The first movie shot entirely in virtual reality
Virtual reality has long been a staple of science fiction, but as it gradually advanced to the point where people were happily strapping VR sets onto their faces to watch movies and play video games, cinema was always going to sit up and take notice.
Films like James Cameron’s Avatar, TV shows including The Mandalorian, and franchises such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe have adopted using the soundstage technology dubbed ‘The Volume’, but the first feature to be shot entirely in a virtual reality environment was the remake of a beloved family favourite.
Disney’s incessant desire to overhaul the entirety of its animated back catalogue has proven to be a lucrative endeavour, with Jon Favreau’s The Lion King the most successful of the bunch. That was to be expected, considering the original is the highest-grossing 2D animation of all time, with the do-over barely qualifying as a live-action film at all.
In fairness, Favreau confirmed that one shot wasn’t created on a computer, which also happened to be the very first one seen on-screen. Beyond that, though, with no actors required in costume and every single visual element being digitally created, shooting the newest version of The Lion King necessitated some brand new technological advances.
As a movie, Favreau’s The Lion King is pedestrian and a substantial step down from its illustrious predecessor, but as an example of how far cinematic technology has come, it’s a remarkable achievement. Perhaps too realistic for its own good, the stunningly rendered animals and backdrops are nonetheless jaw-dropping in terms of how convincing they look projected onto the big screen.
Visual effects supervisor Robert Lego revealed The Lion King required “a lot of virtual reality tools”, which allowed the production team “to walk around the set like a cameraman.” Production supervisor Girish Balakrishnan expanded on that, noting on his website how “we developed a unique form of virtual cinematography that seamlessly leverages motion capture and VR/AR technologies to engage directly with the director, cinematographer, production designer, and visual effects supervisor”.
Video games would also play a major part in The Lion King, as Favreau told The Hollywood Reporter. “We built a tool set, basically a multiplayer VR filmmaking game, using the Unity game engine”, he said, “And we developed a way by which you could actually create environments and set up cameras and shots within VR.”
Essentially, Favreau would wear a VR headset on a cavernous soundstage, which would allow him to see the digital environments created for the film. From there, he could choose shots, tinker with the lighting, and then instruct his camera crew on his desired movements. It’s fairly disparaging to directly compare The Lion King to being in a video game and directing it from the inside out, but it’s not too far off, either.
