notable work
In Dates In Real Life, 10% of the show was going to be shot in a virtual world where the main character would have friends and a long distance boyfriend. The focus was on authenticity over flashy effects, so I was tasked with finding solutions that would work with the small budget of the production.
We ended up with a virtual production set using tech largely available to consumers, like Vive with full body trackers, and used VRChat as the platform of choice. Avatars and worlds were developed to look like things actual VRChat players would wear and use.
Originally we planned to use face tracking but the Vive Pro Eye with lip attachment didn't give us the stability needed, and so we pivoted to a complex version of avatar puppeteering where the face is being controlled by finger movement. The result very much looks like a video game but with enough emotional range that it helps bring the story along.
I did the character designs and production of the lead cast of avatars as well as quite a bit of world work. Above is an example of the development of Cat, with a concept sketch, early version and final version with the bodysuit. Most development was done iteratively in VR due to this model being based on an existing base I had already made.
Dancing was often used as a means of testing models before bringing them into VR. It also makes the production more fun!
The two leads Ida and Marvin were made from scratch, Teen the anime girl was modded from a purchased model with the original owner's permission and Burger the burger was created by freelance character artist Rannon Healey.
Most worlds were put together with store assets, Club Babylon was one of the few scenes where I did most of the work. Above is an early test of the music visualization system. Bar Babylon might be repurposed later this year to hold the virtual launch party for the show, as many team members are international and won't be able to attend in person.
The first episodes of the series was showcased on Series Mania in France where it won the International Panorama Best Series award. A trailer can be seen here: Dates in Real Life - Festival Séries Mania (seriesmania.com)
