Digital backlot economics: digital backlots could be used more effectively in gaming, saving time and money.(view point)

The term "digital backlot" loosely describes a production in which the shooting occurs entirely against a greenscreen or other blank backgrounds, with the "sets" added later through the use of computer graphics.

It's difficult to say which film was the first to use the virtual backlot, because three such movies were all released at about the same time in 2004. The first to hit the screen was Immortel (Ad Vitam), a French film based on the graphic novels La loire aux immortels and La Femme piege. The second was the Japanese film Casshern, which was based on an earlier anime of the same name. The third to be shot on a true digital backlot was Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. It hit theaters in September of that year.

Of course, examining the films' release dates does not determine who came up with the idea first. That being said, Sky Captain director Kerry Conran set out to work on making his own film without standard set-building limitations. The concept Conran developed would become Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, which utilized the digital backlot to its fullest. Despite all its new bells and whistles, Sky Captain did not win box-office success, which begged the question, was the use of the digital sets worth the effort?

In 2005 came Sin City. Based on Frank Miller's series of graphic novels, the movie was shot entirely against a greenscreen with Sony's CineAlta high-definition cameras. The feature proved very successful, grossing $158.7 million worldwide, and indicated that a digital backlot was a viable option.

This past year, at least one film shot on a digital backlot was released. 300, based on Frank Miller's graphic novel about the Battle of Thermopylae and directed by Zack Snyder, received critical acclaim. 1 think it is safe to say that there will be more of these types of films in the coming years. For one, digital backlots offer certain advantages over shooting on a physical set. Not only does the director have total control over the environment, but he or she can also create sets that couldn't possibly exist on earth.

Reusing Assets

While digital backlots are fairly new to the feature-film world, they are hardly new in the gaming world, where artists have been using digital sets from the very beginning. Take, for example, Mortal Kombat, with its photo-generated fighters atop hand-painted sets, or Myst, with its fully-filmed live action over beautifully detailed 3D backdrops. While the film industry has had mixed success with digital backlots, they have been used in gaming all along. But have they been used in the most effective way?