VIRTUAL PRODUCTION SHOWTIME’S THE CHI WITH LOVE

To mark the third season launch of Showtime’s “The Chi,” Vita Motus partnered with Kamp Grizzly to present THE CHI WITH LOVE. In the spirit of the BLM movement, what started out as a virtual concert celebrating the city of Chicago evolved into a beautifully minimalist fundraiser benefiting the Equal Justice Initiative. 8 Chicago artists contributed their voices and poetry in compelling performances: Common, BJ the Chicago Kid, Ravyn Lanae, Jamila Woods, Jacob Latimore, Twista, MFnMelo, and Lena Waithe.

Vita Motus brought virtual production capabilities to this process, guiding the production teams into a real-time rendering pipeline and realizing the open architectural interior the performances all take place within. Keeping focus on the artists, the understated aesthetic relied on indirect, dynamic lighting techniques that washed the space in rich, even tones as light shafts penetrate its many skylights. A breathing volume of grass slowly rises through the floor, enveloping the interior as the sun sets and Lena Waithe gives her final remarks under an indigo moonlight.

We managed artist capture and video integration while executing all virtual cinematography. The final renderings were raytraced by our internal RTX render farm.