Die Zwerge (Testdreh) (TT)

After two years of intensive research and development, the “BaViPro” funded project comes to a successful conclusion with a pilot shoot on July 27 and 28, 2023, at Bavaria Studios in Geiselgasteig near Munich, Germany.
The core of the “BaViPro” project—the abbreviation stands for Bavarian Virtual Production—was the construction of a so-called LED stage for virtual film productions at Bavaria Studios. The three Bavarian companies ARRI, Bavaria Studios, and Eyeline Studios each contributed their know-how and development skills to improve the film production process as a whole through innovative digital technologies.
The Bavarian State Ministry for Digital Affairs supported the project, which cost a total of more than five million euros, with a grant of 2.7 million euros.
The development focus on the part of Bavaria Studios was on the future-oriented, fiber-optic-based studio infrastructure and the photorealistic and operational integration of real set construction with the virtual 3D elements. Another focus was on the development of production-ready and practical workflows and work instructions for the production of media content in virtual production studios.
ARRI drove the integration of its world-renowned camera and lighting systems into the modern data networks, facilitating digital control and management of the components involved. Various tools for color-accurate and precisely timed interaction between camera, lens, set lighting, and LED wall now enable a flexible and practical way of working in the virtual studio with the highest demands on the image quality of the generated content.
Eyeline Studios created Stage Control software, a networked software system that collects digital information from all production equipment on set and coordinates it so that workflows can be organized much more efficiently.
Bavaria Studios has further expanded its modern media location in Geiselgasteig with this virtual production project.
ARRI is proactively moving into networked production formats with virtual and integrative components by establishing the new ARRI Solutions division.
The consortium has found an enthusiastic pioneer in Rat Pack Filmproduktion for the evaluation of the project. During the two-day pilot production in Studio 12 at Bavaria Studios, director Sebastian Niemann and cinematographer Gerhard Schirlo, together with their team, tested the technologies developed as part of “BaViPro.” These innovations could come to good use in the filming of the “The Dwarfs,” a series of novels by Markus Heitz.