Virtual Production on 65mm Film: Pathway reveals innovative test film

Pathway, the Manchester-based virtual production (VP) and XR studio, has fused the character of celluloid capture with the power of shooting in a volume with an innovative new test film.

Based on the novel Questus by Shawn Williamson and featuring the character Angus MacWilliam, VP On 65mm Film was shot by cinematographer Paul Mortlock GBCT and directed by James Slater. The test sequence was shot on Kodak VISION3 65mm 200T Colour Negative Film stock with an Arriflex 765 on ARRI Rental Vintage 765 lenses. The 65mm camera was created by ARRI in 1986 by Otto Blaschek and is known for its use on feature films such as Gravity (2013) and Tenet (2020). The virtual production scene was powered by the contemporary real-time technology of Unreal Engine 5.2 which gave the filmmakers a high degree of control over lighting and the rear parallax of the virtual set.

“We wanted to see if shooting an LED wall on 65mm could give virtual production more character and presence,” said Nathan Newman, co-founder of Pathway. The blending of analogue and digital production methods for virtual production was made possible through a collaboration with Kodak, Panavision and ARRI Rental.

The studio had a narrow timeframe of just 10 days to make the test happen, which would see Angus MacWilliam (played by Graham Gardner) wield a stone sword as he slowly advances through dense Scottish gorse bushes on the edge of Loch Eriboll. DP Paul Mortlock’s expertise in both celluloid capture and VP shoots made him an ideal candidate to lens the sequence.

“In terms of prep, we were interested to see how the screen would react and work with film,” Mortlock explained. “Any artefacts, moiré – any issues like that, we wanted to find out. We had half a roll of 35mm film from another project and we shot it at various distances with various lenses, looking for any issues that we might come across. It was a proving ground for what was to come.”

Mortlock was intrigued by the prospect of shooting on film in a virtual environment and the advantages that it would bring. “It was about being able to get those shots that you just can’t get, or it would be too expensive to get, that stand in your way of achieving what you really want to get. So that was really interesting, especially when working in Unreal [Engine] where you can move everything around and do what you like, such as change the time of day. I found that great.”

The DP praises the Pathway team for their support on the shoot. “They listen, they understand,” he said. “You want someone who’s also going to bring their game along as well and just make the whole project better. What I think they’re really great at – and this goes for all VP studios – is helping bridge the gap of understanding between people that haven’t worked with [VP] before and helping people understand that it’s a new technology, it’s not bulletproof, and there are certain ways you have to work.”

Newman and the Pathway team relished the experience of forging a fresh VP path. “It’s not every day that you get to work with such a rare and prestigious camera, and we were delighted to onboard such helpful collaborators,” he added. “When we told our would-be collaborators about our plans they didn’t ask ‘why?’, they asked ‘what do you need?’ We couldn’t have made this happen without their kind support and a shared vision to pursue innovation.”

Watch the film below…

… and watch how it was made here…