What to know:
- Brompton Technology’s LED processors provided the processing backbone for the virtual production workflow used on 'Believe Me.'
- The production used a 30m-wide by 4m-high ROE Visual BP2V2 LED wall driven by four Brompton 4K Tessera SX40 processors.
- By using the same Tessera workflow during pre-production and principal photography, fivefold studios was able to validate the pipeline in advance, maintain a dependable visual reference, and give the creative team precise, repeatable control on the day.
The Virtual Production Workflow Used on 'Believe Me.'
Brompton Technology’s LED processors provided the processing backbone for the virtual production workflow used on Believe Me, ITV’s four-part true-crime drama produced by Etta Pictures, part of ITV Studios. With a significant proportion of the drama taking place inside a black cab travelling through London at night, virtual production specialist fivefold studios developed a controlled LED workflow that could support the story’s demanding creative, technical and performance requirements. The production used a 30m-wide by 4m-high ROE Visual BP2V2 LED wall driven by four Brompton 4K Tessera SX40 processors.
[London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art Goes Virtual... Production]
Filming the scenes conventionally on a low-loader would have required extensive night shoots on London streets and, according to the fivefold team, could have taken between three and five times longer.
"The controlled environment also helped protect the performances from the practical pressures of shooting such disturbing material at night on the streets of London,” explained Tom Murphy, head of production at fivefold studios. "Many of the key dramatic beats depended on traffic lights changing and the cab following specific routes. Being able to program those events, trigger them on cue and repeat them accurately allowed us to remain faithful to the script in a way that would have been extremely difficult on a low-loader.”
At the center of preparation was the ability to establish a reliable 10-bit image pipeline with an accurate reference for the displayed image and its color transforms. Using the same Brompton workflow during research and development and on set enabled fivefold to refine the setup in advance, providing a more controlled and predictable starting point when principal photography began.
“Brompton was central to giving us confidence in the image pipeline for Believe Me,” said Murphy. “Having access to the same Brompton workflow in our R&D Lab meant we could test, refine and validate color, image transforms and display accuracy before anyone arrived on set. That level of control made a real difference to the production, giving the team a reliable reference for the displayed image and creating a far more predictable virtual production workflow.”
Working closely with cinematographer Bryan Gavigan, the gaffer and the DIT, fivefold aligned the LED imagery with the physical lighting and camera requirements. "Our main job was to ensure that the background never took the audience out of the moment or the performance,” Murphy noted. “That meant getting the brightness, contrast, color, perspective and scale right, while maintaining a detailed record of every setup so that the production always had a faithful reference.”
Lighting fixtures could also be driven by the video playback, enabling synchronized effects to be mapped to specific areas of the content and reproduced consistently between takes. Detailed records were maintained for every setup, scene and take, providing the crew and production with an accurate reference should a sequence need to be revisited.
An iPad-based interface allowed the virtual production supervisor to remain alongside Ford and trigger events, reset the sequence to its starting position and reproduce cues efficiently. For the actors, the real-time environment provided visible movement and lighting to respond to naturally, reducing the need for additional direction and helping performances remain synchronized with the world outside the vehicle.
The controlled workflow also expanded what the production could achieve beyond the cab sequences. One opening shot, featuring a bus crossing a bridge and passing the London Eye, was written into the drama because virtual production made the sequence achievable with significantly less practical risk.
“Believe Me demonstrates the value of treating virtual production as a complete image pipeline rather than simply a screen on set,” concluded Patrick Goodden, technical sales manager (U.K. and Ireland) at Brompton Technology. “By using the same Tessera workflow during pre-production and principal photography, fivefold studios was able to validate the pipeline in advance, maintain a dependable visual reference, and give the creative team precise, repeatable control on the day. We are proud that Brompton processing helped remove technical uncertainty from such a demanding production, allowing the team to focus on performance, continuity and storytelling.”
