Volume two of virtual adventures from British Cinematographer

Volume two of virtual adventures from British Cinematographer

In the first of British Cinematographer’s ‘Focus On’ guides, they kicked off proceedings by shining a light on virtual production (VP) - a cutting-edge filmmaking tool creating a buzz in the industry. Thanks to our partnership with British Cinematographer, you can now read their second VP guide, a deeper dive into this fascinating technology, completely free.

As VP techniques and technology continue to progress at an incredible pace there’s plenty to explore.

From vehicle interiors to creating sci-fi worlds, filmmakers outline the freedom they’re enjoying and applications VP lends itself to. It’s not only filmmakers who are benefitting, actors can respond to immersive environments on the screen surrounding them, unlike a green screen shoot. But as obstacles can arise on virtual shoot, we reveal some of the problems encountered.

With training and skills key to the success of this ever-developing area, we examine initiatives, resources and dedicated courses educating the next generation of VP shooting stars. From working with content or interactive and image-based lighting possibilities through to the critical on-set communication at the heart of a virtual production, there’s a whole new world of production possibility to be discovered and many valuable lessons to be learnt.

They also shine a light on examples of virtual production in practice including the benefits of capturing golden hour for a prolonged period the crew on short film End of Infinity enjoyed and how Eric Steelberg ASC created ideal lighting situations free from limitations when shooting Stars Wars spinoff series Ahsoka. VP offered David Procter BSC flexibility to create otherworldly results and capture sweeping desert dunes for Ellie Goulding’s music video “Like a Saviour” without contending with unpredictable weather.

Elsewhere, DP Sarah Thomas Moffat shares her experiences of lighting and capturing recreated scenes from TV shows within a live VP environment for the SMPTE’s ‘The Biggest Virtual Production Show Ever’ and Cathy Ye reveals her process and learnings when working with 2D assets and using VP to traverse realms and environments for short film Osoro.