From The Mandalorian to Pinocchio: Halon Entertainment's Insights in Virtual Production

In this episode, we dive into the world of virtual production with Meredith Brace Sloss and Jess Marley from Halon Entertainment. They share insights from their work on The Mandalorian, Pinocchio, and other groundbreaking projects📧 GET THE VP LAND NEWSLETTER Subscribe for free for the latest news and BTS insights on video creation 2-3x a week: https://ntm.link/vp_land📺 MORE VP LAND EPISODESBreaking Things to Learn: Inside RIT's VP Research & Educationhttps://youtu.be/wgFomkIYRnYThis indie sci-fi film used miniatureshttps://youtu.be/n9FnPxlra-IThis music video tested out every new piece of filmmaking gearhttps://youtu.be/vFFqiyU2wUYConnect with Meredith and Jess @ Halon:Website - https://halon.comVimeo - https://vimeo.com/halonFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/HalonEntertainmentLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/halon-entertainmentMeredith @ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/meredithbraceslossJess @ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jess-marley-823a5711Meredith Brace Sloss is a Project Manager for the Virtual Art Department at Halon Entertainment. Prior to joining Halon, Meredith has worked for companies such as Netflix, ABC Network, and the British Film Commission. Most recently she was with Lucasfilm, where she worked on Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Book of Boba Fett, as well as the upcoming season of The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. At Halon, Meredith works primarily with the Photogrammetry team and internal projects. Jess joined Halon as a Previs artist working on titles such as Ride Along 2, War for the Planet of the Apes, Pacific Rim: Uprising, Logan, and The Call of the Wild before taking on a more specialized role as a Supervisor in Halon’s Virtual Art Department. He has worked on titles such as Red Notice, The Batman, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and a host of blockbuster level films currently in production.#############📝 SHOW NOTES & SOURCESHalon Entertainment @ Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/halonLux Machina Consultinghttps://www.luxmc.comSweetwater NEP Live Eventshttps://www.nepsweetwater.comStar Wars @ YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/@StarWarsIndustrial Light & Magichttps://www.youtube.com/@ILMVFXKitBash3Dhttps://www.youtube.com/kitbash3dWalt Disney Studioshttps://www.youtube.com/@DisneyMovieTrailersNetflixhttps://www.youtube.com/@NetflixScreen Ranthttps://www.youtube.com/@ScreenRantRIT Magic Centerhttps://www.youtube.com/@ritmagiccenterSeymour Marine Discovery Centerhttps://seymourcenter.ucsc.eduCaseyNeistathttps://www.youtube.com/@caseyBad Decisions Studiohttps://www.youtube.com/@badxstudioApplehttps://www.youtube.com/@Apple#############00:00 Intro01:45 Meredith's Background02:47 Jess' Background 04:15 Halon's Services05:29 Ideal Virtual Production Process08:11 When Virtual Production Makes Sense10:54 Contemporary Uses of Virtual Production13:30 Making Hard Shots Easy15:16 The Mandalorian and Lucasfilm21:06 Virtual Scouting Process25:08 Baking and Lighting Virtual Sets27:22 Photogrammetry for The Sphere34:52 New Technologies in Photogrammetry37:36 Budget Considerations for Virtual Production40:49 Advice for Aspiring Virtual Production Artists50:51 Thoughts on Apple Vision Pro