VIRTUAL PRODUCTION
HOW VP RETHINKS THE WAY STORIES ARE BEING TOLD By IAN FAILES
Today, virtual production encapsulates so many areas – visualization, real-time rendering, LED wall shoots, simulcams, motion capture, volumetric capture and more. With heavy advances made in processing power for real-time workflows, virtual production tools have exploded as filmmaking and storytelling aids. The idea, of course, is to give filmmakers and storytellers more flexible ways to both imagine and then tell their stories, and in that way virtual production has no doubt improved creative outcomes. Via on-the-ground stories told by visual effects, virtual production and virtualization supervisors, we look at examples of where virtual production has provided new options and practical solutions to storytellers and how it has made a clear difference on real productions. VISUALIZATION IS STORYTELLING
TOP: Proof Inc.’s VCAM or virtual camera setup as used on Amsterdam. (Image courtesy of Proof Inc.) OPPOSITE TOP TO BOTTOM: A Proof Inc. VCAM screenshot of a previs frame from the 1930s New York sequence in Amsterdam, which includes details such as lensing. (Image courtesy of Proof Inc.) Proof Inc.’s previs was able to be used to map out the action of the New York sequence to work out staging, camera placement and also greenscreen positions. (Image courtesy of Proof Inc.) During the early stages of planning on Comandante, a virtual production test on an LED wall with real-time rendered ocean water and ‘live’ compositing via Foundry’s CopyCat tool was undertaken. (Image courtesy of Foundry) The AI tool CopyCat inside of Nuke runs on the Comandante test set. (Image courtesy of Foundry)
Studios specializing in previs (now more commonly referred to as visualization) have always helped filmmakers shape stories. In the past few years, those same studios have also spearheaded a number of virtual production innovations. Proof Inc., for example, recently added real-time motion capture during its virtual camera (VCAM) sessions. “We can now direct performance and cinematography at the same time,” notes Proof Creative Technology Supervisor Steven Hughes. “The data captured during a VCAM session is quickly passed to the shot creators, who know that the staging and composition are already in line with the director’s vision.” On Amsterdam, Proof’s ‘viz’ work was directly used by the filmmakers for a period New York sequence. It started with a virtual production set build of 1930s New York and then blocking of animation in Maya before moving into Unreal Engine 4. “Then we were ready for our virtual camera scout with Cinematographer Emmanuel ‘Chivo’ Lubezki and VFX Supervisor Allen Maris,”
78 • VFXVOICE.COM SPRING 2023
PG 78-81 VP STORYTELLING.indd 78
3/5/23 5:02 PM