Some of the weirdest scenes 1899 take place at sea, aboard the Kerberos liner. Also in the midst of a slightly dreamlike version of reality that changes as its characters understand the nature of their surroundings.
What seemed like an ocean turns into a nightmarish horizon, and characters’ memories turn into surreal scenes. Gradually, the argument changes his point of view and suggests that the tangible and true can have many faces in Kerberos.
To create such a visual marvel, the behind-the-scenes team 1899 used various advanced visual techniques. Also some of the most recent advances in creating an almost cinematic section that could embody the weird plot.
Among them are those who associate him with productions such as The Mandalorian, a pioneer in the use of new ways of constructing visual languages. However, in the case 1899 It was also an attempt to deepen the idea that reality can be turned upside down and become something completely new. Something that required all sorts of technical effort to achieve.
Journey Through Visual Technology 1899
During its early production, 1899 it was planned to be filmed in real locations including Spain, Poland and Scotland. But due to the COVID health emergency, most of the series had to be filmed on one stage. This led his tech team to work on the possibility of creating multiple versions of reality with technology. In addition, it is necessary to simulate the concept of sea travel movement. Between two things 1899 it had to be realistic enough to create an immersive reality.
One of the most used trailers in a Netflix series was a gigantic stage that rested on a turntable. This made it possible to constantly feel that the point of view of the characters could change. And also that the buoyancy point of the Kerberos—or the Prometheus—slid from side to side. As if that wasn’t enough, the stage used virtual sound created by echo layers to mimic the feel of an open space.
This effect, dubbed “Dark Cove”, creates a sense of realistic physical volume, which allowed the actors to act from the premise of the physical consistency of the environment. The new stage, the fruit of the technical efforts of Studio Babelsberg, has reached epic levels when managed to almost completely imitate the sea experience. For showrunners Jantje Frieser and Baran bo Odar were a major challenge based on their vision 1899. Something producer Philippe Clausing was trying to replicate in Dark Ways.
“What makes Dark Bay and this production so special is that it came from the creators,” Clausing explained in an interview. “All our attention has been focused on the impact showrunner who captured the image. This has created a lot of innovation in the industry.”
Bigger, more ambitious, more realistic
Friese and Bo Odar conceived a kit capable of replicating the point-to-point Kerberos maritime experience. To do this, they used the ideas of Barry Idoin, director of photography The Mandalorian. They also hired special effects company Framestore, an Academy Award-winning virtual production gravity, Alfonso Cuarona. The idea was to create a new way of shooting, in which movement and the real volume of objects and landscapes were of paramount importance. In addition, it could be reproduced with millimeter accuracy.
“The main problem was that before we started filming, volumetric technology didn’t exist,” explains James Whitlam of the Framestore team. “That meant a huge amount of testing. We had several prototypes in London. But they weren’t even close to the same size, so we didn’t know if it would work on screen. When we wanted to test the real span, they were still pouring the concrete floor of the stage. It was quite difficult, but our team did it.”
for the team 1899 it was about being able to convincingly and technically realistically show life at sea. To reach the goal two large physical Kerberos scripts were built. The ocean floor and sky were then rendered to create a digital version of them. Everything was then projected onto a circular stage with a rain and water atmosphere designed to not damage the equipment.
In the end, thanks to the efforts of various production teams, it was possible to create a fairly believable environment for the actors to play. Also keep the visual path as realistic as possible to really simulate the recording conditions at sea. One of the greatest visual triumphs 1899 like production.
