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On-set virtual production (OSVP) [a] is an entertainment technology for television and film production in which LED panels are used as a backdrop for a set, on which video or computer-generated imagery can be displayed in real-time. The use of OSVP became widespread after its use in the first season of The Mandalorian (2019), which used Unreal Engine, developed by Epic Games.
Australian film director Clayton Jacobson first had the idea of improving the green screen that was then in use when filming a TV ad for detergent in 2003. Watching his son playing videogames and seeing the 3D technology used in them gave him the idea. Eventually, in 2016, Jacobson and his son made one of the prototypes for a virtual production stage in their shed, using a set of LED screens. However, he could not get anyone to take an interest in developing the technology further, so gave up on it. Other filmmakers had also caught on to the idea though, and in 2018 an Australian cinematographer, Greig Fraser, used the technology to film the Star Wars franchise spin-off series, The Mandalorian (released 2019). Instead of using the green screen during the filming stage, the team combined post-production with the production stage of the series. They installed huge LED walls linked to powerful computers that ran Unreal Engine gaming software (used for Fortnite , among others). They called this soundstage "the volume", a term already used to refer to a stage where visual effects techniques take place. [1]
Since its inventive use in The Mandalorian, which used ILM's StageCraft, the technology has become increasingly popular. Miles Perkins, industry manager of film and TV for Epic Games and maker of the Unreal Engine, estimated that there were around 300 stages by October 2022, increased from only three in 2019. [2] Most of these were built during or after the COVID-19 pandemic, when lockdowns meant that production studios had to find ways to produce films without traveling to other locations. [1]
In March 2023, the world's largest virtual production stage was opened at the Docklands Studios Melbourne, in the city of Melbourne, Australia. [1]
On-set virtual production (OSVP) is also known as virtual production (VP), immersive virtual production (IVP), In-Camera Visual Effects (ICVFX), [3] or The Volume.[ citation needed ]
With careful adjustment and calibration, an OSVP set can be made to closely approximate the appearance of a real set or outdoor location. [4] OSVP can be viewed as an application of extended reality. OSVP contrasts with virtual studio technology, in which a green screen backdrop surrounds the set, and the virtual surroundings are composited into the green screen plate downstream from the camera, in that in OSVP the virtual world surrounding the set is visible to the camera, actors, and crew, and objects on set are illuminated by light from the LED screen, creating realistic interactive lighting effects, and that the virtual background and foreground are captured directly in camera, complete with natural subtle cues like lens distortion, depth of field effects, bokeh and lens flare. This makes it a far more natural experience that more closely approximates location shooting, making the film-making process faster and more intuitive than can be achieved on a virtual set.[ citation needed ]
To render parallax depth cues correctly from the viewpoint of a moving camera, the system requires the use of match moving of the background imagery based on data from low-latency real-time motion capture technology to track the camera.[ citation needed ]
Industry organizations including SMPTE, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the American Society of Cinematographers have started initiatives to support the development of OSVP. [4] [5] [6] [7]
Stages that use OSVP include the various StageCraft stages, Pixomondo's Toronto-based LED stage, which has a long-term lease from CBS, ZeroSpace's Volume in New York City, [8] or Lux Machina various stages. [2] In Japan, the LED wall and virtual production were used by Toei Company for its Super Sentai shows Avataro Sentai Donbrothers [9] and Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger , with the latter also being produced in collaboration with Sony PCL Inc. [10]
As of March 2023 [update] the largest OSVP is at Docklands Studios Melbourne in Australia. [1]
Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American motion picture visual effects, computer animation and stereo conversion digital studio that was founded on May 26, 1975 by George Lucas. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lucas founded, and was created when he began production on the original Star Wars, now the fourth episode of the Skywalker Saga.
Visual effects is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action footage or CGI elements to create realistic imagery is called VFX.
Unreal Engine (UE) is a 3D computer graphics game engine developed by Epic Games, first showcased in the 1998 first-person shooter video game Unreal. Initially developed for PC first-person shooters, it has since been used in a variety of genres of games and has been adopted by other industries, most notably the film and television industry. Unreal Engine is written in C++ and features a high degree of portability, supporting a wide range of desktop, mobiles, console, and virtual reality platforms.
A sound stage is a large, soundproof structure, building or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or television studio property.
Virtual cinematography is the set of cinematographic techniques performed in a computer graphics environment. It includes a wide variety of subjects like photographing real objects, often with stereo or multi-camera setup, for the purpose of recreating them as three-dimensional objects and algorithms for the automated creation of real and simulated camera angles. Virtual cinematography can be used to shoot scenes from otherwise impossible camera angles, create the photography of animated films, and manipulate the appearance of computer-generated effects.
Pixomondo (PXO) is an Academy and Emmy award-winning international visual effects and virtual production company with studios in Los Angeles, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, and London. The company provides virtual production and visual effects for feature films, television, and commercials. As of 2019, PXO employs over 655 people worldwide.
DNEG is a British-Indian visual effects, computer animation and 3-D conversion studio that was founded in 1998 in London, and rebranded as DNEG in 2014 after a merger with Indian VFX company Prime Focus; it was named after the letters "D" and "Neg" from their former name.
Cinesite is an independent, multinational business which provides services to the media and entertainment industries. Its head office in London opened for business in 1994, initially offering services in visual effects for film and television, subsequently expanding to include animation.
Craig Barron is an American visual effects artist and creative director at Magnopus, a media company that produces visual development and virtual production services for motion pictures, television, museums and multimedia platforms.
Gregory S. Butler is an Academy Award-winning American visual effects supervisor. He graduated from Suffield High School in 1989 and afterwards entered Hampshire College. Despite his initial plans to study history, a work-study job with the audiovisual equipment in the library made him interested in film production. Butler graduated in 1993 with a major in film, television and theater design. Afterwards he moved to California to work for Industrial Light and Magic for 9 months, where after intern work he managed to become an assistant in the effects department, starting with assistant credits in The Mask and Forrest Gump. Following a job at Rocket Science Games until the company's bankruptcy in 1996, Butler went to Tippett Studio and did effects work in Starship Troopers and My Favorite Martian, rising up to a technical director job, and Cinesite for Practical Magic. While reluctant at the requirement of moving to New Zealand, Butler was convinced by his writer-actor brother to jump at the opportunity of working for Weta Digital in The Lord of the Rings. Among his achievements was working on the creation of Gollum. for which he was awarded a Visual Effects Society Award.
Tim Webber is a Welsh visual effects supervisor and is chief creative officer at visual effects studio Framestore. He is known for his work on Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), Children of Men (2006), and Gravity (2013), for which he received an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 86th Academy Awards.
Ex Machina is a 2014 science fiction thriller film written and directed by Alex Garland in his directorial debut. A co-production between the United Kingdom and the United States, it stars Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, and Oscar Isaac. It follows a programmer who is invited by his CEO to administer the Turing test to an intelligent humanoid robot.
Namit Malhotra is an Indian film and television producer and a business executive. He is the founder and non-executive director of Indian visual and special effects company Prime Focus Limited, the world's largest independent integrated media services company, and the chief executive officer of its British-Indian subsidiary DNEG which specializes in visual effects, animation and stereo conversion.
Sara Bennett is a British visual effects artist who won a 2016 Academy Award for the best visual effects in the film Ex-Machina. She is a co-founder of Milk, a visual effects studio headquartered in London.
Dane Allan Smith is a film and television producer, and visual effects producer. Smith manages daily operations as founding partner of Daneiam Inc., a studio through which Smith has served as visual effects producer for films including Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008), Sinister 2 (2015), Deadpool, Star Trek Beyond, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017). He has also worked as a visualization executive producer, and founded Artificial Intelligence + ML Visual Effects resource Parts + Labor in 2023.
Milk VFX is a British independent visual effects studio. It was founded in London in 2013 and is known for creating complex and innovative sequences for high-end television and feature films.
The Mandalorian is an American space Western television series created by Jon Favreau for the streaming service Disney+. It is the first live-action series in the Star Wars franchise and begins five years after the events of the film Return of the Jedi (1983). It follows a lone bounty hunter who protects a Force-sensitive child, Grogu, from remnant Imperial forces.
The first season of the American television series The Mandalorian is part of the Star Wars franchise, set after the events of the film Return of the Jedi (1983). It follows a lone bounty hunter who goes on the run to protect "The Child". The season was produced by Lucasfilm, Fairview Entertainment, and Golem Creations, with Jon Favreau serving as showrunner.
StageCraft is an on-set virtual production visual effects technology composed of a video wall designed by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) for the Disney+ series The Mandalorian. It has since been used in other productions and has been cited as a revolutionary visual effects technology. The soundstage in which StageCraft is implemented is called The Volume.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is an American science fiction adventure television series created by Jon Watts and Christopher Ford for the streaming service Disney+. It is part of the Star Wars franchise, taking place in the same time frame as the The Mandalorian series and its interconnected spin-offs after the events of the film Return of the Jedi (1983). Skeleton Crew tells a coming-of-age story about four children who make a discovery on their home planet, get lost in the galaxy, and go on an adventure to get back home.
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