B次元官网网址淧ercy Jackson and the OlympiansB次元官网网址� is an effects-laden adaptation full of Greek gods, mythical monsters and otherworldly landscapes, but its young stars say they didnB次元官网网址檛 have to rely on imagination to visualize their fabled scene partners.

Disney Plus says the British Columbia-shot series, based on Rick RiordanB次元官网网址檚 best-selling fantasy novels, uses cutting-edge technology that forgoes green screens.

ItB次元官网网址檚 billed as the first project shot in Canada to use the technology, dubbed StageCraft. At its heart is a newly built virtual production stage in Vancouver, known as B次元官网网址渢he volume,B次元官网网址� which consists of 28-metre LED video walls that immerse actors inside computer-generated environments in real time.

Actors on the stage see video projections of CGI backdrops and characters that would traditionally be added in post-production.

Designed by Industrial Light & Magic, a division of DisneyB次元官网网址檚 Lucasfilm, the stageB次元官网网址檚 first project was B次元官网网址淧ercy Jackson,B次元官网网址� but there are more to come.

B次元官网网址淸The volume] is just insane. The fact that we could be in New York one day and Los Angeles the next is crazy,B次元官网网址� says 14-year-old Walker Scobell, who plays the titular hero.

B次元官网网址淭hey even added built-in sprinklers to the ceiling of the volume stage because thereB次元官网网址檚 so many raining scenes in the show.B次元官网网址�

Directed by James Bobin, the series follows a 12-year-old demigod and his friends as they travel across America to return ZeusB次元官网网址檚 lightning bolt and prevent a war from breaking out.

B次元官网网址淚t was definitely very surreal,B次元官网网址� adds Leah Jeffries, 14, who plays Annabeth Chase, PercyB次元官网网址檚 pal and the daughter of Athena.

B次元官网网址淚f youB次元官网网址檝e read the book and know all the details that are in it, the creators made sure it was all in there. Even small things like, B次元官网网址楾here was a box with a red mark on the side.B次元官网网址� The volume made it more intense because you saw it come to life in 3D.B次元官网网址�

ILM has other volume stages in Manhattan Beach, Calif., The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, Calif., and in London, England. The California-based stages were used for Disney PlusB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淭he MandalorianB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淥bi-Wan Kenobi,B次元官网网址� while the London stage was used for this yearB次元官网网址檚 Marvel Studios feature B次元官网网址淎nt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚t takes a lot of pressure off your mind to constantly uphold what the showB次元官网网址檚 world looks like,B次元官网网址� says Aryan Simhadri, 17, who plays PercyB次元官网网址檚 half-goat quest mate Grover Underwood.

He recalls a pivotal scene from the pilot set in a cabin in Montauk, N.Y., but actually filmed from the stage.

B次元官网网址淎ny time you glance out of a window in the Montauk cabin, itB次元官网网址檚 nice that instead of being startled by a green screen you forgot was there, you can see the reds and blues of the sunset. It helps you stay in it.B次元官网网址�

The actors do have some reservations about the technology, though.

B次元官网网址淭he one small drawback was how hot it was,B次元官网网址� says Scobell, noting the lights from the screens could get quite bright. B次元官网网址淚t got hot. But it was nice in the winter.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淧ercy JacksonB次元官网网址� was filmed in B.C. from June 2022 to February of this year, but Scobell, a Los Angeles native, got his first taste of Canadian winter while filming 2022B次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淭he Adam ProjectB次元官网网址� in Vancouver, where he played a young version of Ryan ReynoldsB次元官网网址檚 character. He says the B次元官网网址淒eadpoolB次元官网网址� star not only provided mentorship, but indirectly prepared him for his current role as a heroic demigod.

B次元官网网址淗e told me about a lot of great food places around B.C., one of which is related to Percy Jackson B次元官网网址� AphroditeB次元官网网址檚 Cafe,B次元官网网址� says Scobell.

B次元官网网址淭hey have, like, really, really good pie there. And itB次元官网网址檚 all Greek gods-themed, like Olympus. That was really cool.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淧ercy JacksonB次元官网网址� isnB次元官网网址檛 all movie magic. Camp Half-Blood, the Greek demigod training facility in the series, was set at Minaty Bay, a coastal region along the Sea to Sky Highway.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 think they could have picked a better spot for Camp Half-Blood,B次元官网网址� says Scobell. B次元官网网址淚t had this pure blue, glacial water. It was amazing.B次元官网网址�

There was also some good old-fashioned physical training involved in the series. SimhadriB次元官网网址檚 character has goat legs, which required him to master the art of the satyr waddle.

B次元官网网址淚 learned how to walk like a goat,B次元官网网址� says Simhadri.

B次元官网网址淭hat was an interesting two months. I was [walking] like that for, like, 10 months after we wrapped. It felt weird to put my heel down on the ground, so I had to manually teach myself how to walk like a person again.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淧ercy Jackson and the OlympiansB次元官网网址� premieres on Disney Plus in the U.S. and Canada on Dec. 20.

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