Behind the Scenes of Road Trip!
Earlier this month, we traveled to Vancouver to be apart of a short film called Road Trip at the incredible Lumostage.
What made this production especially exciting for us is that 100% of the background content was created using our plates—a real-world demonstration of how flexible and powerful Sim-Plates are when it comes to creating cinematic environments for Virtual Production Car Process.
ROAD TRIP! - BEHIND THE SCENES
Choosing Impossible Shots
The creative direction behind Road Trip leaned heavily into scenes that would be difficult—or outright impossible—to capture with live-action cameras. That’s where Sim-Plates shines. Instead of being limited to what’s physically shootable on location, the team was able to dream bigger and trust that we could deliver plates tailored to their creative needs.
These camera moves are impossible with traditional plates; you would see seams and artifacts where the different angles line up.
Customizing Plates for Creative Freedom
One standout example from the shoot was a desert U-turn sequence. The production team wanted a specific daytime desert shot with a U-turn—not something you’d typically find in a standard driving plate library. Rather than attempt a costly and logistically complex reshoot, we customized an existing Sim-Plate asset to meet their needs. We converted our high-resolution desert footage into a static plate with a precise U-turn path, and it worked flawlessly.
This is the kind of flexibility that sets virtual production apart—and it’s a perfect illustration of how Sim-Plates can be customized for storytelling, not just background dressing.
Custom U-Turn Plate through camera.
Advanced Compositing with Assimilate LiveFX
To bring even more depth and control to the visuals, we used Assimilate LiveFX as our real-time media server and compositing tool. This allowed us to go far beyond traditional playback. Using Sim-Plates as the foundation, we were able to:
Replace or stylize the sky in real-time
Create focus-based masks for rack focus effects
Adjust color dynamically on set
Composite layered looks live, saving time in post
This kind of real-time visual feedback gave the director and cinematographer immediate confidence in their shots—and saved valuable hours during both production and post.
With Live FX we were able to dial the exposure of the sun and sky exactly like the director and DP wanted, which allowed us to shoot directly into the sun, something that can be tricky at an LED stage.
Also notice the lighting at the end, the lightings were all Pixel Mapped through Live FX.
Why This Matters
Virtual production is not just about displaying pretty backgrounds. It’s about unlocking creative agility. Sim-Plates enabled Road Trip to shoot cinematic, emotionally resonant scenes that would have otherwise been prohibitively expensive or outright impossible. Whether it’s a desert U-turn or a dramatic sky replacement, our plates and tools give filmmakers control they’ve never had before.
ROAD TRIP!
Want to Learn More?
We’re proud of what we accomplished on Road Trip, and we’re excited to share more behind-the-scenes looks in the future. If you’re working on a project and want to explore how Sim-Plates can power your virtual production—reach out. Let’s make the impossible possible!
