It is impressive to see an actor like Josep Maria Pou in the shoes of a character as charismatic as Jordi Pujol. The four days of July 2014 that elapsed since the former president of the Generalitat learned that the newspaper El Mundo was going to publish that he had undeclared money in Andorra and Pujol’s decision to confess it publicly through a letter is the background of the film Parenostre, directed by Manuel Huerga, the first filmed in Spain entirely on a virtual set, in the Mediapro studios in Barcelona, ??with a script by Toni Soler and produced by Last Minute, Minoria Absoluta and Lastor Media.
Pou assures that he has not tried to imitate Pujol, who is very different physically, but when the viewer sees how he expresses himself and some of his gestures, they will not be able to help but think of the politician. The actor admits, however, that he surprised himself “closing his eyes or doing some special Pujol tic.” “Somehow,” he admits, “I feel possessed by the spirit of the president.” Carme Sansa plays Marta Ferrusola.
“I have not tried to make an exact imitation of Jordi Pujol,” says Pou, “among other things because it is absolutely impossible. We have a brutal difference in physical appearance.” “When you play a real character, your contemporary, who you can still find on the street, it is an enormous risk,” she points out.
All filming took place in the Mediapro studio in the 22@ district of Barcelona. The Catalan production company, given the rise of virtual technology around the world for filming films, opens with this Barcelona installation the first of several projects around the world, which includes new sets in Miami, Madrid, Buenos Aires and Nueva York.
Mediapro’s approach is mixed between virtual sets that use an LED screen as an interactive set (a screen 8 meters long and 8 meters more mobile and a 5 x 5 meter ceiling screen) and those that use a chroma key (a background green color on which a virtual scenario is added). Virtual sets have been used interchangeably for chroma key shots and those with a screen in the background.
Unlike a traditional shoot, when a film is shot entirely with virtual settings, these must be created prior to the start of filming. They are 360-degree three-dimensional scenarios on which changes of all kinds can be made, from elements to lighting. The backgrounds respond to the movements and focuses of the camera, as if the actors were in the real world.
Among the advantages of virtual scenarios is absolute control from a technical point of view. Any parameter can be tweaked before shooting. In addition, you do not have to move large teams of people or be exposed to inclement weather or times of day. As is evident, although no company specifies it, it is an option that reduces many costs.
One of the first productions to use virtual sets with a huge immersive screen was Disney’s The Mandalorian series, based on the world of Star Wars.
For the filming of Parenostre, 41 virtual sets have been created by 7 digital artists who have used the Unreal Engine three-dimensional graphic world system, from Epic Games, the most valued in the world of video games.
For Pou, being able to shoot in so many settings without leaving a studio in the city “is wonderful: you save a lot of time traveling and locating.” In his opinion, this technology “is the future of audiovisuals, especially seeing that the result is fantastic.” He reveals that we have already seen it in many American productions “and the viewer is unable to know what is real and what is digital.” The Pujol de Pou, don’t doubt it, will make you feel like the real thing.