'Film Noir' Virtual Production Test - 86" TV Background

I've been thinking of other interesting virtual production tests to do with my large TV screen in my ongoing mission to replace greenscreen, and I thought a Film Noir/Sin City-esque test could look really interesting, so I gave it a go over a quiet weekend! :D

I originally had grander plans for this test utilizing an array of different virtual locations, an assortment of actors, and a bit of a narrative with the classic voice-over playing across the video, sticking to the classic Film Noir tropes!

However things got a little more reduced in scope as it went along and turned back into a simple filming myself against a TV screen again, but hopefully I'll be able to use more actors in the future and focus on being behind the camera.

Which if I was behind the camera, I would have noticed early on the aliasing issue that was happening with the water running down the window, a simple post processing adjustment would have probably fixed this but I only noticed how rough it looked after checking all the footage when everything was packed away, oh well!

What I am happy about in this test is how well the cigarette smoke looks directly out of camera, trying to key the smoke on a greenscreen would have been a nightmare, and sure you could simply comp in some stock smoke footage but having the effect in real life certainly adds to the realism!

The 3d set was downloaded off the Unreal Marketplace and adjusted with some different lighting, available here - https://www.unrealengine.com/marketpl...

Shot on a Canon R5 with an EF 50mm f1.4 lens and an RF/EF adapter, Tv is a massive LG 86UP80006LA 86". Hat was on loan from Humphrey Bogart.