design of “want” 2.5d virtual production
directed by zolomon zelko / cinematography by max losson
production design and art direction by finley stein and zolomon zelko
virtual production head lb bunch
“want” was the first of its kind in a few ways. at florida state university, it was the first short film to be executed on the volume stage, both in its entirety, and as a story that takes place indoors. prior to “want,” the volume was used almost exclusively for driving scenes featuring exterior car plates.
in the broader world of virtual production, “want” is the first narrative short to be fully realized using a 2.5d workflow on a volume stage. the makers of virtual production software ‘disguise’ currently use “want” to showcase the versatility of this priorly-experimental process. there wasn’t a handbook for us to consult - the visual effects society’s first guide to virtual production rolled out while we were in pre-pro, and barely addressed the niche-within-a-niche of 2.5d. if we ran into a problem, we simply had to figure it out. there was no existing precedent.
as the whole process dealt with a high amount of unknowns, “want” underwent many iterations of story and style. we hit walls (no pun intended) and had to flex around them.
beyond: zolomon’s graveyard of sketches and concepts and tests.
the first iteration of “want” revolved around a starving man and a gluttonous lord. we planned to film half of the short on the volume (the lord’s palace) and half on location (the man’s shack, a weedy lot in a monolithic city). the story was scrapped when we decided to shoot for a 100% virtual show, in order to better our odds of getting approved to use the volume.
selections from the first iteration’s design bible
the second iteration was, indeed, all virtual, but it still wasn’t sitting right. it hung on to too many story bones from the first go-around, and required too many wide shots. these were possible, and we utilize a couple in the final film, but true wides rely on locking off the camera and set-extending in post. they turn the volume into a glorified greenscreen.
the second iteration also introduced black-and-white to “want.” we leaned more heavily into an expressionist look, as the minimalism and handmade feel of older expressionist films would make the scope much more approachable.
selections from the second iteration’s design bible
an early experiment on merging 2.5d and live action in the foreground and midground, prior to adopting a virtual production workflow.
art & comp by zolomon
the final look of “want” is heavily inspired by the fairytale - meets - modernist paintings of disney’s sleeping beauty, and the brutal geometry of postwar expressionist paintings and constructivist art. zolomon has kurt schwitter’s cathedral of erotic misery tattooed on his body. this is not a joke.
building the statue
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building the statue *
finley stein and zolomon zelko worked closely throughout pre-production. in “want”, a sorcerer accidentally turns his beloved servant to stone. to stay true to the look of early expressionistic cinema, they decided to build the statue practically, and to scale. it was their first go at sculpture, and they are relieved to say that it turned out alright.
final scenic paintings and concept art by zolomon
max losson tests an on-the-wall zolly (a “wally”) while zolomon tests makeup and 2d fx animation on a stand-in, also named max.
in the background: one of the finalized paintings used in the film.
another test of 2d fx, 2.5d environments, and live actors (producer terese and cinematographer max). we had to sync the wall animation (by finley stein) with the spell performance, which was achieved the old fashioned way: a metronome and counting.
see the final take below.
