What are your views on utilizing green screens for commercial purposes?
Because we don’t have to shoot at the actual location, we save time and money. There’s a lot of leeway and cost-cutting in terms of transportation and travel. You won’t need to build any physical props, either, so you can make good use of cutting-edge technology to create virtual sets and platforms and virtual props.
Green screen may be utilized in a variety of innovative ways for company videos. What are some of your favorite uses for green screen?
We conduct a lot of corporate webinars. Webinar is one of the most popular applications in a green screen setting. Of course, you’ll see a lot of green screen films in Hollywood. Using virtual sets for webinars, conferences, and townhalls provides a great deal of production value while also allowing all the talents to be showcased. All of the productions are really immersive, which captures and keeps the attention of the audience.
Have you ever worked with a company that utilized green screen technology and been pleased with the results?
Yes, in fact, the majority of my clients who used our green screen services were delighted with the finished product. Because we are one of the few companies that use Unreal Engine as a rendering platform, we can provide 3D depth or 3D perspective to an entire production. The speakers or presenter didn’t appear to be edited into an image or picture; instead, they appeared extremely real, as if they were actually standing or living in the virtual world.
What is your opinion on the single most crucial aspect to consider while arranging a green screen shoot?
The topic is quite essential. You must carefully plan the material, such as what additional information you wish to display and how you intend to deliver it. We spoke about what and how to present the content, for example if you’re going to use charts to show whether or not the launched product or object will be animated and appear in a virtual setting. Basically, how you build the virtual set so that it complements and compliments the brand/logo so that the overall appearance and feel are pleasant for viewers.
What are your thoughts on how to get the most out of green screen footage after it’s been processed?
Color grading is very important. When the whole production is over, you’ll need to add a little polish to the project. In post-production, we usually apply a bit of color grading to give the entire video a polished appearance and feel.
What compelled you to use green screen in your business?
When COVID established, a lot of real-world activities were halted. We began building our green screen studio so that we might continue to develop our company. However, the facility only picked up after we began using 3D virtual set production in all of our productions. With the 3D production sets, a lot of customers are interested since they allow them to see themselves delivering the material in an immersive setting. Many clients approached us wanting to hold town halls, seminars, and conferences in our studio. COVID is a game-changer, but the actual inspiration comes from 3D virtual set filming.
What impact has green screen had on your marketing and growth?
Green screen alone is just a tool, but being able to utilize it to create 3D Unreal Engine creations has helped me attract or allow me access to high-value clients that not only convey the message, but also do so in a world-class production setting. The editors are all frustrated with Zoom gallery view or a newsroom layout that consists solely of pictures in picture. They want something more immersive, and the green screen 3D production enables us to develop something that is more immersive and utilize augmented reality and animated items, even going as far as metahumanism to allow us to really present material in a creative manner.
Do you have any advice for companies wanting to get started using green screen?
Choose a provider who has the proper equipment configuration. Many individuals believe that putting up a green cloth in the background and then eliminating the person is all there is to it. In reality, having access to a green screen/cloth/background is only one of the components of the recipe. To ensure that the quality is optimal, you’ll need ample and even lighting. You’ll want a spacious enough area so you can shoot the webinar from numerous angles. Choose a company with a good track record, expertise, and the ability to deliver world-class webinars.
What is the process for generating content in a 3D virtual studio?
Essentially, it all boils down to demand and supply. We were one of the first firms to begin offering this type of service in Singapore when we initially started 3D. Clients quickly flock from traditional movies into 3D once they learn about our style of production. Demand for our services has increased, and quality has improved. We expanded our green screen operations from our former headquarters/studio to a larger green screen facility. We presently operate two 60 sq.m green screens. Each 50 by 100 ft green screen features three to six cameras, including tracking cameras and static cameras. These are the kinds of projects we provide to our customers.
What are some of the difficulties you’ve had in starting and managing your firm?
Having technological skills is one thing. However, being able to advertise your services to the market is a completely different matter. We’ve produced a lot of green screen films that have really helped us learn new skills while also giving us a lot of experience. I can assure you that we are very good at these projects. In Singapore, we are one of the top three 3D producers. What we need to do now is be able to market our services. One method to promote our services is to network with many event planners. We’ve gathered a lot of international event partners as part of our collaboration. The challenge is reaching out to event companies. Reaching out is the problem.
What has been the most difficult part of your journey so far?
I believe that marketing and outreach are the most serious issue right now. During COVID, we are only permitted to run our businesses in Singapore. As a result, once borders open up, the next challenge is how can we market our services internationally.
Do you think this company will be in operation for the long term?
Yes, with this knowledge we’ve only scratched the surface of what’s possible in real-time 3D virtual production. We’ll be making short-form film productions with Unreal Engine in the near future. This will actually be our next stage, not only are webinars and conferences restricted to us, but we want to provide services for other film production firms as well. We may one day become an Unreal Engine Studio, which means we’ll be able to offer a virtual gaffer and camera tracking system for the film production company so that they can focus on storytelling rather than technical concerns. We will only provide underling technological help for the Unreal Engine component.
What kinds of outcomes have you seen from using a 3D virtual production package in your marketing videos?
According to the experiences I’ve witnessed, viewers are more drawn to high-production quality, which can only be achieved with 3D virtual productions. Traditionally, 3D films are completed after filming on set, so the talent or actor is generally shot in front of a green screen. Then at post-productions, they actually key out the subject in the background. However, in a 3D virtual production/ or live operation, the results are recorded live, which means we genuinely key out the individual and put him or her into the 3D virtual universe. The entire process is carried out in real time. All of the movies you’ve seen on my portfolio were not post-produced. These are all lived events. Once we publish and wrap up, we have access to the video right away. We simply need to polish it up with color grading to make it more visually appealing. The result is that many customers felt that it’s more immersive. They can see the fruits of their labor. Actors or presenters can interact with virtual objects. He is immediately able to view himself in the digital world. There’s a confidence monitor that shows where he stands and where virtual things are so that he may virtually reach out his hands to touch them in the real world. The ultimate outcome is a high immersive production that may create a very realistic environment while also shortening the whole production process.
What is the cost of renting your studio?
What services do you include in your rental rate? We offer a dry rental, which means you only pay for the studio. So the price range is between $1,500 and $15,000. The difference between these two numbers is quite significant. It depends on the client’s demands.
What kind of hardware do you have in your studio?
We have Unreal Engine workstations that allow us to render the video. We also use Visual Projection Software to create and publish/push presentations in Unreal Engine. We have six cameras so that we may provide a variety of angles, from close-ups to wide shots. We have three checking cameras that feed real-time data to the Unreal Engine so that when we pan or zoom in the camera, the background will change accordingly. To guarantee top sound quality, we employ skilled sound mixers. To ensure that the entire studio is well-lit and improves the key’s success, we’re utilizing premium lighting.
What if I only want to rent the space for a one-time event? Is there a minimum amount of time that I must book the studio for?
A day is the minimum booking period.
What can you do to ensure that your live stream goes without a hitch? What is the most important component in terms of technical?
The internet connection is the weakest link technically, therefore what we do to get around it is utilize our own studio. We have two distinct internet networks and providers: Starhub and Singtel. Our firewall is set up for quick failover, so any problem with the primary internet service provider (Singtel) within 3 seconds will cause our firewall to switch to the secondary internet service provider (Starhub). This is within the studio itself. To ensure that our cloud streaming runs smoothly, we invested in firewalls from both providers. Now that we’re doing work outside the studio, we’ve invested in pricey industrial modems such as Cradlepoint, which offers load balancing. Within this Cradlepoint, we have four M2M sim cards. We’re not utilizing consumer sim cards; instead, we’re using industrial M2M sim cards. The type of sim cards utilized on ATM machines to host connections will give us with stability and redundancy when it comes to delivering the stream to the cloud.
In the future, how do you think live streaming services will develop?
After COVID, live streaming will become the standard. COVID motivated humanity to adapt live streaming in events or townhalls around the world. And, even as nations attempt to reopen their borders and physical activities return to the picture, clients continue to utilize live streaming to deliver their messages across. They discovered that if they spent a lot of money on a physical event, they might as well broadcast it to the rest of the world. We began to notice a desire for tomlive streaming in the future. In the future of live streaming, the quality will improve with other technologies such as augmented reality, teleportation, virtual reality and metahuman. All of these will be more prevalent in the future.
What is your most popular event?
Internal so-called information dissemination events are typically townhalls. I’d say that 70% of my events are townhalls.
Do you have any special activities planned for Singapore?
No.
Do you have any plans to expand into mainland China in the near future?
I don’t have any particular country in mind, but we need to do more outside of Singapore because the demand for 3D movies is increasing, yet the capabilities available on the market are not able to fulfill it. So, as we develop new personnel or human resources to meet the demand. I feel that this service will be highly demanded within this area.