Computer Support Blog

ABC’s Once Upon A Time has captivated millions of viewers.  Once Upon A Time bounces viewers between a mythical fairy tale past and a somewhat surreal present day to tell its story.  While the series may appear to be set in a folksy New England town or an ancient nature setting, there is an extensive amount of technology from Zoic Studios involved in making Once Upon A Time come alive for viewers.

Zoic Studios is responsible for the most important special effects on Once Upon A Time.  It is the artists and computer programmers of Zoic Studios that create the virtual sets needed to bring the fantasy kingdom in Once Upon A Time to life.  ABC Studios had what appeared to be a cost-prohibitive series to produce when the writers first pitched Once Upon A Time.  The show requires two vastly different settings for every episode.  While the producers could not cheat some of the elements for those settings, most notably costumes, Zoic Studios made the project feasible through their pioneering work in virtual sets.

If you are unfamiliar with virtual sets, then Zoic Studios is doing something very right!  Zoic Studios pioneered the use of virtual sets on recent shows like V, but with Once Upon A Time, the company has refined the process.  When filming Once Upon A Time, directors shoot the actors on entire green soundstages.  So, instead of simply placing the actors in front of a green screen, the actors stand on a green floor as well.  There are remarkably few physical items placed in the green studio, usually a single column and/or a chair.  Around those two physical props, which directors and Zoic Studios uses for perspective and reference, Zoic builds an entire room or building.

The construction is not physical, of course.  Zoic makes elaborate computer models that have sophistication previously unseen on the small screen.  Once Upon A Time, like V, is shot using high definition cameras with the intent that it will be viewed on high definition televisions.  As a result, Zoic creates digital models detailed well beyond most video games or even blockbuster movie special effects!

What is particularly incredible about Zoic Studios is how their use of virtual sets has blossomed to include the use of virtual characters.  Unlike unlikable virtual characters like Jar Jar from The Phantom Menace, Zoic only uses virtual characters for the background roles.  So, for example, in the opening sequence of Once Upon A Time when the evil witch descends into the massive castle courtyard to break up the wedding happening there, there are actually very few real actors in the scene.  Zoic created both the sets and the people that populate the room.  If you have a chance to go back and watch the scene again, you will be amazed at how precise and lifelike the people in the scene appear!

Mastering more than just making walls and floors, Zoic Studios is pushing the envelope of creating virtual worlds to amaze viewers!

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