Behind-the-Scenes with Fuzzy Door Tech’s ViewScreen: Step Inside the “Pink House” Shoot with Olivia O’Hara

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Fuzzy Door Tech, the innovative technology division of Seth MacFarlane’s acclaimed production company Fuzzy Door, today shared a behind-the-scenes look into the “Pink House” shoot. Fuzzy Door Tech’s Olivia O’Hara, who directed the project, shares how the ViewScreen^® suite of products brought the shoot to life and allowed her to visualize scenes featuring a CGI character in real time, transforming her process.

Q: Tell me about the project?

A: We planned the Pink House shoot originally to capture videos and stills for our launch of the ViewScreen suite of products. We had footage from the new Ted TV series that was launching in January, but wasn’t premiering until after we launched ViewScreen, so we weren’t able to use that footage. We needed to capture videos to showcase the tools that we could share ahead of the show premiere.

I had an additional goal to turn this project into a case study: I wanted to see if I could push the power of the ViewScreen suite by setting up in a new environment, with zero prep time and minimal gear, to see if there was any friction. I also wanted to get some happy, pink content. We’d shot alien spaceships and a fairly raunchy bear…it was time for something softer.

Q: What inspired the character and the world you wanted to create?

A: The project was a character exploration featuring Sally, a Pixar-esque girl who’s one of the ViewScreen starter assets we include for people to experiment with. She reminds me of the characters you make up when playing childhood games: let’s pretend we’re in a mansion with pink furs and delicate china, and we’re going to discuss important matters over high tea. I wanted to explore that Little Princess, Francis Hodgson Burnett world with her, as a way to demonstrate what ViewScreen can do.

Q: Have you worked on any other projects where ViewScreen was used to capture an animated character?

A: I worked on season one of Ted the TV series, which premiered on Peacock in January. On set, we used ViewScreen to put a digital bear into all the cameras, so it looked like Ted was really there. For that show, I puppeteered the digital bear. The Pink House shoot was the first time I used ViewScreen as a director.

Q: How did the location you chose impact a VFX-based shoot like this?

A: I fell in love with the Pink House because it was already dressed perfectly for our tea party scene. The tradeoffs were the restrictions that came with walking into a location like this, where the owner had cultivated a specific ambience that had to remain pristine. We couldn't move any furniture or even change the lightbulbs. Some of the set decor was antique and one-of-a-kind, so we had to work around the fragility of those pieces too.

Every tool on set is there to serve the story, and VFX tools are no different – the gear required should never stop you from shooting in a great location. Because ViewScreen has such a small footprint, we had the freedom to move around in the tightest corners, despite the limitations of the space.

Q: What are some behind the scenes details of the shoot that might surprise people?

A: This was a one-day shoot and we had a lot of limitations. The location itself was gorgeous, but it was so booked that we couldn’t get in ahead of the shoot. We had to rely on pictures. Because of this, our DP, Elle Schneider, had no pre-lighting time. There was no Wi-Fi in the space, so we ran the whole system off a tiny mobile hotspot we affectionately called our “hockey puck.” With all that considered, I showed up with the confidence that we could use ViewScreen to get the footage we needed. And because the software is compatible with a wide range of cameras, we were able to shoot on the Panasonic BS1H, which we like because it’s lightweight and has a great sensor inside its small footprint.

Q: What surprised you most about how ViewScreen helped you deliver on your vision for this project from a director’s perspective?

A: It wasn’t so much a surprise, but a delight and the relief of being able to see results in real time. Without ViewScreen, the shoot would have been very different. I would’ve shot coverage of our actor and clean plates for the CG character, and then sent the plates off to a vendor for weeks of back-and-forth before it looked like what I imagined…approving animation passes, comps and final renders. Instead, I could get a head start with live animation and an instant, real-time composite, and best of all I could see how the character interactions worked right inside my monitor. It allowed me to give performance notes for the CG character like I’d give notes to any other actor. It was beautifully easy and a no-brainer.

Q: How did the ViewScreen technology impact your ability to improvise and experiment on set?

A: With ViewScreen, I could see all the pieces playing together in real time, which sets a wonderful stage for being able to improvise and experiment. It was incredible to see how seamlessly Sally blended into her real-world environment. Because we knocked out that guesswork, we were able to really have fun with the characters. We’d do a few takes with more drama, and then a few takes where someone stood off to the side making bad puns and jokes, and had the ViewScreen operator animate Sally accordingly to capture different moods. It was a lot of fun.

I also didn’t have to worry about the VFX budget and getting certain “just in case” takes for VFX, because I could see I was getting the coverage we needed in the moment. If you weren’t shooting with ViewScreen, you might get a shot from your vendor weeks or months after production is done and find out way too late that it doesn’t work.

Q: This was the first time you directed with a digital character, was the technology an obstacle to telling your story?

A: Completely the opposite; the technology enabled me to tell the story better. Projects with VFX characters didn’t feel accessible before. What kind of performance would I get from a character I had to wait months to see? There was no other way to have my digital actor in the scene, in real time, if I didn’t have ViewScreen.

With new technologies, you get waves of possibility and waves of skepticism. Will a tool deliver on its promise? Will it be a distraction? If I’m going to use any technology to help me tell a story, it has to serve that story or at least make the storytelling process markedly easier.

ViewScreen let me approach the story in a more human way because I could treat Sally like any other actor. I also didn’t have to deal with bluescreens, mocap suits, cables and wires everywhere, or other equipment restrictions.

Q: What were the key features of ViewScreen that you used during the shoot?

A: We used a few key features of ViewScreen to capture the interaction between the actor and our digital character. One was our markerless motion capture tool, which uses a separate iPhone to send live face and head movements to the character. The other was a game controller to puppet Sally’s body animation. We also used our onboard lighting controls to match the digital lighting to the way Elle lit the Pink House on the day of the shoot. This allowed Sally to seamlessly fit into the environment.

Q: How many people did you need to run ViewScreen?

A: Three people, not including our actor. Because ViewScreen has a small footprint and runs on off-the-shelf consumer hardware, we could achieve this with the three-person crew – Elle as the DP and camera operator; Brandon [Fayette] as VFX supervisor and ViewScreen operator; and me as the director.

Q: Anything else you would like to share?

A: Having been here the whole way as our team builds these features, having tested all these features, having operated ViewScreen every day on Ted…it’s still a delight every time I see all the pieces fit together in my monitor. I go into shoots knowing exactly how much hard work and technical effort goes into our system, yet seeing the invisible things magically appear and come alive…it still charms me.

About Olivia O’Hara

Olivia O’Hara directed the Pink House project and is a product manager at Fuzzy Door Tech. O’Hara was the ViewScreen operator on season one of the Peacock TV series Ted and on the VFX team on seasons one and two of Hulu’s The Orville, to name a few.

About Fuzzy Door Tech

Fuzzy Door Tech is the innovative technology division of Seth MacFarlane’s acclaimed production company Fuzzy Door, which was established in 2019. Fuzzy Door Tech is redefining storytelling for film and television production with ViewScreen, a patented suite of augmented reality ProVis™ tools that simultaneously integrates VFX and live action – in real time – for unmatched creative flexibility. From pre-production to post-production, Fuzzy Door Tech's solutions are tailored to streamline workflows and enrich the creative process for the entertainment industry. For more information, visit viewscreen.com.

ViewScreen makes stories happen.

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