REST IN PEACE, POLAROID FILM 1928-2009. REVISITED

 In Loving Memory of Polaroid: A Photographer’s Farewell to Instant Film. Originally published on August 22, 2009. Revisited and updated, celebrating the premiere of the three episodes of  Mr. Polaroid in American Experience/PBS on April 24 at 9PM/8PM central. 

This past month marked the quiet passing of yet another beloved tool in my professional photographic arsenal. Polaroid—the legendary instant camera company known for its iconic blue and rainbow-striped packaging—finally surrendered to the immediacy and ubiquity of digital photography. After ceasing consumer instant camera production in 2008, and halting commercial camera lines a year earlier, Polaroid announced that once it exhausted its final batch of instant film, it would end production entirely. The remaining three plants producing large-format instant film were slated to close by the end of that quarter, while two others responsible for consumer film packs were set to shut by year’s end.

Polaroid®—a name synonymous with instant photography—is also the name of a synthetic plastic sheet used to polarize light. Patented in 1929 and refined by Edwin H. Land in 1932, this material uses embedded microscopic iodoquinine sulfate herapathite crystals within a nitrocellulose polymer base. When aligned by stretching or magnetic fields, these crystals absorb light polarized in one direction while allowing perpendicularly polarized light to pass through, making the sheet ideal for sunglasses, window coatings, LCDs, microscopes—and of course, Land’s revolutionary instant film.

Polaroid Land 180 with a 114mm, f/3.8 4-element

Tominon lens. Separate-window range/viewfinder

assembly. Built-in mechanical development timer

Polaroid was more than a consumer brand—it was a vital part of professional image-making. It offered a tangible, immediate preview of lighting, exposure, and composition before committing to costly film. It gave photographers instant feedback, allowed clients on set to visualize the final image, and even served as bartering currency with agency models, stylists, and assistants. In many ways, it was the “proof of proofs.”

Polaroid 57 4 x 5 Black and White Sheet film. 

A high speed, panchromatic general purpose 

black and white print film, ultra high-speed medium 

contrast with medium grain

But Polaroid wasn’t the only loss. Among my most mourned photographic casualties is the Agfa-Gevaert XT series of motion picture negative stocks. With their soft pastel hues and warm earthy tones, Agfa XTR250 and XTS400 were favorites of cinematographers worldwide. I was fortunate to shoot on these emulsions across various projects and compare them to Kodak and Fuji stocks during workshops hosted by a short-lived Manhattan cine club for professionals. These events, sponsored by the late Studio Film & Tape, presided by Carole Dean and with the participation of renowned cinematographers like Sol Negrin, ASC and other members of the old NABET/IATSE local 644 in New York City, were invaluable learning grounds. Until recently, I still had 1,200 feet of Agfa XT320 stored in my fridge—an homage to a bygone era.

Perhaps the saddest farewell of all is Kodachrome—Eastman Kodak’s legendary 35mm transparency film. With its durable polyester base and unmatched dye-coupler sharpness, Kodachrome was a masterpiece of photochemical engineering. Its proprietary K-14 process yielded deep contrast and rich, vibrant colors that simply couldn’t be replicated. I relied heavily on Kodachrome 25, 64, and 200 ASA films for fashion editorials and corporate portraits. The results were spectacular, especially when printed on Cibachrome paper, known for its glossy, metallic finish. Clone-a-Chrome and Duggal Photo Labs, once bustling hubs in Manhattan’s photo district, produced prints that felt like art objects.

In 1947, with WWII behind us and government contracts dwindling, Edwin Land fast-tracked his instant camera into production—and struck gold. Polaroid sold millions of units, and by the mid-90s employed over 15,000 people, with revenue peaking at $2.31 billion. Yet by 2000, the tide had turned. That year, Americans bought 4.2 million instant cameras—nearly all Polaroid—but they also purchased 4.5 million digital cameras. The writing was on the wall. Digital photography quickly became faster, cheaper, and easier to share. By the following year, only 240,000 instant cameras sold, while digital cameras surged past 28 million units. Polaroid had deeper troubles too. A costly battle to fend off a hostile takeover in the late ’80s left the company buried in debt. By 2001, it had filed for bankruptcy and was eventually acquired by Petters Group Worldwide, which pivoted the brand toward flat-panel TVs, DVD players, and digital cameras.

Limited edition of 4x5 Alpenhause Polaroid with a 127mm,

f/4.7, 4-element Rodenstock Ysarex and double-window

viewfinder/rangefinder on top of the camera and

automatic parallax compensation

Still, for working photographers, the loss of Polaroid film was devastating. In commercial studios and on location—from my Manhattan and Hoboken studios to outdoor fashion sets—I used Polaroid sheet and pack film religiously. Whether I was shooting 35mm with a Nikon, medium format with a Hasselblad or Mamiya RZ67, or large format with a Linhof or Sinar 4x5, I depended on Polaroid for test shots. The beautiful, tactile peel-apart prints were more than just tools—they were relics of a process, a moment, and a promise. Even the act of peeling a Polaroid was a performance. Only trusted assistants were allowed to handle the delicate operation. Get the timing or pressure wrong, and you’d ruin the proof. And that unmistakable chemical scent left on your fingers? It’s still etched in my memory.

A Polaroid 4x5 sheet holder, standard

for every 4x5 view camera and a Polaroid 

holder for pack film for Mamiya RZ67

The SX-70, a favorite among artists, insurers, and even law enforcement, was Polaroid’s crown jewel—a compact SLR folding camera with integral film and immense creative potential. It symbolized everything innovative about the company’s approach.

Polaroid SX-70 the first foldable "reflex" instant

camera with integral film and coated 4-element

116mm f/8 coated glass lens and electronic shutter.

The SX-70 film was the favorite of artists for

creative manipulation

Today, the industry moves at a digital sprint. Analog film, NTSC video, and tape-based workflows have been replaced by 4K, 6K, and 8K resolutions, SSD storage, and real-time streaming. High-speed cinematography is gone, replaced by ultra-fast digital sensors. Even flat, two-dimensional imaging has given way to 3D scanning, virtual production, and fully digitized postproduction. Films like Avatar and The Jungle Book were the harbingers of this new visual language.

Polaroid 669 film is balanced for average

daylight (5500K) at 1/125 of a second,

as well as for electronic flash units

Yet, despite all this progress, I still miss shooting with Polaroid. I miss my 180 and 185 Land cameras, modified with Copal leaf shutters. I miss my foldable SX-70, always ready for experimental film manipulation. I miss watching images slowly appear, framed by white borders, ghostly and delicate—before revealing their full glory.

I even miss the “gooey screw-ups”—when I’d mis-pull the protective tab on a pack of 667 or 669 film. And perhaps most of all, I miss the eccentric geography of my fridge: nestled between leftover takeout and glass soda bottles, stacks of Polaroid packs, shrink-wrapped “bricks” of Kodachrome, Ektachrome, Fujichrome, Agfachrome, Portra, Kodak T-Max, Ilford black-and-white rolls, and 400-foot cans of 16mm and 35mm motion picture film and short ends.

Hasselblad 500C with Polaroid Back Holder

But what I miss most is the anticipation. That brief window of wonder as you waited for an image to emerge. That, to me, was magic. A magic that lasted more than seventy years—a longevity few technologies today can claim.

8x10 format Polaroid sheet film. Medium-contrast, 

medium-speed, daylight (5500°K), 

(electronic flash) balanced color print film 

with extended dynamic range.

“Mr. Polaroid is a must-see, like any other outstanding documentary on PBS produced by American  Experience. As a commercial photographer thriving during the final decades of the analog era, the use of Polaroid film and ‘Polaroid backs’ in all formats was paramount to a successful photo shoot. The proofs were valued not only for their technical merit, but also as artistic mementos—and even as a form of currency to reward crew and models for their participation in a given photo session.”

“That was, in short, my experience using Polaroid film. It feels like a long time ago—certainly years before AI’s advent on the scene. There were no computers, no internet, and no social media influencers. The photographer’s world was entirely analog and photo-chemical. And it most certainly, it was not about AI-driven ‘Instant Gratification.’ Above all, remember this: Support public libraries and the Public Broadcasting Service, they are AI’s analog ancestors.”

📸 MR. POLAROID  first of three episodes premiered Friday, April 24 at 9/8c on @PBS. 

#MrPolaroidPBS

CREATING IMMERSIVE ENVIRONMENTS WITH LED VOLUME WALLS

Virtual Production environments encompassing LED volumes are an exciting, revolutionary addition to the background capture techniques used in video and motion picture production. A successor to established techniques like green screen and front and rear projection, this latest technology means that your surroundings are limited only by your background content. 

WHAT IS VIRTUAL PRODUCTION? 

In basic terms, Virtual Production uses digital cinematography, LED volumes, game engines, and processing platforms to create an unlimited world of virtual environments.

LED Volume Walls

An LED volume wall is a system of linked high-end LED panels used to display video footage or 3D content to form a background behind your actors. In essence, it’s like shooting live action in front of a highly sophisticated, extremely large television screen. Used for productions ranging from streaming series to weekly episodic shows to sci-fi blockbusters, LED volume walls can consist of a mobile setup or a more permanent system (volume stage). Providers such as Orbital Virtual Studios can supply background content, production setup, and project management for your Virtual Production capture.

Game Engines

The integration of Game Engines like Unreal Engine (UE) from Epic Games is essential to the use of LED volumes in virtual production. Content created in CGI and rendered in real time via Unreal Engine is truly three dimensional and completely interactive with camera movement, creating a real sense of dimensionality through parallax motion.

Processing

Compositing software such as Assimilate LiveFX, processing platforms from Megapixel VR, camera tracking and CGI solutions from Ncam, and workstations from Silverdraft are popular choices for tying all the visual elements together. Ncam is a 3-dimensional camera tracking solution that sends camera and lens metadata in real time to a content platform such as Unreal Engine. 

The use of NVIDIA GPU computation is essential to the creation of virtual production content coming from CGI platforms such as Unreal Engine. Helping customers navigate the complex virtual production process is essential. B&H and its Studio division often partner with content and service providers such as Orbital Virtual Studios and Light Sail VR to offer real world solutions. Turn to Newtek for NDI, IP-based tech including virtual sets and editing.

Why You Should Use Virtual Production?

There are many reasons you should consider Virtual Production, including using an LED volume to increase your creative freedom and when dictated by budget considerations. Specific instances might be: When you can’t physically be there (Mars, or fictional worlds created using ICVFX); or when It is prohibitively expensive to bring the cast and entire crew; or when the location is in difficult-to-access, such as the middle of an ocean;  When you're faced with risky capture methods or settings like a car chase or a tornado. 

With its immersive Environment, LED volume walls make it easier for actors to maintain their concentration by surrounding your talent with the environment in which the action takes place. Long shoot days in front of a green screen will send most actors running for the hills, but with a volume wall, they get the next best thing to being there.

Image Based Lighting

Dynamic image-based lighting (IBL) and pixel mapping are key technologies that increase the sense of photo realistic immersion in a Virtual Production environment. Since light emanates directly from your footage playback, it accurately depicts any changes in intensity or hue levels striking or reflecting on your talent. If need be, your subject lighting can then be enhanced by adding on-set fixtures. With volume walls, you also are spared the time-consuming task of removing the annoying “spill” that is often reflected on your subjects when using green screens.

LED Volume Walls and Stages

LED volume walls can be flat, curved, or horseshoe-shaped and can even include ceiling panels for more enveloping coverage. The term "volume stage" is used for a larger, more encompassing LED volume rig set up on a sound stage. Top-of-the line LED panels such as the Roe Visual Black Pearl form the heart of an LED volume wall, while the rigging needed to build the actual wall can be sourced from leading suppliers like Area Four.

Background Environment is the content displayed using an LED volume wall can be as simple as a wide-open exterior shot of a weather event or as advanced as 3D-processed tracking shots, ultra-realistic car or maritime shots, or spacecraft travel.

The basis of your LED volume wall setup will often consist of a "plate," a film term which refers to the recording of a background landscape, minus any actors or other subjects. A pared-down crew captures this footage using anywhere from a single camera to eight or more synced and aligned cameras to get a simple wide shot or up to a 360˚ field of view.

Large-format, high-resolution digital cinema cameras such as the Sony VENICE 2 and the ARRI Mini LF are popular for Virtual Production capture. Their resolution is beefy enough to handle ICVFX and their shallow depth of field helps to keep the volume wall in softer focus than the foreground, preventing moiré effects on the LED displays. High quality optical lenses such as the ZEISS Supreme Prime Radiance series are used to capture crisp, organic images with the option of controlled, customized flares. Based on Cooke i/Technology, the Supreme Primes' ZEISS eXtended Data Technology transmits lens data for frame accurate advanced

Dollies, cranes, and jib arms from providers such as J.L. Fisher and Kessler Crane enable you to position your camera exactly where you prefer and to create dynamic, engaging moves, making the most of volume stage's area. You may not be trekking from one exotic location to another, but stages can be quite large, so using equipment carts will save time and energy. Check out these Inovativ Voyager Carts for wheeling your camera rig around and supporting DIT setups, editing monitors, and other equipment.

Augment the ambient light of your virtual background using LED panels like the Litepanels Gemini or ARRI SkyPanel series to cover large areas with more diffuse lighting. Turn to the Litepanels Studio X LED Fresnel lights for more shaped light output or use the ARRI Orbiter series or Quasar Science Rainbow series of LED tube lights for programmable, image-based lighting with pixel mapping.

Courtesy of Mary Latvis at B&H Photo Video & Pro Audio. All products described above are available for purchase at B&H Photo Video & Pro Audio.

Coming Soon, How to Build an LED Volume wall for Virtual Production 

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT VIRTUAL PRODUCTION

 WHAT’S VIRTUAL PRODUCTION?

Over the last few years, a wave of new production tools and workflows has been increasingly changing the face of storymaking across the media and entertainment industry, from live-action film and television, through animated content, and on to broadcast and live events.

Blending traditional techniques with digital innovations that leverage real-time game engines, this phenomenon is called virtual production—and it’s impacting everyone from producers and directors to stunt coordinators and grips. 

But what exactly is virtual production? Is it the same thing as in-camera VFX? And what about previs, pitchvis, stuntvis, techvis, and finally postvis? It’s a lot to get your head around!

In this post we will try to demystify all of these terms and a few more, as well as looking at the role Unreal Engine is playing in the evolving world of virtual production. We’ll also explore the benefits associated with this new set of filmmaking techniques.

Virtual production uses technology to join the digital world with the physical world in real time. It blends traditional filmmaking techniques with modern technology to help creatives achieve their vision. 

Virtual production has been used in the broadcast industry for many years to produce real-time graphics live to air, for example on sports shows and election coverage, where input data is constantly changing, and graphics have to be updated on fly. 

Today, technological advances centered around real-time game engines like Unreal Engine mean that high-fidelity photorealistic or stylized real-time graphics are becoming a key part of not just final pixels for live broadcast and events, but also for creating animated content, and for every part of the live-action film production process before, during, and after principal photography happens on set.

The different types of virtual production

Virtual production includes previs, pitchvis, techvis, stuntvis (also known as action design), postvis, and live compositing (also known as Simulcam), as well as virtual scouting, VR location scouting, and in-camera VFX (also known as on-set virtual production). We’ll explore each of these later in this post.

 

How is virtual production different from traditional film production?

Traditional film production is a linear process that moves from pre-production (concepting and planning), through production (filming) and finally to post-production (editing, color grading, and visual effects). Since you don’t get to see how it all comes together until the very end of the process, making changes is very time-consuming and costly; you sometimes even have to start over from scratch. The result is that filmmakers’ ability to make creative decisions on the fly is largely constrained. 

In contrast, virtual production erodes the boundaries between pre-production and the final result, enabling directors, cinematographers, and producers to see a representation of the finished look much earlier on in the production process, and therefore iterate quickly and inexpensively. The result is that they can refine the narrative to reflect their creative intent, ultimately telling better stories while simultaneously saving time and money.

Using virtual production for visualization

Virtual production enables filmmakers to visualize various aspects of their film before, during, and after production, for both live-action elements and visual effects or animated content. These visualization processes include: Previs, Pitchvis, Techvis, Stuntvis (also called action design), Postvis, and Live compositing (also called Simulcam).

 

Previs

Previs, short for previsualization, has actually been around in some form or other longer than modern virtual production. 3D previsualization is the next step up from hand-drawn storyboards. Simply put, it means using computer-generated imagery (CGI) to rough out the main visuals and action before shooting begins in order to define how the script will be visually presented and try out different scenarios. In an action scene with minimal dialogue, previs also details out the story elements that move the narrative forward.

Previs provides a reference for what will need to be shot live. It also provides the basis for VFX bidding, where studios compete with each other for the contract to complete some or all of the shots.

Originally, low-resolution characters and assets were quickly rendered in offline software packages before being cut together. With the ability today of game engines like Unreal Engine to render full-resolution, photoreal assets in real time, filmmakers can see their vision brought to life more vividly, iterate on the fly, and make better decisions as a result.

The role of virtual cameras in visualization

Previs, along with many other stages of virtual production, may involve the use of virtual cameras or VCams. These enable filmmakers to pilot a camera in Unreal Engine from an external device, often an iPad, and record that movement. The resulting camera moves can be used for blocking, where they are starting points for manual adjustment; to provide depth-of-field preview to decide camera setting for live action; and even as final cameras that are taken all the way through to post-production.

Many filmmakers find working with a tactile, physical device much more appealing and familiar to them than having to interact through a software user interface, and it results in more realistic camera moves in the digital world. 

 

Pitchvis

Pitchvis is a form of previs that usually occurs before a project is even greenlit. It’s designed to gain stakeholder buy-in by demonstrating the intended look and feel of a project before a major investment has been committed.

Techvis

Techvis is used to work out the precise technical requirements of practical and digital shots before committing to crew and equipment, including cameras, cranes, and motion-control rigs, on the production day. Techvis can be used to explore the feasibility of shot designs within the confines of a specific location—such as where the crane will go, or even if it will fit on the set—as well as blocking involving virtual elements. It can also be used to determine how much of a physical set is required versus digital set extensions. 

Techvis often uses much more basic assets than previs, since it is not being used to make creative decisions—ideally, those have already been made at this point. Its real value is in providing practical information that the crew can rely on to make the shoot more efficient. 

 

Stuntvis / action design

Stuntvis—also known as action design—is a combination of previs and techvis for physical stunt work and action sequences. It requires a high degree of accuracy so that action designers can choreograph shots with precision, get creative buy-in, and maintain a high safety level for stunt personnel and performers.

Unreal Engine incorporates real-world physical simulation, enabling stunt crews to rehearse and execute simulated shots that mirror reality as fully as possible. This results in much higher efficiency during production, which can mean fewer shooting days.

Postvis

Postvis happens after the physical shoot has finished. It’s used where a shot will have visual effects added to the live-action footage, but those are not yet complete (or in some cases, not even started). These shots will usually have a green-screen element that will be replaced with CGI in the final product. Postvis often reuses the original previs of VFX elements, combining it with the real-world footage. 

Postvis can provide the filmmakers’ vision to the visual effects team, as well as offering a more accurate version of any unfinished VFX-intensive shots for the editor as they assemble their edit. It enables filmmakers to assess the cut with visual reference—even if final VFX is still a long way from completion—and ensure buy-in from all stakeholders. It can even be used to make early test screenings more representative of the intended final product.

 

Live compositing / Simulcam

There’s one more type of visualization we need to discuss. Essentially, live compositing is similar to postvis in that it combines the live-action footage with a representation of the CGI, as a reference; however, in this case, it happens during the shoot. Disappointingly, it’s not called “duringvis”! 

One of the earliest uses of live compositing on a film set was in the making of Avatar by James Cameron, who coined the term “Simulcam” for it. With this technique, the filmmaker is able to see a representation of the CG elements composited over the live action when they're shooting, so they get a better sense for what's being captured. 

Typically, it is used to visualize CG characters that are driven by performance capture data, which can either be live, prerecorded, or both. Performance capture is a form of motion capture where actors’ performances, including subtle facial and finger movements, are captured by specialized systems, and can then be transferred onto CG characters. Many virtual production processes involve the use of performance capture, but one example of its use with live compositing is the Netflix show Dance Monsters. It was also used to great effect in Robert Zemeckis’ Welcome to Marwen.

Virtual scouting

Another facet of virtual production is virtual scouting. This powerful tool enables key creatives like the director, cinematographer, and production designer to review a virtual location in virtual reality (VR), so they can immerse themselves in the set and get a real sense of its scale. This can help teams to design particularly challenging sets and choreograph complex scenes, as was done on John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, as you can see below. Another common use for virtual scouting is set dressing: teams can move digital assets around while experiencing the environment at human scale.

Virtual scouting sessions are often collaborative and involve multiple stakeholders participating in the review at the same time. They can explore the set together, and identify and sometimes bookmark areas of particular interest for filming certain scenes. They may also call out which props may be built physically versus what will be virtual.

VR location scouting

An extension of virtual scouting is VR location scouting. In this case, the set is a real place. One team member may be sent ahead to capture the scene using photogrammetry tools such as RealityCapture, and then the other team members can review it remotely using virtual scouting in Unreal Engine. This can save significant time and money on travel, especially if there are multiple locations to choose between.

What is in-camera VFX (ICVFX)?

In-camera VFX, also sometimes referred to as on-set virtual production or OSVP, is one form of virtual production that has been getting a lot of press recently, with high-profile shows like The Mandalorian taking advantage of it. With this technique, live-action shooting takes place on a huge LED stage or volume, which displays an environment generated by the real-time engine on its walls and ceiling. The most sophisticated LED volumes are hemispherical domes that completely enclose the stage, while simpler stages might be half cubes, or even just a single wall. 

It’s much more than just background replacement; the real-time scene is live and interactive, and it moves in relation to the camera to create a true-to-life parallax effect, so everything appears in the correct perspective. The LED displays (LED Walls, LED Volumes), also cast realistic lighting and reflections on the actors, so they appear to be fully immersed in the scene.

What are the benefits of in-camera VFX?

In traditional production, where live-action footage will eventually be combined with computer-generated imagery (CGI), actors are shot against a green-screen background. This background can then be replaced with the digital elements in post-production. The actors and director have to imagine the final environment. In contrast, with on-set virtual production, the cast and crew are working in context, making it easier to deliver convincing performances and make better creative decisions.

In some cases, for easy VFX shots, in-camera VFX can actually produce the final pixels without the need to go into post-production, saving both time and money: the live-action footage and CGI are combined and shot through the camera to produce the finished frames. These are known as in-camera finals. 

In other cases, in-camera VFX can mean that what would have been medium-difficulty shots require only a small amount of post-production work, and otherwise difficult shots are much less time-consuming to finish in post than they would have been.

Another huge benefit of working on LED stages is that the lighting and time of day can be easily controlled—no more waiting for that golden hour or ideal weather. Continuity is also easier: scenes can be recalled in the exact same state they were left, and in a matter of minutes, not hours. Unreal Engine offers a complete toolset to support ICVFX (In Camera Virtual Effects).

Coming up in next post, LED VOLUMES.