Netflix GhostLab Virtual Premiere

Beyond the Green Screen: Engineering the Netflix 'Ghost Lab' Virtual Premiere

On May 26, 2021, Netflix and GDH hosted a groundbreaking event for the Thai sci-fi horror film Ghost Lab (ฉีกกฎทดลองผี). To celebrate the release directed by "Golf" Paween Purijitpanya and starring Tor Thanapob, Ice Paris, and Nychaa Nuttanicha, we pushed the boundaries of live broadcasting by hosting Thailand's first-ever Virtual Red Carpet Premiere.

By utilizing advanced Virtual Production (Virtual Set) technology, we transported the event's host, the director, and the lead cast from a standard green screen studio directly into the eerie, immersive universe of the film.

The Challenge: A Cinematic Universe in Under Two Months

The most daunting hurdle of this project was the timeline—we had less than two months to prepare. Instead of opting for a basic studio backdrop, we chose an ambitious approach: bringing the movie's terrifying environment to life.

Our team fully 3D-modeled the entire hospital building featured in the film, along with three pivotal scenes meticulously reconstructed to serve as interactive interview spots. This allowed the cast and creators to interact with the environment as if they were stepping back onto the actual movie set.

The Tech Stack: Precision Meets Real-Time Rendering

To seamlessly blend the live-action talent with the virtual environment without any visual lag or tracking slip, we deployed a robust, high-performance hardware and software pipeline:

• Cameras & Optics: Two Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2 cameras paired with highly versatile Fujinon HA14x4.5BERD-S6B lenses.
• Camera Support: To achieve cinematic, sweeping movements and dynamic angles, one camera was rigged to a Jimmy Jib Stanton Triangle, while the second was mounted on a Dolly Tripod.
• Camera Tracking: Precision space tracking was handled by the industry-leading MoSys StarTracking system, ensuring every pan, tilt, and dolly movement translated flawlessly into the virtual world.
• Real-Time Rendering: The entire virtual set was powered by Unreal Engine 4.27, running on two dedicated high-performance workstations for uncompromised, real-time graphics processing.

Elevating the Experience: Interactive "Jump Scares"

What is a horror movie premiere without a few frights? To maximize audience engagement and keep the cast on their toes, we engineered live, interactive Jump Scares directly into the Unreal Engine environment.

During the segment where the actors discussed their first supernatural encounter in the film, the virtual environment reacted in real-time:

• Snacks suddenly dropped from a virtual vending machine.
• An empty, haunted wheelchair autonomously rolled from the deep background, cutting aggressively across the foreground.
• In the morgue scene, a cabinet door dramatically swung open, followed by a ghost lunging up from the mortuary bed.

The Virtual Red Carpet

The premiere was not just about the main cast; it was a massive digital gathering. We seamlessly integrated live video calls into the 3D space, displaying dozens of special guest artists and celebrities on floating Virtual Screens within the hospital set. This allowed guests to walk the "red carpet" from their homes while interacting live with the hosts in the virtual environment.