Fireworks
Virtual Production Short Film

Produced by DNEG and Wilder Films, Fireworks is one of the first UK films shot entirely within a LED Volume built to specs at our studios.

Shot at our studios on a large-scale curved LED Volume, “Fireworks” is the directorial debut of DNEG’s two-times Oscar-winner Paul Franklin.

Realized as a collaboration between DNEG, Dimension Studios and Wilder Films with the support of Epic Games, Story Futures Academy, LIPSYNC POST and Mission, the short film aimed to push the limits of virtual production with LED screens by committing to exclusively shooting within a LED Volume.

DNEG and Dimension Studios engaged 80six at the tail end of 2020 and in preparation for the shoot, they spent close to a month at our studios for testing and pre-lighting.

Filmed in a week at our studios, our team supported the production by building an 18m x 4.5m high-resolution LED volume with award-winning ROE Visual Diamond DM2.6 for the rear wall and ROE Carbon 5.7mm for the LED ceiling and movable lighting dollies.

The LED panels ran on Brompton Technology’s SX40 processors and were calibrated for HDR using Brompton's Hydra calibration system. This gave the panels a high dynamic range increasing the colour accuracy that was necessary for reproducing the photorealistic background content.

“We used Brompton's Hydra calibration system, enabling the panels to produce incredible true-to-life colours that were required for the photorealistic background content, and got outstanding results. The request for HDR was the result of several months of testing involving colour scientists and VFX teams. We're fortunate that the majority of our LED inventory is armed with Brompton R2 cards enabling us to recalibrate them using Hydra whenever necessary." Jack James - Co-founder & Operational Director at 80six.

Fireworks stars Charlotte Riley (Press, Wuthering Heights), Denise Gough (Andor, Too Close) and Ivanno Jeremiah (Humans, Black Mirror), and features production design by Designer’s Guild-nominated Jamie Lapsley (Bodyguard, Tommy’s Honour, Kill Command) and cinematography by Ollie Downey, BSC (Temple, Hanna, Britannia).

Fireworks was released in March 2022.