Pathway World First 65mm Celluloid Shoot with ROE Visual

Leek, The Netherlands ( May 30 2023) - In a world first, Manchester based VP studio Pathway have brought together 30 years of media production technology to shoot 65mm celluloid film on a ROE Visual LED stage.

Since their December launch, the studio at Pathway has hosted talent such as Jason Derulo and has filmed for end clients such as, Mclaren, BBC Three and NBC.

All productions have been filmed on a large format LED display stage consisting of ROE Visual Ruby RB2.3 LED panels, powered by a HELIOS LED processing platform.

“We wanted to see if shooting an LED wall on 65mm could give virtual production filmmaking more character and presence,” said Nathan Newman, co-founder of Pathway. The blending of analogue and digital production methods for virtual production was made possible through a collaboration with Kodak, Panavision and ARRI Rental.

The film is based on the novel Questus by Shawn Williamson and features character Angus MacWilliam, played by Graham Gardner, who wields a stone sword as he slowly advances through dense Scottish gorse bushes on the edge of Loch Eriboll.

‘VP On 65mm Film’ was shot by North West based cinematographer Paul Mortlock GBCT and directed by James Slater. The 65mm camera was created by German manufacturer ARRI in 1986 by Otto Blaschek and is known for its use on feature films such as Gravity (2013) and Tenet (2020).

Cinematographer Paul Mortlock at work at Pathway Studio

The virtual production scene was built using the real-time video game software Unreal Engine 5 which gave the filmmakers a high degree of control over lighting and composition of the shot. “This project was a case of two firsts for me - shooting on a virtual production set and on 65mm. I felt privileged to experience first hand the possibilities this could offer,” commented VP on 65mm Film Director James Slater.
Slater is known for his music video work with singer-songwriter Sam Fender, singer Jamie T and for recently achieving a Vimeo staff pick for documentary Look For The Diamonds.

Nathan Newman, Co-founder of Pathway said, “It’s not every day that you get to work with such a rare and prestigious camera and we were delighted to onboard such helpful collaborators.”
The VP studio had a narrow time window of just 10 days to make the test happen. “When we told our would-be collaborators about our plans they didn’t ask ‘why?’ they asked ‘what do you need?’ We couldn’t have made this happen without their kind support and a shared vision to pursue innovation.”

About Pathway
Pathway is a Manchester based 6,000 square foot facility dedicated to the creation of real-time produced media with LED volumes. Our offering is part Innovation Lab, part Production Facility. We support filmmakers, technologists and artists from research and education through to delivering your shoot in real-time.