MINE 9 - CG ENVIRONMENT | VIRTUAL PRODUCTION [2025] - KHADAAN

CAVE MINE 9

Virtual Production Environment, Episodic Series
Role: VP Supervisor, Volume TD & Environment Lead
Camera: Sony Venice 1 @ 25fps
Tracking: NCAM
LED Volume: 2.9mm Pixel Pitch

CAVE MINE 9 was developed as a core virtual environment for an episodic series set in a fictional coal mining belt in rural Madhya Pradesh, India. According to the narrative timeline, the mine had been operational for over 30 years, with evolving states of decay, activity, and political entanglement. The storytelling demanded a grounded, layered environment that supported a cinematic narrative while maintaining real-time performance on an LED volume.

The larger region was divided into three primary zones:

Exterior Mine Area – rugged industrial surface filled with active machinery and logistics pathways

Interior Cave System – deep, enclosed underground network used for high-tension scenes

Extended Mining Site – sprawling across multiple mines, including those that were Operational, Shut Down, or Under Police Investigation

Mine 9 acted as the hero location, appearing across all three narrative states. It was the centerpiece of this universe and required the highest level of visual fidelity and optimization.

My Responsibilities

As Volume TD & Environment Lead, I oversaw the entire environment development pipeline from the ground up — from concept and blockout to final deployment on the LED volume.

1. Asset Creation & Worldbuilding

Used GIS data to establish topological realism for terrain and layout

Replaced GIS base with a detailed mega assembly, built using Quixel Megascans, custom photogrammetry scans, and hand-modeled kits for machinery, scaffolding, erosion patterns, and rock forms

Created regionally accurate details including coal piles, slag, industrial props, and terrain wear, all customized to fit real-world Indian mining reference

2. Visual States of the Mine

To support the story across time and tone, Mine 9 had to visually adapt to different phases:

Operational Mine – heavy industrial activity, machinery in motion, warm sodium lighting, light smog, and ground disturbance

Closed Mine – abandoned assets, structural wear, overgrowth, corroded materials, collapsed paths, and desaturated LUTs

Under Police Investigation – tension-heavy setup with barricades, flashing police lights, colder lighting grades, high-contrast composition, and crime-scene storytelling props

Each version was visually distinct but kept within a shared material and lighting system to ensure cohesion throughout the environment. This balance was key in maintaining color and contrast consistency between location changes, scene cuts, and lighting transitions.

3. Character Integration & Extras Optimization

To breathe life into the scenes while preserving performance:

Developed a library of MetaHumans, customized with traditional Indian clothing, reflecting the demographics of rural MP – including miners, local villagers, police officials, and supervisors

Characters were baked into background scenes for wide shots, carefully LOD-optimized, material-simplified, and GPU-instanced where possible to maintain real-time LED playback performance

These extras were particularly valuable in adding realism and atmospheric depth during scenes on the Extended Mining Site, giving viewers a sense of population without overwhelming system resources

4. Virtual Art Department & Photogrammetry

Built the full Virtual Art Department pipeline, enabling rapid asset integration, iteration, and feedback implementation

Incorporated on-set photogrammetry scans from the physical art department to maintain a high degree of visual match between the real and virtual worlds

Created utility tools and world-building rules for consistent scale, material logic, and environmental storytelling

5. LED Volume & On-Set Supervision

Led the complete nDisplay setup for the volume

Integrated NCAM tracking into the UE5 pipeline, ensuring accurate parallax and spatial coherence for all camera moves

Worked closely with the Director, DOP, and Gaffer to establish lighting setups in Unreal that would match practical lighting rigs and real-world physicality

Personally supervised LED volume operations on shoot days — handling last-minute tweaks, real-time fixes, performance checks, and ensuring virtual set readiness

Optimized the entire scene with Nanite, Lumen, and precise GPU resource management for real-time playback on a 2.9mm pixel pitch LED wall