‘Black Adam’ Director Talks Using Lucasfilm’s Volume & Other New Tech

New technological frontiers for the DCEU!

Black Adam PG-13 Dwayne Johnson Justice Society of America DC

Black Adam director Jaume Collet-Serra discussed using new filmmaking technology such as Lucasfilm’s StageCraft AKA The Volume.

Yesterday, I joined a group of fellow genre press reporters at the Steven J. Ross Theater on the Warner Bros. Lot in Burbank, CA to get an early look at the first official trailer for the new DC Extended Universe film Black Adam one day before its worldwide online premiere. Following the screening of the trailer, we were given the chance to speak with the film’s star/producer Dwayne Johnson, director Jaume Collet-Serra, and producers Hiram Garcia and Beau Flynn.

In the new trailer, certain sequences showcased included some visually striking action set pieces, with some involving flight. Much of these Black Adam set pieces were brought to life with some new technology, such as Lucasfilm‘s StageCraft AKA The Volume. Jaume Collet-Serra discussed some of the new technology the production used in bringing this DC Comics story to life:

“There is three types of LED technology. You have the normal LED, which is just for background, like when you’re doing a car, sort of light interaction, but the camera doesn’t track, it just shows what the background is. Then, The Volume, which is the famous ILM technology, that is really to put the character in the space, and the camera will track the background, so the camera will adjust, using real engine technology… The Volume was mostly used for flying sequences and things like that, where we wanted somebody like Hawkman to be in the background… There’s also the Volumetric Capture, which is a new technology. We put Dwayne in a completely 360 degree, very small Volume with a hundred cameras, and his whole body becomes a CG asset, and his performance then can be inserted into a shot, and we can use any virtual camera move on him.”

Dwayne Johnson Hypes Up The BTS Black Adam Tech

Dwayne Johnson also reflected on Lucasfilm‘s Volume and the other new technologies used in bringing the story of Black Adam and the Justice Society of America to life, and how it compared to his previous experiences on other VFX spectacles:

“It was really extraordinary. You know for me, I’ve been around the block over the years, and worked on some pretty cool movies that have had great technology. This by far was really the greatest experience, technology wise, innovation wise, VFX wise, we should talk about the VFX supervisor, a multi-time Oscar-winner. But I would go on set, so some of the scenes where I’m flying, I would be put on the apparatus and I’d start flying. And not only did it allow Larry Sher and Jaume to be able to see the scene, as I’m flying to the city or wherever I’m flying. I saw it too, 360 degrees where the city would lean, I would fly around buildings, but I’m watching myself do this and controlling it. It was unbelievable.”

Lucasfilm’s Volume has been utilized in every single one of the Disney Plus Star Wars shows, which include The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. It was also used most recently in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, and was used in the upcoming Marvel Studios film, Thor: Love and Thunder from director Taika Waititi.

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, Black Adam stars Dwayne Johnson as the titular antihero, Aldis Hodge as Hawkman, Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher, Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone, and Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate. Sarah Shahi, Marwan Kenzari, James Cusati-Moyer, and Bodhi Sabongui are also on board in undisclosed roles.

Black Adam is set to hit theaters on October 22nd, 2022. Stay tuned for all the latest news surrounding the upcoming film and Lucasfilm’s Volume technology, and be sure to subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.

Noah Villaverde

Noah Villaverde

Cinema lover. Saxophone player. Coffee consumer. Chronic complainer. Oh, I also write. #TeamHeroic