In 2025, we contributed to the independent feature Angels in the Asylum, which included several sequences set on a fog-shrouded Waterloo Bridge during its construction in 1941.
Our challenge was to create a convincing period setting within a tightly controlled budget.
Historical recreation
Atmospheric complexity
EXT. Waterloo Bridge 1941
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When the Fog levels are thick, London features can be masked.
If stage atmos is to be used it must be tested with LED.
We see enough of London to warrant a plate capture when the fog is removed.
If photographic elements cannot be captured, London must be built.
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The production’s initial plan was to shoot on a large physical set surrounded by greenscreen. However, the script’s dense fog requirements risked driving up post-production work significantly
Original Plan
We proposed an alternative: using LED virtual production to achieve the desired atmosphere—though this approach brought its own creative, financial, and technical questions to answer.
Our Proposal
Original Plan VS Our Proposal
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We began by building a rough set and matched it to the production’s camera package.
Matching to Camera + Framing
This allowed us to plan shot compositions, determine potential greenscreen requirements, and assess comparative LED footprint. We could walk the director and DoP through scenarios demonstrating the implication of different lens choices and camera moves.
Sc113 Storyboard - Planning the Shoot
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From this we could scope what environment assets were required. Depending on the density of fog, we proposed an efficient methodology—given the difficulty of capturing photographic plates of this location.
Sourcing 3D map data from Google allowed us to consider the background more carefully and assess how much of the surrounding area was historically accurate, confirming we needed to shoot to the North and West to minimise cleanup.
Scoping the Environment
Considering the Background
The LED Fog Test
We ran a test shoot to explore how practical SFX interacted on an LED stage, and if brighter, lower-resolution panels could be used without creating technical issues.
This allowed us to evaluate different fog densities and observe how opacity fell off as action moved further from the camera.
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Post Enhanced Stills
Good depth falloff of people at screen edge
The scissor lift on the right has a good density match to BG
FG people provide good depth cues
Falloff of fog demonstrated well as people get closer to the screen
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