Written by Oscar Mantilla on Jul 2, 2023. Posted in Contributors

Virtual locations discussed at Mediterrane Film Festival

Malta’s first attempt at creating a networking event for the Mediterranean region kicked off this week. The Mediterrane Film Festival was held in the old city of Valletta and involved dozens of international filmmakers flown in from various parts of the world to take part in discussion panels.

One such panel was about the influence of technology on film locations.

 

The large panel included LMGI members from Los Angeles: location manager Michael Glaser (Licorice Pizza, Survivor, Intellstellar, The Hatefull Eight) and who is known for his international work, and location scout Peter Gluck (Water for Elephants, Captain Marvel). The 7-person panel, which included film office heads from Greece and Croatia, was moderated by line-producer Malcolm Scerri-Ferrante.

 

Asked about challenges faced by location managers  in regards to the over-development of cities, Glaser and Gluck both expressed their frustration with Los Angeles where car parks are constantly giving way to new constructions. Crews need to be shuttled to set over longer distances, reducing the feasibility of many locations. Development in Los Angeles is happening so quickly that it secures our jobs as location scouts” Michael quips.Photos taken from past scouts can no longer be relied upon”.    

 

About construction allowed by governments in the name of ‘progress’, the panel unanimously agreed that some countries clearly do not have laws strong enough to protect the “texture” of their locations. Maltese location manager Joe Formosa Randon (Game of Thrones, The Count of Monte Christo) feels Malta is no exception to this problem, citing as an example how a new yacht marina had caused the instant demise of one of Malta’s most popular filming locations. He was referring to St Angelo’s Wharf which had a period look with a 360 degree angle and which was possibly the most filmed location in Malta before financial incentives were introduced. “I do not think there is a way to avoid this development from happening” lamented Formosa Randon.

 

Also discussed was how a country’s popularity with international shooting comes with some unwanted baggage. All location managers agreed that they generally feel more welcomed in places that are not getting ravished by shoots. Formosa Randon used as an example the two Maltese islands where authorities on the smaller island of Gozo have a relaxed no-problem attitude to most film demands because they don’t see enough filming coming to their island. But barely two miles away on the mainland of Malta, where over 90% of foreign shoots takes place, his experience with authorities is “very different”.

 

Michael Glaser

 

Glaser, who worked extensively overseas, shared this sentiment saying the difference in attitude between popular and unpopular destinations is huge. He brought up an example of going to a rural town unpopular with filming where he was askedWhat? You want to close down the main street and you actually want to pay us?”.  

 

Perhaps film commissions, when trying to attract more foreign shoots, need to also counteract any big influx with the setup of an office to facilitate the work of location managers and to ensure a sufficient film-friendly attitude is instilled by all departments dealing with the industry.

 

Virtual sets dominated a good part of the discussion.  Specific reference was naturally made to the high-end LED panels set up in stages to create virtual backgrounds of CGI sets or actual locations or a combination of both.  These LED volume screens are often referenced with the making of The Mandalorian (2019) but have since been used by several productions. The panel was asked whether this technology looks like a game-changer or is it merely a technical aid?  Pros and Cons were listed during the discussion.

 

Joe Formosa Randon

 

Pros

- Cost savings by avoiding expensive location shoots and set constructions.
- Enhancing creativity and improving efficiency. Directors can experiment with camera angles and lighting in real time to make better creative decisions.
- A more immersive experience for actors.
- Sensitive locations previously inaccessible can now be fully accessible.
- Good points for sustainability due to the reduced carbon footprint when avoiding travel of large crew numbers to another country or to a far flung location.

Cons

- Scenes need to be planned well in advance in order for the VFX team to prepare the content on the LED panels. Little diversion from the storyboards is possible on the shoot day unless there was time (and money) to prepare the content in a comprehensive manner.
- The creation of the content is still not affordable by many productions, although AI might facilitate this in due course.
- There are currently limitations with foliage, fine details, reflective and transparent surfaces.
- Countless hours of testing and practice must be done.
- Practical elements need to be added in the foreground to add a sense of realism.

Peter Gluck

 

The debate on real locations vs virtual sets concluded that this technology will not be replacing location filming. In short, location managers will not be losing their jobs anytime soon.  

 

But as line-producer Scerri-Ferrante concluded, this technology is inevitably going to be part of the future when it becomes more affordable. “It will become an integral part of the production pipeline” he said, addingOnly time will tell to what extent.

 

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