The Rundown
Topics: Virtual Production, Film and TV | 2 min read
Virtual Production is the most talked-about development in film and television in years, and one of the most vaguely explained.
Virtual Production, or VP, describes a specific set of technologies for shooting content that looks as though it was filmed on location - by using LED walls as a backdrop displaying realistic scenery behind the performers.
Most people know green screen. VP takes the same idea but puts the scenery on screen in the studio rather than adding it in post, so what the camera sees is what ends up on the film.
Here is how it works, what makes it convincing, and what a team needs to deliver it properly.
How It Works
The Principle
Rather than filming against green and compositing a background later, VP displays that background on a large LED wall behind the actors, live, during the shoot.
The camera captures the performers and the environment together in a single pass.
Not a New Idea
Early films attempted something similar with rear projection - the driving scenes where a road plays on a screen behind a stationary car.
It never quite convinced, because the projected image was flat, dim, and did not respond to the camera at all.
What Changed
Two developments made the difference.
LED walls emit light rather than reflecting it, so they are bright enough to hold up against studio lighting - and crucially, they light the actors with the colour of the scene behind them.
Camera tracking moves the on-screen scenery in real time as the camera moves, so perspective shifts exactly as it would on location. That is what makes the parallax convincing.
The Famous Example
One of the best-known early uses is The Mandalorian, shot on a large sound stage at Industrial Light and Magic in the USA.
That production is what moved VP from experiment to established technique.
Why It Works
Light That Belongs
The single biggest advantage over green screen is lighting.
A green screen throws green onto everything near it, and every reflective surface - eyes, glasses, metal, wet surfaces, hair - has to be corrected in post or simply avoided.
An LED wall does the opposite. A sunset behind an actor genuinely lights them with sunset colour, and their eyes reflect it.
Seeing It on the Day
Directors, performers and clients see the finished shot in camera rather than imagining it against a blank green wall.
Performances improve when actors can see the environment they are meant to be in. And decisions get made on the shoot day rather than weeks later in a grading suite.
Built on Games Technology
Most VP sets now run on Unreal Engine, the 3D games engine behind many modern video games.
That has made the technology far more accessible, because there is a growing pool of people with directly transferable skills in building the environments.
Where It Fits
VP is flexible and adaptable, with a wide range of applications - product launches, independent films, game shows, television adverts and keynote content.
What It Takes
A Mix of Disciplines
Getting VP right requires a combination of skills that historically sat in separate industries.
You need film and television camera and lighting expertise. You need deep knowledge of LED wall technology, which comes from live production rather than from film. And you need the games-engine understanding to build and run the environments.
Very few teams naturally hold all three, and that is the main reason VP shoots go wrong.
Planning Differently
VP moves work forward in the schedule. Environments have to be built and tested before the shoot rather than after it, which changes how a production is planned and budgeted.
That is a benefit if you plan for it and a problem if you do not.
When Not to Use It
VP is not automatically better than location or green screen.
Wide vistas with heavy camera movement can expose the edges of the wall. Very fine detail at distance can show moire on camera. And for a simple two-shot against a plain background, green screen remains cheaper and perfectly adequate.
Talk to Us
If you are considering Virtual Production for a shoot and want an honest view on whether it suits the project, get in touch with Premier Live on 0116 202 9953 or info@premier-ltd.com.
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