What is Virtual Production and how could it benefit my new project?
It seems like everyone is talking about virtual production these days
You might be asking yourself if virtual production is just another passing fad, like 3D movies. But in fact, a recent study suggests that virtual production will become a 3.1 Billion Dollar industry in the next five years.
We believe that we are on the verge of a technological shift of greater magnitude than the move from celluloid film to digital cinema.
The advantages to virtual production are so numerous it is inevitable that a significant amount of film and television production will soon become virtual.
What is Virtual Production?
Virtual production has three main components: camera tracking, an LED Wall and a video game engine. A video game engine running on a high-spec PC renders and animates a 3D model in real time to create your setting. The environment is “played” from the game engine software and displayed on the LED Wall. The position of a camera is tracked in 3D space, changing the perspective on the video game environment on the LED wall as it moves. From this, the viewer’s perspective changes, and background objects on the LED wall move in 3D space relative to each other. This creates an illusion of a larger 3D world than the physical space of the stage.
Why Virtual Production?
- Save time - By achieving 'Final Pixel' you will save time in post production, and see what you are capturing in-camera.
- Unleash Imagination - There are no limits to creativity. If you can think it, you can build it.
- Go green - Reduce travel and film in an energy efficient way.
What exactly are the benefits?
FOR CLIENTS:
• Make their dreams come true - no idea too big
• Creative flexibility - to build whatever worlds you want
• Bring clients on a journey - from Pre-viz onwards - ‘Virtual scouting’
• Expectation management - everyone involved has seen it before getting on set
• Improve storytelling
• Multiple locations in one day
• Speed of setup/changing between locations/sets
• Shoot magic hour all day - no weather or light limitations
• Shorter, more predictable, post process
FOR TALENT:
• Photoreal virtual sets immerse talent in a situation.
• Real time compositing and editing – instant feedback
• Access to impossible environments and locations
FOR PRODUCERS AND CREW
• Director has more flexibility on set vs traditional VFX
• Resolves ambiguity for crew – all can see what is happening
• DoP can light better vs green screen - see results of lighting without waiting until post.
• Reduces travel
• Cost saving can be diverted to on-screen production values – eg background actors replaced by digital humans
FOR SUSTAINABILITY
• No storage needs
• Reduces travel
• Re-use of virtual sets and environments is unlimited
How does Final Pixel engage with virtual production?
END-TO-END PRODUCTION
Full suite of services including creative consulting, pre-vis, 3D environment builds, LED stage setup, on-set crew, production management, edit, grade, mix & delivery.
CONSULTING+ ON SET VIRTUAL PRODUCTION
Expert advice and partnerships to implement Virtual Production solutions. OSVP crew.
VIRTUAL ART DEPARTMENT (VAD)
Highly talented global 3D content studio. Environment builds optimised for VP stages, specialising in Real Time.
TRAINING
Full suite of services including creative consulting, pre-vis, 3D environment builds, LED stage setup, on-set crew, production management, edit, grade, mix & delivery. The authority on virtual production and a center of excellence internationally.
