What is Virtual Production?
Virtual Production is a new branch of cinematography that acts, in a way, as the next evolution of green (or blue) screen technology. Primarily, it aims to move the implementation of CGI environments from the post-production phase to the pre-production phase. This is achieved through real-time chromakey (green screen) or, in fancier studios, LED walls and ceilings called ‘volumes’. Actors can then see themselves inside the CGI environment in real time and provide more authentic performances.
Virtual Production – Theory and Practiceis an undergraduate thesis project by Luke Souter that culminates from a year and a half of interest in the rapidly maturing world of virtual production. The project furthers that interest into research and then utilizes it to create a virtual production studio in The Cove, in the Fine Arts building. In this studio, actors were composited onto a CGI environment in real time, utilizing self-labelled virtual production software ‘Aximmetry’. All of the footage utilizing the CGI environment was recorded in real time, with no post-processing at all, which is typically where compositing would take place
The final product utilizes the created virtual production studio to simulate professional-level sets with the assistance of Doug MacArthur’s Acting for The Camera DRAM Class. Over 25 minutes of takes were recorded in real time. The virtual production compositions act as a part of the 40-minute long short film produced by the partnership between NMED students Luke Souter, Lydia Gangur-Powell, Emma Zgurski, Kevyn Worbetz and the DRAM Acting for the Camera Class. In the final cut, 10 minutes of the 40-minute film were composed in real time utilizing the virtual production software.
At Vibe Fest, the focus was on the virtual production compositions. The pieces were showcased side-by-side with the raw green screen footage with which the software keyed in real time. Alongside this, interviews were conducted with some of the actors, focusing on how it felt to see themselves inside a CGI environment, and how it may have affected their acting.
