White Cyc Studio Visual Effects
By Phil G.

Have you watched the series Star Trek on TV? Have you seen a Star Wars movie? Have you seen a Sci-Fi movie or TV series involving outer space? Have you wondered how they created the scenes flying in outer space? Most of the visual effects for these programs were filmed in a white cyc studio using infinity cycs. The infinity cyc is curved at the bottom where the wall and floor join together creating a visual effect of limitless space. A white cyclorama is use on stage to create an illusion of sky.

Star Trek is a good example showing the starship Enterprise flying through limitless outer space surrounded by stars from a distance and the cameras zooming in on the starship. At the end it would show the starship Enterprise in space and the cameras would zoom away from the starship as the show ended. These visual effects were done using a white cyc studio. The model of the starship Enterprise was suspended from the ceiling in the center of a white cyclorama stage.

What makes a good white cyc studio? The white cyclorama needs to be well constructed and free from: visual flaws, seams, dirt, visual corners, and sharp angles that cause shadows. The white cyclorama should have:

1) Efficient space for zoom shots and to avoid crowding, difficult camera angles, and allow for proper lighting arrangements.

2) A high ceiling to prevent difficult camera angles, and lighting problems.

3) Two or more cyc walls to film to film against to avoid filming limitations.

4) Efficient time for setup, filming and take down if renting a white cyc studio.

Some film studios don’t have their own white cyc studio, so when they need to use a white cyc studio they go off lot and rent one of many studios in LA. There are a number of studios in and around LA let’s look at what a couple of studios feature.

White cyc studios in LA should feature:

1) Whisper quiet air conditioning.

2) Three-thousand square feet.

3) Ground level access.

4) Sixteen and a half feet to lighting grid.

5) Two white cyclorama walls seventy-feet in size.

6) Complete lighting and grip.

7) Free V/O booth and makeup room.

The studio will provide any needed production equipment.

Other great studios that you can rent out features:

1) Eighty linear feet of shoot able white cyclorama.

2) Twenty ton of grip, lighting, stedicam, jibs, dollies.

3) Three white cyclorama walls.

4) Motion control setup.

5) Four editing bays.

6) 3D animation/compositing.

7) Pre to post production crews.

Film, video, and post production equipment.

9) Film, HD, and SD camera packages HD cameras.

10) Mini thirty-five adapter from P and S Technik thirty-five mm Zeiss PL, F-one point three speed lens eighteen, twenty-five, and thirty-five, fifty, eighty-five.

11) Twenty-five foot Stanton Jimmy Jib with Remote Head and Dollies.

12) Cinema Products Provid Steadicam for sixteen mm film, HD, DV-Cam and DV cameras.

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