others in front of a blue screen, because my VFX Compositing students are currently learning about chroma keying. Our director of photography, Lior Noyman of Filmo let the students position his camera (a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera), change lenses, and adjust the lights themselves to create their own compositions. He provided guidance and feedback to help them make wise choices. We even had more Alpha Chromatica students living in other countries tune in to watch, learn, and comment on a live video stream of our filming!

Meanwhile, the onset VFX Supervisor made ill-advised choices in directing the actors to move around more, toss their hair, and refract green light spill by holding a golden serving tray and clear glass of champagne. He neglected to ask the actors to refrain from wearing blue clothing in front of a blue screen, put up blue tracking markers when they should have been red (when he remembered to put up tracking markers at all). This guy is either terrible at his job, or deliberately giving the students an excessive amount of challenges to overcome. Did I mention the onset VFX Supervisor was me?

Our behind-the-scenes photos and videos do a better job than my words at expressing just how fun, playful, and collaborative this shoot was. Thank you to everyone who participated and supported this experience, especially to the cast and crew. You all played important roles. Please look forward to seeing how my students transform these shots with new backgrounds and integration techniques as they hone their compositing knowledge and skills!

You can learn more about what we do at Alpha Chromatica on our website.