During a visit to Berlin, the head of Netflix raved about the shooting of “1899”, the new series from the “Dark” makers.
- During a visit to Berlin, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings raves about the production of “1899”.
- A so-called volume was built in Babelsberg especially for the Netflix series by the “Dark” makers.
- The innovative technology is also used in “The Mandalorian”.
” 1899 “, the new series by ” Dark ” creators Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar , is currently being produced for Netflix in the Babelsberg studio near Berlin . The horror series is all about European immigrants towards the end of the 19th century who want to search for a better life in the USA.
Pan-European filming in Spain, Poland, Scotland and other locations was originally planned for “1899”, but unfortunately the corona pandemic thwarted the plan – as in so many other cases.
But what to do now? “1899” creator Baran bo Odar told the US industry publication Deadline : “As filmmakers we’re very old school. We’re used to going to real locations, using real sounds and stuff like that. That was the plan for this show .”
The “Star Wars” technology is used
The solution here was the so-called volume , a virtual production method for films and series that also became known through the ” Star Wars ” series “ The Mandalorian “. The approximately 23 meter wide and 7 meter high circular stage consists of dynamic, high-resolution LED screens that move with the camera, giving the impression of an on-location shoot with changing lighting conditions.
But that alone would not be enough, as Baran bo Odar further explained to Deadline. The volume also wants to be “fed”. Landscapes such as the originally planned locations for “1899” are therefore scanned before the actual shooting and transformed into 3D models.
Baran bo Odar literally: “When I move the camera towards the wall, the landscape moves with us.”
The technical requirements for the planned “1899” shoot were therefore in place, but first a so-called volume had to be built in Babelsberg. This was taken over by Jantje Frieses and Baran bo Odar’s company Dark Bay, with Netflix providing strong financial support.
In a more classic way, a physical set for the main location of “1899” was also built in Babelsberg, namely an ocean liner. The volume, on the other hand, will also be available to other productions when filming for the Netflix series ended in November and today triggered a storm of enthusiasm from Netflix CEO Reed Hastings.
During a visit to Berlin to mark the opening of Netflix’s new headquarters for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the Silicon Valley streaming giant’s founder and boss explained (via Deadline ): “Right now, the most advanced production technology in the world is here [ in Berlin for ‘1899’]. It’s really groundbreaking and fantastic.”
