Luna Dolph – The Lost Echo

Luna Dolph – The Lost Echo is a science-fiction film produced over one year and conceived from the outset for the hemispherical screen. The work is divided in near-equal measure between live-action sequences and fully 3D scenes. Its fulldome release is forthcoming.

A story between the physical world and a digital prison

Luna, Kyle and China are three digital warriors searching for The Lost Echo, an artefact capable of altering the relationship between their universe and the human world. Luna’s escape from a digital prison turns the passage between reality and simulation into the film’s narrative and visual engine.

The leading cast

Lottie Terry plays Luna Dolph, Harry Wiginton is Kyle Liwei and Aavy Suárez plays China Kenaya. The three leads were directed as one ensemble, preserving continuity of gesture, rhythm and relationships when the story moves from filmed bodies to 3D avatars.

Why this is not a conventional film converted to 360°

Inside a dome, viewers do not watch a rectangle: they occupy the image. Direction, blocking, gaze guidance, environmental scale and editing were therefore developed for fulldome geometry rather than transferred mechanically from flat-screen language.

The pipeline combines physical sets, green screen, AI-assisted motion capture, avatar construction, real-time 3D environments and compositing. Roughly half the film comes from live-action photography and half is created in 3D, with continuity designed across performance, cinematography, movement and space.

AI-assisted motion capture

AI-assisted Mocap analyses recorded performances to derive movement data without relying exclusively on a traditional marker-based optical stage. The output is not used unchecked: poses, contacts, timing and trajectories are reviewed, cleaned and retargeted to the digital characters. AI accelerates acquisition; acting and animation control remain human.

Live action, locations and chroma key

The live-action sequences were filmed across locations and green-screen sets. Framing, lighting and performer movement were prepared against the future spherical scene, allowing bodies, props and action to integrate with backgrounds and architecture not yet present on set.

The 3D half and Unreal Engine

Avatars, environments and virtual sequences were built and reviewed with Unreal Engine. Real-time previsualisation made it possible to check depth, apparent scale, continuity with live action and element placement across the entire dome surface.

Compositing and the fulldome master

Chroma footage, 3D passes, effects and the colour pipeline are recomposed into a dome master. Each scene must work not only as an image but as an environment, guiding attention through movement, contrast, sound and the relationships between characters.

The project demonstrates a complete immersive-fiction workflow: dome-specific writing, film production, acting, AI Mocap, 3D animation, virtual production and fulldome finishing were coordinated over a year of work rather than assembled as separate processes.

Principal credits

• Director: Michele Pelosio.
• Screenplay: Gerard Bernasconi; plot by Serena Maltagliati.
• Producer and editor: Dario Riccio.
• Director of photography: Massimiliano Iannone.
• Leading cast: Lottie Terry (Luna Dolph), Harry Wiginton (Kyle Liwei), Aavy Suárez (China Kenaya).

The film’s published credits are also available on its IMDb page.

Forthcoming fulldome release

The film is intended for fulldome distribution. Finishing includes the hemispherical master and scene checks under real projection conditions, where resolution, contrast, scale and legibility behave differently from a monitor.

A transferable method

The same production architecture can support original films, immersive series, museums, planetariums, festivals and branded entertainment, allowing live performers and digital worlds to coexist without reducing the dome to a spectacular backdrop.