CARSTAGE FAQ
Q. Is CarStage a “Volume”?
A. “Volume” or “Volume of Light” is a recent term that is being applied to an existing concept, the use of inward facing video surfaces (LED or Projection) filled with captured or rendered environments for the purpose of creating background plates and interactive lighting. By that definition Carstage is a “volume” although Carstage’s concept, design, application and history pre-dates the term “volume” by many years.
Q. Does CarStage support camera tracked parallax adjustment
A. Carstage supports any, and all, advancements in staged environments. Parallax adjustment, achieved through camera tracking and game engine technology, is an elegant addition to staged environments that is particularly useful for tracking shots and set extension. Carstage does not have a permanent camera tracking system integrated into our design for several reasons:
For creative and financial reasons, the vast majority of our clients are using captured (filmed) environments that cannot be used in a camera tracked setup.
Parallax adjustment becomes increasingly desirable as the camera moves (less so with pans and tilts, more so with dollys and cranes).
The staple visual language in automobiles is generally locked shots (hostess tray, hood mount, French over, etc.).
The demand for parallax adjustment has not exceeded the reluctance to absorb the additional cost.
The automobile that surrounds the talent provides the dimensionality, and parallax, the audience expects to see when the camera moves.
Carstage is designed for scenes involving the passengers in a vehicle, not the vehicle itself Tracking shots and dolly shots, normally associated with a splinter unit during production, are best captured on location.
That said, Carstage is capable of integrating camera tracking and game engine rendered environments for any client that requires those modifications.
Q. Is CarStage able to color correct in real time?
A. Carstage has integrated Livegrade color correction firmware into our work flow. In addition we have created a crew position whose sole function is grading the screens to the satisfaction of the Director, Director of Photography and anyone else who has authority over the image.
Q. How do productions sync cameras to the carstage system?
A. Genlock is an analog pulse that is sent to all components of the system, which is composed of LED processors, media servers, and the client’s genlock-able camera(s). If we to use an analogy, this pulse acts as the drummer who leads their soldiers onto the battlefield of production days. If the drummer takes lunch, the soldiers will lose their tempo and fall out of sync. If the system is not genlocked, the symptoms are ghosting and tearing of frames.
Q. What cameras are genlock-able?
A. Some of the cameras we’ve had the most success with include: ARRI Alexa Mini LF, ARRI Amira, Panasonic BGH1, and Sony Venice (I and II) because they have native Genlock ports. An ARRI Alexa Mini can be used on the stage, but the process of rewiring the SDI 2 port to a genlock port has to be completed at the camera/ rental house before arriving.
Q. Does CarStage only deal with automobiles?
A. No. Within weeks of opening our flagship operation in New York we were servicing our first “out of the car” clients. Carstage is designed to respond to scripted narrative projects (movies, television, streaming, music videos, commercials) that have transitional scenes in automobiles but that does not preclude an inability to handle other demands or requirements that can be satisfied in a virtual stage environment.
Q. Why are the walls not curved?
A. The curved wall normally associated with Mandalorian style volumes is a design, like all LED installations, that was applied to a specific set of requirements and problems. Where it overcomes some obstacles it creates others. Automobile shots using photographed plates generally work better, quicker and more efficiently in a multi screen deployment that can moved to mimic the angles of the captured plates. Furthermore:
An inward facing, curved wall with a ceiling requires significantly more LED and processing than our design, which would dramatically affect pricing.
Stitching plates captured with a multi-camera array (normal for driving plates) into a single image that can be applied to a curved surface is an additional cost to the client
Q. How many screens does CarStage have?
A. Six. Two walls are floor mounted on wheels and can be moved anywhere on the stage. Four are flown on I-beam rails and can be angled and readjusted to virtually any position along their designated 100’ track.
Q. Does CarStage use diffusion on its screens?
A. No. The common use of diffusion came into being years ago when the highest resolution LED available for film work was an 11mm pitch. That low resolution screen, by any standard, was not usable in film due to pixelation and moire issues. The technique for removing those problems was to place a rear projection (RP) screen in front of the LEDs to obscure the grid pattern enough that it did not create moire issues on the CMOS sensors on digital cameras. Carstage has eliminated that problem by deploying 3.1mm and 1.5mm pitch LED screens whose high resolution greatly reduces moire and pixelation issues. As an added benefit clients experience greater color quality, clarity and brightness due to our screens not being obscured by an unnecessary vinyl layer between screen and camera.
Q. Does CarStage provide plates?
A. Carstage does not provide plates as a part of our base package. However we have a contracted relationship with DrivingPlates.com (the largest provider of photographed driving plates servicing the industry) to maintain a copy of their extensive library on each of our stages. Access to this library significantly reduces turnaround time when engaging DrivingPlates services. Carstage also has a working relationship with Plate Pros whose expertise is capturing driving plates for any situation.
Q. What size vehicles can CarStage handle?
A. Carstage is a 10,000 square foot stage. Our flown screens (5 total) move along 100’ I-beam rails and can be placed in any position in that space. Our two floor mounted rolling walls can be placed anywhere on the stage. We have ground level, 14’ Elephant doors on the ends of our stage from both 10th Street and 9th Street in Long Island City. We have handled everything from a Mini Cooper to a full size greyhound bus and we are preparing for clients requiring car to car multi vehicle shots. In short, Carstage is confident we can handle any vehicle, or set of vehicles, that we can get into the stage.