The Volume Shows Its Limits In The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 2 – Looper

For those unfamiliar with the Volume, or who may have forgotten exactly how it works, here’s a quick refresher. It’s basically a large soundstage surrounded on all sides by massive LED screens. The CGI backdrops necessary for each scene are projected in real time, allowing the actors and filmmakers to see them while shooting. This allows for more realistic lighting in some cases, and it’s meant to immerse the performers much more deeply in the world than a green screen ever could.

In theory, that’s great. And to be fair, the Volume has been used to tremendous effect in the first two seasons of “The Mandalorian.” But more recently, we’ve started to see the cracks. “Obi-Wan Kenobi” also shot a lot in the Volume, and the effects are lackluster to say the least. At times, the series looks downright bad because there just isn’t enough space to build out real locations. Lighting is off, large spaces feel constricted, and the action suffers as a result.

The best way to notice the difference is to compare an episode of “Obi-Wan” with an episode of “Andor,” which didn’t shoot on the Volume at all. The latter series has much bigger, more vibrant settings because it shot on location and simply augmented certain shots with CGI in post-production.