TV and Film Gone Green by Ditching Green Screen: Sustainable Innovation Through the Lense of ‘The Mandalorian’ [21068606]

Photo by StarWars.com 2020

What is ‘The Mandalorian’?

Currently in its third season, ‘The Mandalorian’, first released in 2019, has lead the innovation of virtual production in both Television and Film. The series immerses itself into the Star Wars universe, where we follow a lone bounty hunter running away from imperial forces across the galaxy. The well-established Sci-fi universe meant that the production thrusts itself into producing a magnificent array of visual effects to bring this fictional world to life.

Video Created by Star Wars on YouTube, 2023

With a great demand for outstanding visual effects, came the introduction of a revolutionary innovation that has altered the way TV and Film in the genre of sci-fi and fantasy is filmed. Ditching the green screen and introducing virtual production of ‘StageCraft.’

What is StageCraft?

Created by a pioneering company known for their ground-breaking creations in visual effects, ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) partnered with Epic Games (Creator of ‘Unreal Engine) developing a virtual production set made up of LED walls that are programmed to show a photorealistic 3D world. The screen walls are known by the cast and crew as ‘The Volume’, which is 20 feet tall, 75 feet in diameter and covers 270 degrees of the set, illuminating an immersive set for all the cast and crew.

For shows like ‘The Mandalorian’, fans expect to be transported to an alternative world, or galaxy, which creates a complex task for the filmmakers on each of the projects. Green screens are used so that during post production, they can later add the special effects or CGI. This meant that during production, the actors and crew have to use their imaginations and guess what the visuals will end up looking like. Consequently, film productions use multiple lighting techniques around the set in order to irradiate the green screen glare and create realistic lighting that would match the final image on the screen.

By using the LED video walls, it irradiates the need for additional lighting techniques and the excessive post-production process, as it already delivers the lighting and imagery needed to bring the worlds to life. Additionally, everyone involved in the production is more immersed and inspired whilst creating the project, making sure everyone is on the same page while filming

How is it sustainable?

In the last couple decades, industry policies regarding cinema have made suggestions on how to become ‘greener’ and more sustainable. The aim? To reduce the industry’s overall negative environmental impact. The ‘SPA’ (Sustainable Production Alliance) is a combination of the worlds leading film, television and streaming companies, supporting the objective of advancing sustainable initiatives. The Green Production Guide, prepared by the ‘SPA’, is an online toolkit designed to reduce industry carbon footprints by evaluating ways in which productions can be more environmentally friendly and energy efficient. One thing the guide, and other sustainable missions analyse, is the switch to LED technology, as it converts a higher percentage of energy into light, producing less heat, and in return less carbon emissions.

StageCraft aligns itself with sustainable industry governance, as ‘The Volume’ uses LED’s for its video wall, using 70% less energy then incandescent lights, further cutting its carbon emissions. Not only that, but it can bring locations to the comfort of ‘The Volume’! The production avoids having to travel sets, props and crews to distant locations, lessening fuel and time waisted.

Marissa Gomes (ILM visual effects producer): “You can switch from the Iceland to the desert locations all within the same day of shooting”

Video created by StudioBinder on YouTube, 2023

This groundbreaking technology has forced productions into a more efficient workflow, that draws pre and post production into one space. With crews covering 30-50% more pages a day, not only is virtual production sustainable environmentally, but it also saves time and money.

The Star Wars franchise has been used to explore film and TV’s environmental impact, due to its high production value. With the research conducted by ‘The EIF Project’, Star Wars, including ‘The Mandalorian’, continues to affiliate with improving sustainability goals.

StageCraft going global

Some other productions that have used StageCraft included ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ (2022), ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania’ (2023), and most recently ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ (2024). Permanent volumes have been built in Los Angeles, London, and Sydney, whilst ILM have alluded to their ability to provide “pop up” sets, which allows multiple productions to reuse and access the video wall soundstage. Large productions can invest in StageCraft, which can eliminate other production elements that take up a lot of time and money, adding to the positive long-term efficiency, rather than having to create large sets from scratch and wasting materials.

The Future

Overall, the system looks more realistic then a green screen, and allows for quicker setups in a controlled environment. There is one drawback of this new technology, which is limited camera movement. This is for moving shots where someone could be running away for a long amount of time. But just as there were drawbacks of green screen, companies light ‘ILM’ continue to create and improve, whilst also having a sustainable practice in mind. The innovation initiated for “The Mandalorian” is beginning to revolutionise the film industry and push for standards towards sustainability.

From Stage to Screen: Is there a place for digital theatre in a post-pandemic landscape? (C2012092)

Picture by Carswell at Sherman Theatre, 2021

In 2020, COVID-19 put the world in lockdown. The multi-billion-pound theatre industry came under threat as the sector was quickly losing money and hundreds of thousands were losing their jobs.

Was this to be the end of theatre?

The creative art sector contributes £10.6 billion to the UK each year, along with providing entertainment and a sense of community. During lockdown-a time where we were all affected by isolation-entertainment and community were needed more than ever. So, what could be done?

Traditionally, the essence of theatre comes from its use of physical space and audience participation. COVID-19 made this impossible. With this forced time of rest, there was space for discussion and creative strategizing. And so, in the midst of theatre collapse, new spaces emerged. Technology and creativity, combined to push theatre into a digital era. Although online platforms removed the essence of theatre with a lack of physical space, could digitalisation be the key for theatres survival?

Perhaps you remember watching some online theatre yourself, such as The Show Must Go Online. The performances were launched just two days after the West End closed, using Zoom to perform live. Over a nine-month period, a cast and crew of 500 creatives from 60 countries came together to produce 40 shows, establishing a connected and creative global community. When physical theatre communities were forced apart, digital disruption helped to quickly establish an online alternative. It also helped to keep jobs in the creative sector alive.

As more theatres posted their back-catalogue online, the popularity of digital theatre became more apparent. The National Theatre who released 16 of their catalogued shows for free, saw major success with over 15 million audience members across 170 different countries. Now, post-pandemic, they are trying to capitalise on this popularity, having released a subscription service-The National Theatre at Home–to continue posting performances online.

Source: The National Theatre on YouTube

Digital disruption was essential to keep theatre alive during COVID-19. The question now however, with physical theatres being reopened, is whether digital theatre is really here to stay post-pandemic?

The Future of Digital Theatre

For some, live streamed theatre could never be better than the physical theatre experience. Although it is clear that during lockdown, online theatre was popular, is there really a space left for it now?

William Kentridge describes online theatre as “a poor second cousin” to the physical theatre experience. Others would agree. Director Kyle Haden examines that online theatre is not really theatre at all. Arguably, technology is taking away theatres unique and independent qualities, and making it reliant on mass digital reproduction. I pose to you however, whether this is really that negative for theatre? Or is it actually creating further access to the arts?

Thanks to digital disruption, and the push from COVID-19, new forms of digital theatre have arisen. This does not mean the end of physical theatre. Instead, digital theatre can be seen as its own online space. This integrating of physical and online theatre should not be criticised, but instead embraced.

Ever wanted to see a show but couldn’t?

The integration of theatre and technology offers increased creative access and freedom. This is highly beneficial for those who cannot afford typical theatre or are limited by other barriers such as location or disability. Creative culture is essential for establishing a sense of identity and value therefore, everyone should have equal access to participate.

Technology inspired innovation has also seen a growth in user-creativity. Audiences are now offered new, interactive forms of theatre such as the immersive theatre experience Dream.

Source: WhatsOnStage on YouTube

Lockdown gave space for this project to develop. It integrates theatre and technology to create an interactive, digital theatre experience. This weakens early arguments that online theatre doesn’t offer audience interaction. Technology can be seen removing barriers and essentially reforming the space to reflect a more physical presence. Due to the increased integration of technology and theatre during the pandemic, could these kinds of projects be the future of theatre?

Digital disruption from the pandemic has further inspired user-creativity and a shift from consumer to prosumer. Theatre can bring together thoughts, feelings and actions to help reshape society through imagination. Platforms such as YouTube, allow aspiring creatives to have their message heard by global audiences, quickly and cheaply. This has made online theatre popular and accessible for theatre activism. A key example is Omnibus Theatre who went online during COVID-19 and produced WeRNotVirus. The series gave voice to unheard communities in answer to increasing hate crimes towards Asian communities during the pandemic.

Is online theatre the future of theatrical activism post-pandemic? Ola Ince, digital theatre director, certainly hopes so as it offers the spirit of theatre via a different, more accessible medium.

Although online theatre may have lost some of its popularity post-pandemic, technology still continues to inspire innovation and digital integration within the world of theatre. Online theatre appears to offer a world of opportunity, it simply took a pandemic to realise.

Love it or hate it, online theatre appears to of found itself a place in creative culture, the question now, is how long will this new medium really last?