Warzone

One of the central characters, Captain Price, returns to lead the battle in this first-person shooter video game which incorporates new weapons, operators, game modes, and a reloaded battle pass.

Directed entirely during COVID-19 lockdown, all footage featuring the real face of Price’s character was filmed remotely under recommended safety conditions. From physically fine-tuning the lighting and camera, to doing his own wardrobe, hair and makeup on set (believable false beards are trickier than they look), the actor was a one-man show during the shoot. 

As cinematographer on this project, Framestore Pictures Director/Director of Photographer Fernando Cardenas explains:

“Typically, a green screen shoot is a straightforward in-person execution, but with our current restrictions this called for a remote shoot which came with a new set of challenges. As a cinematographer, I like to collaborate with my lighting and camera team. On this occasion, we were lucky that our actor was very capable of taking direction and executing all on-set activity from his home garage.”

A pre-sanitized, user-friendly “drop kit” 4K camera package and 14x7 ft. green screen was delivered to the actor (contact-free) by a camera tech. Matching the lens height and focal length that was used in the pre-visualization process, Cardenas and team designed a simple lighting configuration that mimicked the inside of a C-130 using minimal lighting units -- all with the goal of making it as easy as possible for the actor to operate solo.

A virtual video village and live camera feed allowed the director, production crew, VFX team, and the client to remain involved day-of, similar to a typical shoot. 

In post, the Framestore team created an entirely CG cockpit and developed the clouds passing by the window using real-time 3D creation platform, Unreal Engine.