I’ve been testing a bunch of new ideas outside Strange Comnpany’s traditional wheelhouse over the last few months, and I’m going to be putting some of them up here over the next couple of days.

First up: Actual People!

Yep, I’ve been working with Orange Girl Productions, a new theatre company based in Edinburgh, to create a virtual set-based trailer for their new play.

This is of interest to me because it’s using CGI to make films, but it’s not animation - and hence doesn’t have the Uncanny Valley problems associated with animation.

Obviously this is a very mainstream technique. I first became really interested in Virtual Set work whilst watching the TV series Once Upon A Time. But nonetheless, it seems like it might be a very powerful technique for producing the kind of films that Strange Company has worked on over the years, combining live actors and their connection with the audience with the CGI tech that lets us make fantastic universes, massive battles, and so on.

Here’s the trailer! The virtual set work is pretty rough, but IMO it’s definitely got potential.

What do you think?

Trailer for Nell Gwyn: An Epilogue from Strange Company on Vimeo.