World War II survival thriller Play Dead has commenced filming at Docklands Studios Melbourne's cutting-edge virtual production stages.
Play Dead, directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, is utilising the world’s largest permanent volume screens to recreate 1940s Belgian countryside. The production has been attracted to Victoria through the Victorian Screen Rebate and represents another significant win for the state’s screen industry.
The film is expected to create more than 300 jobs for Victorian screen workers and inject over $24 million into the local economy. The production will engage around 100 local businesses across various specialities including armourers, special effects technicians, prosthetics artists, LED engineers and visual effects specialists.
Play Dead
- What: Play Dead World War II thriller filming
- Where: Docklands Studios Melbourne and South Gippsland
Check out our gig guide, our festival guide, our live music venue guide and our nightclub guide. Follow us on Instagram here.
View this post on Instagram
The production stars rising British actor Noah Jupe alongside an international cast including German actor Matthias Schweighöfer, Patrick Gibson, Andreas Pietschmann, Juliette Gariepy and Sebastian Griegel. Australian actors Joel Jackson, Sean Keenan, Harrison Quast and Don Hany have also been cast in Play Dead.
Docklands Studios Melbourne’s virtual production technology was built in 2023 following a $12.5 million investment from the Victorian government. The screens enable filmmakers to project and animate landscapes and backdrops in real time, allowing actors to interact with computer-generated scenery during filming rather than relying solely on post-production effects.
The production will deliver 160 crew positions, 40 cast and extras roles, and 100 post-production and digital effects positions. Additionally, Play Dead will host 10 paid skills development opportunities for emerging screen practitioners specialising in stunts and virtual production techniques.
Collet-Serra, known for directing Carry-On and Black Adam, is working with a screenplay by Peter Stanley-Ward and Natalie Conway. The film is a Nocturnal Entertainment production, with producers including Akiva Nemetsky, Keaton Heinrichs, Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert.
Play Dead joins several other major productions filming in Victoria this year, including television series The Dispatcher currently shooting in Warrnambool, The Untitled John Tuggle Project, sci-fi action film War Machine and Liam Neeson’s The Mongoose.
The virtual production stages at Docklands Studios Melbourne continue to attract international productions, demonstrating the facility’s growing reputation as a world-class filming destination. The technology allows productions to achieve complex visual effects while maintaining the benefits of traditional on-set filming.
For more information, head here.
