On October 20, 2021 China Science & Technology Film and Television Summit Forum, co-hosted by Chongqing Municipal Commission of Culture and Tourism Development and Yongchuan District Committee and District Government, was successfully held. The concept film Unknown Planet, China’s first full-LED virtual production film, was shot on site. The LED displays used for this groundbreaking production were provided by Shenzhen Tecnon EXCO-Vision Technology Co., Ltd.

In a temporarily built studio, several actors in space suits stood in a steel-pipe lifting platform–like structure. The real-time footage transmitted to the screen showed them ascending in a space elevator.

Inside the studio, actors walked slowly in front of the LED wall, while the real-time broadcast presented them trekking hard on a desolate alien planet. The snow-covered landscape and biting wind in the frame were highly immersive, creating a chillingly realistic atmosphere.

These incredibly lifelike scenes were neither built as real sets nor composited in post-production with green screens. They were captured in the studio in front of a large LED screen, with shooting assisted by moving robotic arms.

This technique of simulating scenes indoors for filmmaking is called virtual production. During virtual shooting, the camera can capture an expansive virtual world through the LED display within a limited studio space. With virtual production, shoots that once took days or even weeks can now be completed in hours or days indoors, cutting costs and greatly improving efficiency.