Netflix has recently released Spain’s first film using LED volume technology, teen romantic drama “Through My Window” (“A Través de mi Ventana”).
Produced by Adrian Guerra’s Nostromo Pictures alongside sister company Orca Studios, the Spanish-language film features real-time rendered CG scenes shot in-camera as part of its production.
More from Variety
Its LED volume technology is the same ground-breaking virtual production process utilized by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) on Disney Plus’ hit series “The Mandalorian” and is considered by many as the most significant technological advance since green screen.
LED wall volumes replace static backgrounds in virtual studios with exterior or interior images that adjust in sync with camera movement, powered by video game PC engines, such as Unreal for “The Mandalorian.”
“We selected three scenes — the heliport, the penthouse interior and the elevator — as they had different challenges and needs,” said Guerra, adding: “We also shot some car sequences directly in the LED volume, with driving plates from Barcelona projected on the LED screens and backgrounds in different sets.”
Based on the YA novel by Ariana Godoy, a bestseller on online social reading platform Wattpad, “Through My Window” follows high schooler Raquel who has a been harboring a crush on her gorgeous neighbor, Ares, whom she spies on from her window. He’s also the scion of a wealthy family, so she feels he’s way out of her league. Sparks fly when she catches him brazenly tapping her Wi-Fi signal. Marçal Forès (“Animal”) directed the romantic drama based on a screenplay by Eduardo Sola.
“We had been thinking for some time that the Spanish-speaking audience of Wattpad had great potential so we were monitoring it for some time to see which novels would make an interesting movie,” said Guerra, who said they bought the rights to “…Window” in 2019.
“When we discovered Godoy’s novel, we saw some very strong characters and fell in love with them,” he added.
According to Netflix, the film has ranked No. 1 in Spain, Italy and a slew of Latin American countries since it bowed worldwide on Feb. 4. In the U.S., it ranks six out of the top 10.
Founded in 2019 by Guerra, Orca Studios developed its cutting-edge technology with the support of Epic Games and the collaboration of Kinolux in Spain. It is based in the Canary Islands and also runs VPX soundstage facilities in Madrid and Barcelona. According to Guerra, they have employed LED volume technology on other third-party projects, yet to be released. “It is definitely growing in demand,” he noted.
Such setups have grown ever more popular given the current COVID-19 protocols as it allows for more controlled environments.
Nostromo Pictures is currently in production on the Spanish adaptation of Netflix’s Sandra Bullock hit, “Birdbox.” It is in post on Netflix original series, “Santo,” created by scribe Carlos López (“Hache”). It is also in post on a co-production with Atresmedia, Warner Bros Spain and Filmayer, “Los Renglones Torcidos de Dios,” directed by Oriol Paulo (“The Body”). Film is an adaptation of popular late ‘70s novel by Torcuato Luca de Tena, which revolves around a woman who checks into a psychiatric ward to investigate a murder.
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Click here to read the full article.
