Greg Shapiro appears in 7thGuest VR Game Making-Of
26 January, 2024
One year ago – in January 2023 – I spent a week in a 360-Green Screen studio to help create a remake of the classic 1990s video game The 7th Guest. This time for VR! Which meant a LOT of very ambitious recording. High / Middle / Low cameras in 360-surround, with every second of footage generating approximately 10GB of data. It felt like shooting on film again.
Vertigo Games teamed up with 4DR Studios in Eindhoven for the shoot. Here we are: Guests 1-6 in front of a 2-D green screen.
But – the actual 360-degree VR studio looked more like this…
…like The Void from Stranger Things – complete with surprise void-dweller.
Yes, there were stunts – which meant I had to work with the stunt coordinator in a green suit.
Thank you, Rouke Pouw. I can think of no better name for a stuntman.
THE STORY
As one of the 6 guests in the storyline, I can tell you it felt like a cross between Disney’s Haunted Mansion and a remake of Clue: the Movie. The story takes place in the early 20th century, hence our period costumes.
Some costumes needed more help than others. Here’s Claire King getting the Dorothy Gale ‘Emerald City’ treatment.
(Actually, ‘Emerald City’ would be a great name for a green screen studio, if 4DR Studios ever need a rebrand.)
And here’s the baddie, played by Carl Wharton:
THE SHOOT
Here are all 6 of us on set, but with the 360 recording, we could only record 3 of us at a time.
Our takes were uploaded to the servers, and on the monitor they looked like this:
And then – after 6 months of data-crunching and editing – the finished product looked like this:
CREDITS
Credit to Vertigo Games and pioneer Paul van der Meer for bringing back The 7th Guest.
Great working with director Ruwan Heggelman…
… thanks to Ron Groenewoud the producer…
…and thanks to Costume Designer Isabelle Croon !
Photo 1 from L-R: Alexander Baggett, Marnie Baumer, Greg Shapiro, Claire King, Daniella Down, Robert Paul Taylor. Casting by International Native Casting.
From Vertigo Games:
“Explore The 7th Guest VR foreboding mansion, solve challenging puzzles, and uncover dark secrets. The 7th Guest VR is the ultimate mystery adventure, and it’s almost time for you to experience it for yourself. Wishlist Now →”
Reviews of The 7th Guest:
https://gregshapiro.nl/blog/shapiro-shares-7thguest-reviews/
For more Greg Shapiro as Actor & Voiceover:
https://gregshapiro.nl/greg-shapiro-actor-voiceover/