PRODUCTION/POST


VIRTUAL PRODUCTION: HOW TO USE IT


Virtual production is the current industry buzzword, but the term covers a multitude of different techniques and tech. Michael Burns asks the experts working at the thick end of VP right now for their advice on how to use it to its best effect


VIRTUAL PRODUCTION IN REALITY


irtual production has taken the film and HETV industry by storm, with studios and firms popping up


everywhere. Virtual production, or VP, is not a


new idea – James Cameron deployed rudimentary VP techniques on Avatar – but its use on The Mandalorian, coupled with a need for creative solutions to production problems during the pandemic, put rockets under the concept.


Fantastic thinking There are big players involved. The


V Stage at Warner Brothers Studios Leavesden (WBSL) provides an LED volume comprised of 12,700 sq ft of LED panels that wrap around 360 degrees with a motorised ceiling that covers the 6,000 sq ft of active shooting area. Ryan Beagan, VP of virtual production at WBSL, says VP has real advantages for production teams, mainly due to the flexibility and creative control it offers. “Virtual production offers the


opportunity to try many different options before arriving at what your eventual creative vision will be,” he says. “It doesn’t limit your options by


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moving the decision process early in your schedule, it expands the number of options you get to try out before arriving at a complete image of what your shot should be, while your whole creative team is with you in prep and principal photography.” Based in London and Newcastle,


production studio Dimension provides an end-to-end VP service. “It begins with very early creative exploration, then previs and on to virtual set creation,” says Ed Thomas, head of real-time and virtual production. “We run the physical aspects of building the LED wall and its supporting systems, as well as provide all the crew to run it live on shoot days. After the shoot, we facilitate all the data transfer from the set, back to the post-teams to take forward to a final image.” According to Thomas, VP enables


closer ties between disciplines normally separated by time and production milestones. “Teams such as the art department, previs, lighting, VFX, story, and location can collaborate in a closer manner than before and at an earlier point in the production,” he says. “This close collaboration greatly benefits individuals who have a broad understanding and experience of all


these contributors and can speak the language of all disciplines.” “A studio, producer, director,


production designer, DP, and VFX supervisor who all see value in approaching virtual production as the approach they’d like to use together is essential,” says Beagan. “The more bought in the HODs are, the more the technology can meet their ambition.” In the last year alone, London-


based Quite Brilliant has done over 30 VP shoots, as well as being a production partner for two of London’s leading LED stages, the Mars volume and Garden Studios. “We are involved with the entire workflow from ideation through to shoot and delivery,” says managing director, Chris Chaundler. “Being such a new technology,


having a handle on every aspect of the production workflow is essential,” says Chaundler. “We’re at a stage in VP’s evolution where a huge part of the job is about educating creatives, crew and clients and often handholding them through the process. Without this, you are not getting the best out of the technology and the risk factor increases. Every shoot is a learning curve, we are continually testing and optimising assets and coming up with


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