In recent years, a combination of innovative workflows and emerging technologies have broadened the scope of visual storytelling, giving creative leads access to more robust ideation tools and allowing efficiencies and cost savings for a wide range of production scenarios. Many combine traditional filmmaking with advanced VFX technology that have pioneered new and exciting virtual production techniques. These workflows will often rely on motion capture technology to bridge the gap between physical production and computer graphics (CG) content.
Considering Virtual Production as a complete pipeline offers a production or a filmmaker access to efficiencies and new approaches to problem-solving. Virtual production is not a silver bullet and is most successful when it is carefully considered and utilized as a targeted problem-solving tool. Thoughtfully integrating with production is paramount to its success.
Virtual production relies on its ability to incorporate motion capture technology and CG content with a real-time renderer. Typically requiring a highly capable render engine, visualization must be real-time to get instant feedback from a tracked production camera, virtual camera, CF sets, lights and characters. VP can become both a space to create, communicate and iterate ideas as well as a powerful tool to capture content. As render engines become more and more powerful, so does the quality of real-time assets. Making it possible to achieve in-camera finals, or “final pixel,” with a real-time render engine. The power of the real-time renderer can vary depending on the needs of the shoot. Productions requiring ‘final pixel’ from a real-time solution will have far more to consider for their visualization needs, often partnering with experienced visual effects teams.
Access to a robust team of artists and engineers is complemented by a supervisory team that can maintain, align and support the production’s creative vision while delivering usable content. The team will design the infrastructure needed to combine motion capture data with 3D software and render systems used for visualization. The on-set teams will work closely with the art department who develop the CG assets for the shoot, ensuring all content is optimized and functions within the parameters of each sequence and the physical components being used.
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