Transforming Virtual Production Together

Overview

• Customer: Norwegian Film School (Den Norske Filmskolen, DNF)
• Location: Oslo, Norway
• Watch the testimonial video here
• Download the case study here

The Norwegian Film School stands as a prominent institution at the forefront of cultivating cinematic talent in Norway. Established in 1997, the school has become a dynamic hub for aspiring filmmakers, providing a comprehensive and immersive education in filmmaking. With cutting-edge facilities and a faculty of industry professionals, it provides a platform for students to explore their creative potential and develop the skills necessary to start their careers in the film industry.

Norwegian Film School conducts master’s degree programs, fellowship programs, and other continuing education initiatives. Hosting diverse workshops, including virtual production, it brings together industry professionals and its students to collaborate to learn the skills they need to utilize as part of their future projects.

“As a film school, we have a tradition, and it's to have a very thin membrane between education and industry. The virtual production workshop that we're doing right now is a good example of how we can work in conjunction with industry, because we're educating not only the future generation, but also the current generation,” says Troels Linde, one of the Professors at the School.

THE CHALLENGE

Part of the School’s remit is to keep abreast of current trends, and for DNF, as elsewhere in the world, that means virtual production. The main challenge in virtual production is achieving seamless integration between physical and virtual elements. This requires both robust and high-performance computing systems capable of rendering complex CGI scenes with live-action shots. Camera movements, lighting conditions, and other CGI elements demand powerful technology and color-accurate workflows to ensure realistic visual experiences. Also maintaining consistent lighting across both virtual and physical environments relies on top-of-the-range hardware, as virtual elements must convincingly interact with real-world lighting conditions to avoid visual inconsistencies.

THE SOLUTION

Monitor that gives accurate colors

Norwegian Film School uses ASUS ProArt Display OLED PA32DC as its reference monitor when working on a virtual production set. This precisely controlled monitor makes sure that the lighting and colors match the virtual background together with the physical foreground. The full 4K OLED screen and its true 10-bit display enable the school to review all the different nuances of the color and the luminance directly on set. With the built-in calibrator, the school can easily calibrate the monitor anytime they like to ensure efficient time management on set.

In addition to the technical specifications, Sindre Saebo, the Technician at Norwegian Film School, mentions the portability factor the monitor has when working on different locations: “What I like about this monitor is that we can move it from place to place. When we are doing some production here at school, and some in the studio, we can just carry the monitor using the handle on the top.”

Powerful workstation as the core and backbone of virtual production

To make sure the school has the power it needs for virtural production, the Komplett Workstation powered by ASUS is put onset. It is equipped with the latest ASUS Pro Workstation Motherboard and the ROG STRIX GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card- enabling the school to run real-time graphics on set. Having to drive multiple high-resolution displays at once, the workstation is paired with a Blackmagic DeckLink Pro 8K card. It comes with four extra SDI outputs which enables different crew members to review the different source footage from the same scene.

“We use this workstation on set because it keeps quiet so it can be physically close to the action, and it keeps cool so it won't overheat during the long day” says Saebo.

THE OUTCOME

Using the ASUS ProArt solution means that, both the students and the industry professionals get hands-on experience with the latest hardware, providing them with the necessary skills and knowledge to pursue a career in the film industry.

“Working with the ASUS ProArt team has been lovely because they've given us access to state-of-the-art equipment that we normally wouldn't have available, so I very much look forward to working with them again,” concludes Linde.

Product installed