Disney's Pinocchio Used Ultimatte 12 and HyperDeck Studio 4K Pro for Virtual Production Pipeline
Brie Clayton February 3, 2023
0 Comments
Blackmagic Design today announced that Disney's Pinocchio, the live action version of the animated classic film, used Ultimatte 12 real time compositing processors and HyperDeck Studio 4K Pro broadcast decks as part of the production's massive virtual production workflow.
Starring Tom Hanks as Geppetto, the live action and CGI retelling of the epic journey of a wooden puppet who becomes a real boy, Pinocchio used one of the largest virtual production workflows for any feature film and included several massive sets at Cardington Stage in London.
Director, Virtual Production and SVP Dimension North America, Jim Geduldick was the virtual production supervisor for Pinocchio. He and his team were responsible for integrating Simulcam, the live compositing of virtual objects with live action, with Unreal Engine's real time 3D CGI creations, allowing any member of the crew, as well as the actors, to be able to control or react to virtual objects in real time. While using Simulcam and Unreal Engine for virtual production had been done in the past, Geduldick was faced with doing this on a scale that had never been attempted.
To accomplish this, Geduldick created several virtual production carts that were built around Ultimatte 12s, Ultimatte Smart Remote 4 and HyperDeck Studio 4K Pros which could be quickly moved anywhere they were needed on set.
No one had ever tried to do this across multiple sets for three months straight. There was so much happening each day, and we had to make sure we could get a cart wherever and whenever they were needed, Geduldick said. We could not have done that without Ultimatte and HyperDeck.
Each cart included multiple Ultimatte 12s, Ultimatte Smart Remote 4 and HyperDeck Studio 4K Pros. At first Geduldick used two Ultimatte 12s per Simulcam feed, but with software improvements to Ultimatte 12 from Blackmagic Design, by the end of production he was able to use a single Ultimatte 12 per Simulcam setup.
Related COW News
February 6, 2023How The Finish Line Delivered Post on Netflix's I Am A KillerBehind the edit, grade, and HDR delivery of the show where killers
February 6, 2023Blackmagic Fusion Tutorial: Sine Visualiser Part TwoIn this second part we'll take a look a making our basic
The workflow used Simulcam with layers of augmented CG layers and Ultimatte 12 as the keyer. The images were then integrated into Unreal Engine in real time. We could do front plates and back plates through a single Ultimatte, and we relied on the Ultimatte's hardware based processing to send a real time key to Unreal, Geduldick noted.
He continued: You can't beat Ultimatte's hardware based real time keying. Offloading to hardware saves so much data use that is needed elsewhere on set.
HyperDeck Studio 4K Pros were used to create custom playlists along with basic playback and recording. This helped create a workflow where virtual elements and specific lighting setups could be played back through Unreal Engine.
The Simulcam and Ultimatte workflow was amazing. The DP, VFX supervisor and camera operators would know where they were landing because they could see it using Ultimatte. Lighting and atmospheric decisions could be done right on set. Virtual production only works if you can react and make creative decisions in real time, and that is what the Blackmagic Design products allowed, Geduldick finished.
###
Enjoying the news? Sign up for the Creative COW Newsletter! Sign up for the Creative COW newsletter and get weekly updates on industry news, forum highlights, jobs, inspirational tutorials, tips, burning questions, and more! Receive bulletins from the largest, longest-running community dedicated to supporting professionals working in film, video, and audio.
Enter your email address, a first and last name, and let us know what you'd like to see more of in the message!
-- Sign up: * indicates required
Email Address *
Name
--
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
21/04/2026
Cloud-based production isnt going anywhere, and BitFire is doubling down by prov...
21/04/2026
The topic of artificial intelligence has a stranglehold on the sports-video-prod...
21/04/2026
5G is still a hot topic in live event production, and this workflow continues to...
21/04/2026
At the 2026 NAB Show, Ed McGivern, GM and President of Appear US, discusses the ...
21/04/2026
Studio Network Solutions (SNS) has announced an on-premise AI suite designed for...
21/04/2026
Suite Studios has integrated its file-streaming technology into the newly announced Frame.io Drive, a desktop application from Adobe company Frame.io. The colla...
21/04/2026
Net Insight has integrated InSync Technology's FrameFormer into the Nimbra E...
21/04/2026
Fox Sports has selected Appear as a technology partner to support the next phase...
21/04/2026
Diversified has appointed Tyler Affolter as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) to lead the company's commercial organisation. The appointment follows the firm'...
21/04/2026
Layercake has formalised the integration of Bitmovin's video streaming infra...
21/04/2026
The International Judo Federation (IJF) has extended its distribution partnershi...
21/04/2026
Glookast has launched the Cinnafilm Tachyon plugin for its Media Producer and Me...
21/04/2026
Eutelsat has entered into an agreement with Cadena Tres, a division of Grupo Ima...
21/04/2026
Dolby Laboratories and TV Azteca have partnered to introduce Dolby Atmos immersive audio to free-to-air television broadcasts. The implementation utilises the A...
21/04/2026
FOX Entertainment partnered with Verizon to overcome significant production hurd...
21/04/2026
Osprey Video has announced its technology showcase for the NAB Show 2026, highli...
21/04/2026
Riedel Communications (Booth C4908) introduced a range of new solutions at NAB S...
21/04/2026
The NAB Show is in full swing, and the SVG and SVG Europe editorial teams are chasing down the hottest stories from all over the Las Vegas Convention Center. He...
21/04/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced the URSA Cine Immersive 100G, an immersive cinem...
21/04/2026
Clark Wire & Cable is continuing its evolution from cable supplier to full-scale solutions partner for broadcast and live production. At the 2026 NAB Show, we s...
21/04/2026
Rashad Frett attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Ricky at Eccles Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, UT. (Photo by George Pimentel/Shut...
21/04/2026
Five years ago, Spotify arrived in Pakistan, opening a new chapter in the country's music scene. Since then, local listeners have explored across genres, ge...
21/04/2026
Since its launch in 2020, RADAR has been our program for spotlighting emerging artists around the world. This year marks the sixth edition of RADAR Spain, our o...
21/04/2026
Offers compact wireless solution for pedalboards
Taiwanese audio brand Cloudvocal have announced the availability of a new pedalboard-friendly wireless syst...
21/04/2026
Latest hybrid sampling/synthesis instrument arrives
Arturia's Augmented series offerings rely on a mixture of sampling and synthesis, allowing users to ...
21/04/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to host Power Electronics Online Conference From Design to Vali...
21/04/2026
MAS and Lockheed Martin partner to establish an F-35 depot in Canada, enabling in-country sustainment and creating high-skilled aerospace jobs....
21/04/2026
Advertising strategies shift as competition grows for a large, active and qualit...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Layercake Deepens Bitmovin Integration to Power End-to-End Media Orchestration w...
21/04/2026
Cobalt Digital Announces Launch of blueCORE at NAB Show 2026: Compact Powerhouse...
21/04/2026
On-Premise AI Suite from Studio Network Solutions Debuts at NAB Show 2026
Melanie Ciotti April 21, 2026
0 Comments
Unlimited processing, no cloud depe...
21/04/2026
London, 21 April 2026 IBC today announced the appointment of Tim Banham as its first Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), a newly created role that reflects the or...
21/04/2026
Motion Design Tools - April 2026
Roland Kahlenberg April 21, 2026
0 Comments
Within 2 days, Maxon and Canva announced pro-level motion design apps - A...
21/04/2026
Chaos and Zero Density to Showcase Real-Time Ray Tracing for Virtual Studios and...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
Disney's Pinocchio Used Ultimatte 12 and HyperDeck Studio 4K Pro for Virtual Production Pipeline 
