Martin Izzard, head of media and entertainment at Red Lorry Yellow Lorry takes a look at the rise of virtual production
By Contributor
Published: May 14, 2021
Martin Izzard, head of media and entertainment at Red Lorry Yellow Lorry takes a look at the rise of virtual production
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
The last few weeks have seen both the Real Time Conference and FMX take place; albeit virtually. The first is a technology-focused event that covers a number of different industries (VFX included) and the latter a VFX-specific show with panels and sessions that are increasingly being dominated by talk about the deployment of real-time technology. That is, engine technology that can render digital assets, whether it's environments, characters or animation in . well, real time.
Talk to any VFX studio or supervisor about the biggest cinematic or episodic projects from the last few years and you'll find the use of real time technology. It's also increasingly being deployed for smaller productions and has long been the basis for mixed reality experiences which arguably set the scene for some of the techniques that are now becoming standard in the real time-enabled VFX toolkit.
I spoke to some of the experts within technology vendors, VFX studios and service providers about the impact that real time is having on today's VFX industry. Like any emerging technology, it's in a constant state of change and development, but one thing that real time has quickly become synonymous with is virtual production, or VP.
The rise of virtual productionEver since Jon Favreau and the ILM StageCraft team tackled the latest trip into a galaxy far, far away with a lot of LEDs and cameras that respond to digital environments in real-time, filmmakers everywhere have wanted to use this so-called virtual production on their next project.
But Ben Lumsden from Epic Games, the company behind the Unreal Engine, says that it's important to make a distinction between in-camera visual effects, and other forms of virtual production. Thanks to its background, he says Unreal Engine has been set up to do all sorts of forms of virtual production for about eight years, but it just keeps getting better and better at accommodating film, TV, and animation workflows.
As everyone is now realising, there's much more that VP can offer other than just this particular technique. Pascal Achermann is the CEO & technical director at VRFX Realtime Studio, a Swiss studio which uses the Unity engine to create mixed reality content and deliver virtual production services. According to his definition of VP: any time you are using real-time to support your animation, film or commercial production or storytelling, you are producing virtually.
That means, depending on how you deploy real-time technology, the impact it has and the benefit it provides to your project will differ. Ed Thomas, the head of real-time and virtual production for volumetric video capture studio Dimension, says that VP allows filmmakers to create living, breathing worlds at much earlier stages in development than has previously been possible.
He adds that it means each filmmaking discipline has access to key decision-making moments much earlier in the process and in a more collaborative environment [which] democratises the creation of this content.
This interesting prospect that technology innovation doesn't just benefit the filmmakers but everyone around them shows how widely real time technology can be deployed. This might be a production designer who can test colours on the wall of a set without needing to get out a paint brush, or a lighting gaffer who can see different lighting configurations at the touch of a button. It also means that actors can now better visualise a world or a digital character that they otherwise wouldn't have seen until the premiere.
data-src=https://www.tvbeurope.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/09_The-Bourne-Stuntacular-1-726x484.jpg alt= width=413 height=275 data-srcset=https://www.tvbeurope.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/09_The-Bourne-Stuntacular-1-726x484.jpg 726w, https://www.tvbeurope.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/09_The-Bourne-Stuntacular-1-353x235.jpg 353w, https://www.tvbeurope.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/09_The-Bourne-Stuntacular-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.tvbeurope.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/09_The-Bourne-Stuntacular-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.tvbeurope.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/09_The-Bourne-Stuntacular-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w data-sizes=(max-width: 413px) 100vw, 413px />The Bourne StuntacularIn recent times, VFX studios' worlds have expanded far beyond film and TV screens to include attractions and immersive experiences where real time is really widely used. For example, Cinesite recently won a VES award for its work on The Bourne Stuntacular live show at Universal Studios, Hollywood, which takes place in front of a 130-foot-long LED screen. Unreal Engine was used to render 3D environments throughout production, providing real time feedback and the flexibility to adjust timings and layouts on-site. Without a real time engine in the mix, Cinesite's Salvador Zalvidea said the project would have been a painful and frustrating experience.
Benefits and challengesWhat real-time technology allows is for creatives to experiment with ideas and make decisions early on that would otherwise take weeks to visualise with traditional VFX rendering. On The Bourne Stuntacular project for example, the use of real time for previs meant the team could use a headset to review their work as soon as it was completed in Unreal.
data-src=https://www.tvbeurope.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/15_The-Bourne-Stuntacular-Technology-726x545.jpg alt= width=416 height=313 data-srcset=https://www.tvbeurope.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/0
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
07/05/2026
January 8, 2024
Colorfront (colorfront.com), a leader in high-performance, on-s...
07/05/2026
February 9, 2024
Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-award-winning pioneer i...
07/05/2026
March 20, 2024
NAB 2024, Las Vegas - Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-awa...
07/05/2026
April 1, 2025
CINEMACON, APRIL 1, 2025 - Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-award-winning developer of high-performance dailies/transcoding/streaming syste...
07/05/2026
June 15, 2025
Colorfront (colorfront.com), an Academy and Emmy Award-winning de...
07/05/2026
June 15, 2025
Colorfront participated in the ICTA Barcelona Cinema Technology Summit on Sunday, June 15, 2025. Held at The Phenomena Experience, the event feat...
07/05/2026
July 1, 2025
Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-award-winning developer of high-performance dailies/transcoding/streaming systems for motion pictures, OTT,...
07/05/2026
July 1, 2025
Passion and dedication will take you places. Come with us on a short trip to the heart of India, where Annapurna Studios is living-up to the inspi...
07/05/2026
July 3, 2025
Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-award-winning developer of high-performance dailies/transcoding/streaming systems for motion pictures, OTT,...
07/05/2026
September 1, 2025
IBC 2025, Amsterdam - Colorfront (colorfront.com) - the Acade...
07/05/2026
April 17, 2026
LOS ANGELES - April 17, 2026 - Colorfront today announced Colorf...
07/05/2026
April 23, 2026
NAB 2026, Las Vegas - the Academy and Emmy Award-winning develop...
07/05/2026
Well known Irish faces pushed to the edge in new series of
Uncharted with Ray G...
07/05/2026
RT will premiere A Traveller Family, a compelling new documentary exploring the...
06/05/2026
New pricing tiers for vocal/dialogue restoration tool
NoiseWorks Audio's AI-powered vocal and dialogue processing plug-in is now available in three diff...
06/05/2026
Popular mixing & routing software overhauled
Following a recent public beta test, RME have launched the final release version of the powerful mixing and rou...
06/05/2026
New SOS Video Feature
Focusrites ISA C8X is a milestone product that brings together the companys analogue heritage and their expertise in digital audio. Yo...
06/05/2026
06 May 2026
VEON's Kyivstar Authorized to Resell Starlink for Businesses & ...
06/05/2026
UKTV has secured the exclusive rights to the early back catalogue of iconic Australian drama series Neighbours, following a landmark content deal with Fremantle...
06/05/2026
Wednesday 6 May 2026
Sky commissions feature documentary to mark 10th anniversa...
06/05/2026
Wednesday 6 May 2026
Sky and Formula 1 agree long-term partnership across UK, Ireland and Italy
Sky in the UK & Ireland to remain the home of Formula 1 until ...
06/05/2026
Sky Zero Footprint Fund-backed TV campaign launches nationwide, supported by new...
06/05/2026
Wuppertal May 6, 2026
Riedel Expands Leadership Structure, Appoints Marc Engro...
06/05/2026
SAN JOSE, Calif. - May 6, 2026 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced its latest broadband innovations for ANGA COM 2026, highlighting its vision for a new e...
06/05/2026
Statement from Rupert Murdoch, Chairman Emeritus, Fox Corporation on Ted Turner&...
06/05/2026
Friday 8 May on RT One and RT Player
Meet the NSPCA team caring for and protecting animals in need in this six-part series
Fly on the wall, six-part series...
05/05/2026
Experts from the world of academia, tech, business, politics and media convened for a Thomson Talks at the Cambridge Disinformation Summit in April. It's th...
05/05/2026
Another year, and more proof that Asia continues to shape some of the world's most exciting new sounds. This year's RADAR artists draw from deep local r...
05/05/2026
The Austin City Limits Music Fest 2026 lineup just dropped, and this year, Spoti...
05/05/2026
New drum machine book campaign incoming
Bjooks have announced that during Superbooth 2026, they will be launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund the product...
05/05/2026
Flagship all-in-one production bundle updated
The latest version of Native Instruments' flagship virtual instrument and plug-in bundle has just been ann...
05/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to host RF Testing Innovations Forum 2026, helping design engine...
05/05/2026
The company grew by 7.6% in net revenue and 16.3% in EBITDA, achieving a 33% inc...
05/05/2026
FOX Sports, FOX One and Indeed Launch Nationwide Search for FOX One Chief World...
04/05/2026
just:play pro 2026 and just:live pro 2026 are available to download!
More Details:At NAB 2026, ToolsOnAir showcased just:play pro 2026 and just:live pro 2026, ...
04/05/2026
just:in mac pro 2026 - The Next Level of Professional Recording on macOS
More Details:The headline innovation in just:in mac pro 2026 is the new Auto format si...
04/05/2026
Last week, guests gathered in New York City for On Air, In Style: An Evening with Spotify-a night of conversation, culture, and connection celebrating the inter...
04/05/2026
New music & post-production features added
Avid's latest DAW update delivers an array of helpful features aimed at both music and post-production users,...
03/05/2026
Polysynth now features Mutable Instruments' macro oscillators
Melbourne Instruments have just released a free firmware update that brings the engine beh...
02/05/2026
Versatile re-amping tool announced
Warm Audio are best known for their recreations of sought-after vintage studio gear, but their latest release brings a ne...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
Florals for spring? Groundbreaking. But a playlist that tells you which The Devi...
01/05/2026
One of the world's biggest popstars is headed to El Cl sico. Later this mont...
01/05/2026
Limited-edition model celebrates 15th anniversary
Heritage Audio's range of monitor controllers has just gained a new member, the Baby RAM Black Edition...
01/05/2026
Dumble recreation now available as UAD plug-in
Along with their renowned processing plug-ins, Universal Audio have been steadily introducing emulations of c...
Martin Izzard, head of media and entertainment at Red Lorry Yellow Lorry takes a look at the rise of virtual production
