MOBILE Virtual Stage: “Cobalt on the Road” Makes Jimmy Fallon’s No. 1 Hit happen.
Key Takeaways
- Cobalt worked VIRTUAL magic for Jimmy Fallon’s No. 1 hit – the New-York-themed “Holiday Seasoning Spectacular” – BY BRINGING OUR VIRTUAL STAGE TO BROOKLYN (yes, you heard that right), including three tracked cameras each outputting ”final pixel” composites!
- With “Cobalt on the Road”, our MOBILE Virtual Set saved our NBC client time, money and scheduling stress making it convenient for A-list guests to join Jimmy Fallon without travel.
- Cobalt has invested in the latest, greatest and best Virtual Set technology for high-quality film production with giddy efficiency and location flexibility.
Jimmy Fallon and the many dozen A-list guests of NBC “Jimmy Fallon’s Holiday Seasoning Spectacular” jingled their way to No. 1 in Primetime on Wednesday, December 4, 2024 with 6.3 Million viewers. Cobalt was thrilled to help by bringing the power of our MOBILE Virtual Production to the client in Brooklyn. Virtual Production gave them unbounded creative freedom to:
- Be able to shoot 12 polished sets in 3 shoot days with incredible efficiency.
- Create visually deep and elaborate sets with minimum building and propping.
- Live composite all 3 cameras on the fly (in real time).
- Streamline lighting since only the live action element needed to be lit practically —all with campy effervescence.
Have VSet, will travel.
“Cobalt on the Road”, our MOBILE Virtual Stage, made a litany of production problems, non-issues. From the doors of a magical Christmas hallway to a hardware store interior; from a rustic lodge, to a flashback of Jimmy and “The Roots” as kids; from the magical snowscapes to a New Years Eve party to a hollowed out tree trunk with hundreds of chipmunks (and chestnuts). We transitioned effortlessly through fantastical lands with America in tow.
No location permitting, no waiting for snow to fall, and no rabies shots (for chipmunks;)) needed when using Virtual Production on the Brooklyn stage.
Weird Al Yankovic & Jimmy Fallon on New Year’s Eve Virtual Set.
Jimmy in the Chipmunks n’ Chestnuts VSet.
And don’t forget virtual sledding with good ole Justin Timberlake.
Our Virtual Production process unleashes even the wildest imaginations.
Your imagination isn’t limited to a line item, and neither is Virtual Production. It frees you to dream big at a fraction of the cost of traditional production. Save time, travel and location costs while bringing your big idea to life.
While it’s natural to side-eye new tech, at first, it is obvious the Virtual Production workflow is the next inevitable progression in the film-to-digital transformation.
As our own Alex likes to say, Virtual is simply more “Science in the Service of Art.”
Cobalt comes to YOU with our MOBILE Virtual Stage.
If you’re virtually confused, that’s 100% understandable. Virtual Production technology has evolved rapidly, and it’s tough to catch up when you have a day job. Cobalt has stayed virtually in step for a very long time. As producers ourselves and production advisors, to boot, we speak your language. We translate all the latest gives and gets, so you can make confident decisions without going back in time to snag a computer sciences degree. AND NOW, we come to you. On-location or on any stage of your choice. We deliver right to your doorstep. Our newest system is extremely transportable.
If you can dream it…our Virtual Sets make it possible.
We love saying YES to virtual possibilities. Rockettes dancing on the roof of Rockefeller Center? No sweat. Jimmy Fallon skiing over the city? Let’s do it. Dolly Parton in a hometown diner and a fabulous winter wonderland? Brilliant. Your vision is our Virtual Production.
Learn more about Virtual Production and how to use it.
FAQs about “Cobalt on the Road” MOBILE Virtual Production.
It’s our MOBILE Virtual Production capability we bring to you anywhere, along with our top-flight crew and equipment. Check out: Virtual Production: Top 3 Things Every Producer Should Know.
So many line items can be slashed:
- Travel for talent and crew
- Location scouting, permits and fees
- Elaborate physical sets
- Weather days
See how “Cobalt on the Road” can bring you:
Our Virtual Stage frees your imagination to create 3D sets that wouldn’t be possible or financially feasible, otherwise. You can shoot anywhere from the bottom of the Ocean to Mars at an incredible level of detail. What’s more, nothing has to push to post, if you so choose. You can tinker with lighting, color, composites and visual effects in real-time as your talent interacts authentically with their environment. With “Cobalt on the Road” you can have this at YOUR doorstep.
Virtual Production Cobalt Stages was the 1st company to bring Virtual Sets to the East Coast in 2016. Our VP tools are fully integrated into a plug-and-play workstation that assures complete reliability, bullet proof performance for either final pixel compositing, or, with our 4-4k recorders, all conceivable elements for a traditional post finish.
Motion control We’ve been doing MoCo and precision playback for about 25 years… Wherever you are, you’ll continue to have convenient access to our comprehensive inventory of motion controlled equipment— the largest and most diverse on the East Coast.
Our Motion Control accessories include turntables, sliders, high speed sleds and XY tables—all curated to facilitate rapid design engineering and construction. We build in equipment redundancies to eliminate downtime, and we stock a vast inventory of components for creating custom rigs that ensure efficient effects for production.
Cobalt Tech has always prided itself on being “toolset agnostic”. In fact, we are production advisors. We listen first, and then assemble the most appropriate tools in our arsenal to facilitate each and every project.
Cobalt never shrinks away from the challenge. In fact, we LOVE puzzles! Our last project, “Jimmy Fallon’s Holiday Seasoning Spectacular” required us to bring not 1, but 3, fully tracked and mapped camera rigs to an outside stage in NYC for our clients convenience.
Cobalt is By Producers, For Producers. We leverage our Industry experience to make everything you need easily accessible, so you can focus on what matters–doing your best work. We’re committed to creating the most comfortable, convenient, cutting-edge, and cost effective experience.
Helping producers problem-solve their projects is one of our specialties. We believe in taking the time to listen, and we’re quick to offer innovative and practical solutions to save your production time, money, and stress.
Want to learn about Virtual Production and how to use it?
Cobalt’s got you covered. As the first company to offer Virtual Sets on the East Coast, we have the experience to guide you. Let’s have some fun.