A daily series is, possibly, the place where someone would least expect to find a set with the most cutting-edge technology of the moment, that which has been used by large productions such as The Mandalorian or Sandman.Among the Spanish series, only La Fortuna, by Alejandro Amenábar, has tried it.Thanks to her, the agents of the South District police station who are the protagonists of Serve and protect (from Monday to Friday in the afternoons of La 1) will go out more often in a patrol car or walk down the street at night more frequently.“It all started with our concern to know the technique.We began to do tests with different providers, but without thinking of a specific production, perhaps thinking of a film project that would support it more from a budget point of view, because it is a very strong investment.But seeing one of these tests we realized that we were thinking about what it can contribute to a prime time movie or series, when where it is most needed and where it can be applied the most is in a daily like Serve and protect”, tells by phone Emilio A. Pina, executive producer of Plano a Plano, producer of the series.From July 1, to the sets in the Cobo Calleja industrial estate, in the Madrid city of Fuenlabrada, another one was added located in a neighboring warehouse where there are now LED screens that allow the recreation of locations that were previously banned from a production, that, like the rest of the daily series, rolls at a devilish speed to manage to get an average of one episode a day.The shooting plans for Serve and Protect, already in its seventh season, leave little room for maneuver to film outdoors or at night, so it is common for the conversations of the characters and the action of the series to end up taking place in the set almost entirely.The chromas, the green screens on which, a posteriori, the desired background is placed, have limitations, explains Pina, such as the unreality of the result.These led screens allow the same visual game, but add lighting that is reflected in the actors or in the car and the rest of the objects on the scene, with a more realistic final effect.Another advantage is that the interpreters see the background they are working with, which makes their work easier and gives them a greater sense of immersion.This technology consists of a screen made up of panels of 50 square centimeters and a length between 12 and 16 meters long and between five and six meters high.In addition, it is accompanied by two other mobile screens with lower resolution that serve to project the reflections on the actors, as well as another screen on the ceiling with the same function.The main screen can be placed as a semi-circle or in the shape of a semi-square.“Until now, the work with visual effects came later.Everything was talked about before, but the work was done later.Now, with LED screens, this work is done before, the director has to be very clear about the planning to prepare the backgrounds, know the plans well, what they want to shoot... Post-production is brought forward”, summarizes Ángel Armada, editing manager and post-production supervisor from Plano to Plano.In addition to recording the backgrounds, they have to apply the appropriate color and light so that the integration with the real elements matches perfectly.All this process translates into time, something that is not left over in a daily production.Even so, the Serve and Protect team has already greased the gears so that, of the 12 or 13 sequences that make up each chapter, an average of one or two are recorded there.The intention is to allocate a specialized technical team to this set so that the system is also lightened, and one of the directors of photography, in charge of this unit, is already undergoing permanent training in order to get the most out of it.As for the cost, Pina explains that it is highly variable and varies depending on the characteristics of the screen.One of the possibilities that they considered for this adventure involved an outlay of around 500,000 euros per season, far from the reach of one a day.In their case, they chose to partner with a company dedicated to advertising and events to launch the set together with the intention of depending as little as possible on external providers.Thanks to this technology, the police officers of Serve and protect are going out more often to patrol by car and from the attic of the Galván family, the newly joined couple in the series, you can see a more realistic Madrid than ever.For the actors it is also something new.“Some of them hadn't even recorded with chroma key and their only reference to this was some making of The Mandalorian”, says Pina.“They arrive, they see the screen, they hallucinate, but in two minutes they have forgotten, because it is very easy to get into a situation like that”.To add credibility, fans are added to give the hair movement and car sounds and street ambience are included in post production to complete a scene in the patrol car.The next step, which they haven't tried yet in Shot to Shot, would be to create a 3D background where, if the character moves, the background also changes its perspective.“Now we have a flat background that we have shot”, explains Ángel Armada, “it is a moving photograph.3D allows the background to move depending on the camera.If the camera moves through that virtual environment, the background changes, it has perspective”.To do this, a computer-designed background can be used, as if it were a video game, or by photogrammetry, "take many photos in a real environment and then map it in a 3D environment," summarizes Armada.Although The Mandalorian was the one that popularized this technology thanks to the videos of how the series was made, these screens were already used in audiovisuals years before, but their use has spread in the last three years.“I have tried other inventions that said they were here to stay.When I shot Los Protégés in 3D, the first episode of the second season [it was the first series in the world to use this technology], people said that it was here to stay, and I knew that it was just another firework of the industry”, recalls Emilio A. Pina.“But yes, this has many possibilities, especially at a time when it is increasingly difficult to shoot in natural indoor and outdoor locations because there are many shoots.It is not an invention of the moment.Perhaps in decades there has not been something so new and so useful in the industry”, completes the producer.You can follow EL PAÍS TELEVISIÓN on Twitter or sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.Editor of the Television section.He has developed most of his career at EL PAÍS, where he worked in Participation and Social Networks.Since its foundation, she writes on the Fifth Season series blog.She has a degree in Journalism from the Complutense University of Madrid and in Hispanic Philology from the UNED.Or subscribe to read without limitsSubscribe and read without limits