How Miniatures and LED Screens Brought Sci-Fi World to Life in 'Molli and Max in the Future'

VP Land

In this episode of VP Land, we dive into the world of sci-fi and indie production with Steve Dabal, co-founder of the production house The Family. Steve shares his experience working on the indie sci-fi rom-com, Molli and Max in the Future, and how the filmmakers overcame budget constraints with creative solutions.
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Connect with Steve @ The Family:
Website - https://www.stevedabal.com
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/stevewithav
Twitter - https://twitter.com/SteveDabal
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevedabal
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/stevedabal
Vimeo - https://vimeo.com/dabal
IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4288461
The Family
Website - https://thefamily.tv
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/thefamilybts
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@the_family
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/family
Molli and Max in the Future
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/molliandmax/
Steve is an independent film director with a background in visual effects, working with brands (Google, Adidas, Paypal, NFL, etc.) and artists (Joey Bada$$, T-Pain, Scarlett Johansson, Oliver Tree, etc.)
As the co-founder and creative director of the Family in New York City, he has grown a small art collective into a full service production house creating digital and physical artworks. It is proudly artist owned and operated.
His work has been recognized at festivals around the world (SXSW, Coachella, Lollapalooza, Clusterfest, New York Film Festival) and he has spoken about using technology for storytelling at SIGGRAPH, Infocomm, Dior, SVA, Villa Albertine, etc.
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📝 SHOW NOTES & SOURCES
BTS - Molli and Max in The Future
https://www.instagram.com/molliandmax/
Molli and Max in The Future Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhFmVkgxveA
Oculus Rift Development Kit 2 Hands-on
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzJUcdYQBj8
Tilt Brush: Painting from a new perspective
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TckqNdrdbgk
CNN Tech For Good BRAVEMIND PTSD VR Exposure Therapy 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44ymmQ1kdZw&t=2s
3D virtual reality device for stroke rehabilitation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPcpn665O_s
Hello Apple Vision Pro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY4x85zqoJM&t=1s
A Guided Tour of Apple Vision Pro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb0dG-2huJE&t=203s
Cuebric
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK6HndLX7wg
The Blackmagic Camera App Tutorial - iPhone Filmmaking
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9nf7oE75TM
stYpe RedSpy
https://stype.tv
Disguise
https://www.disguise.one/en/solutions/virtual-production
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00:00 Intro
01:45 Steve Dabal's Background and The Family
03:42 How Molli and Max in the Future Started
07:10 VR and Storytelling Research
10:45 Learnings from Early VR Experiments
13:20 About Molli and Max in the Future
15:00 Prep and Production Process Timeline
21:00 Generating Plates and 3D Models
26:32 Color LUT Process for Backgrounds
28:28 Stage Hardware and Tracking
32:15 Tips for Indie Virtual Production
37:30 How Molli and Max Would Differ Today
39:53 Photogrammetry and NeRFs
43:08 Mobile Virtual Production Projects
48:55 AI as an Alternative to Virt