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> Martin Izzard, head of media and entertainment at Red Lorry Yellow Lorry takes a look at the rise of virtual production
https://www.tvbeurope.com/production-post/the-impact-real-time-technology-is-having-on-vfx title=Share via Email class=share-email>
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 production Ever 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.
The Bourne Stuntacular In 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 challenges What 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.
Behind the scenes on The Bourne Stuntacular But there are also benefits for the people watching the pennies. NVIZ's Janek Lender says using real-time scenes for pre-production workflows allows for a more efficient flow of assets throughout the VFX process, which ultimately helps the bottom line. Assets can be improved from previs, and upgraded to more developed assets for postvis, all within the same scenes, saving time and money.
VRFX's Achermann agrees, saying that the ability to render in real-time is amazing, but the ability to take real-time simulations from a set, record them and then send them further
The impact real-time technology is having on VFX
14/05/2021
| LINK: | https://www.tvbeurope.com/production-post/the-impact-real-time-technol... |
| See more stories from tvb |
Europe Stories
22/06/2021
Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio win contract for SICRAL 3 secure satellite communications system and associated ground segment
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn New program will ensure the continuity of Italy&...
22/06/2021
Barco presents world's first stand-alone digital pathology display
Barco presents world's first stand-alone digital pathology display Kortrijk, Belgium, 22 June 2021 - Global visualization leader Barco presents MDPC-8127, o...
21/06/2021
Axiata, Telenor and Digi Sign Transaction Agreements for the Proposed Merger of Celcom and Digi
Reading Time: 3 minutes Following the 8 April 2021 announcement that Axiata an...
21/06/2021
Building Momentum Around Black Creators in Honor of Black Music Month and Juneteenth
Last June, Spotify celebrated Black Music Month, spotlit the protests around Geo...
21/06/2021
Spotify Original Podcast Prxima Parada' Brings Daily News From the Outskirts of Brazil
Journalists Ana Beatriz Felicio and R mulo Cabrera are shining a light on the ne...
21/06/2021
Behind the scenes of adidas Formotion 360 series
Published On: June 21st, 2021 -- -- -- -- width=1280 height=720 class=wp-image-0 lazyload data-orig-src=https://www.sgo.es/wp-content/uploads/maxresde...
21/06/2021
Rohde & Schwarz and VIAVI demonstrate 5G NR high-speed downlink IP data throughput using 8x FR1 and FR2 component carriers
Rohde & Schwarz and VIAVI demonstrate 5G NR high-speed downlink IP data throughp...
21/06/2021
It's A Sin wins Program of the Year at the Rockie Awards
It's A Sin has won the Rockie Award for Program of the Year at BANFF World Media Festival 2021. With a 42-year legacy, the Rockie Awards International Prog...
21/06/2021
It's A Sin wins Best TV Drama at Prix Italia
It's A Sin has won the TV Drama category at Prix Italia. Prix Italia said: It's a Sin is a poignant period drama series that chronicles the journey o...
21/06/2021
Nokia 5G private wireless networking moves from trial to permanent deployment for Lufthansa Technik
Nokia 5G private wireless networking moves from trial to permanent deployment fo...
21/06/2021
Nokia and DISH to deploy first 5G standalone core network in the public cloud with AWS
Nokia and DISH to deploy first 5G standalone core network in the public cloud wi...
21/06/2021
Overon expands capacity contract at Eutelsat's 10 East orbital position, supporting EUMETSAT's weather data transmission
Photo credit: (Shutterstock) Press release - 21 June 2021 11:45 Overon expan...
21/06/2021
Dolby Laboratories Names Marie Huwe to Lead Dolby.io
June 21, 2021 Dolby Laboratories Names Marie Huwe to Lead Dolby.io Seasoned Executive Brings Decades of API and Developer Experience to Accelerate Expansio...
21/06/2021
Affordable IEMs from Campfire Audio
BA & dynamic designs revealed Premium in-ear monitor makers Campfire Audio have just released two new models, the Satsuma and the Honeydew. But while most o...
21/06/2021
Craig Anderton ebooks released
Three publications exclusively available from Sweetwater Veteran musician, engineer and SOS author Craig Anderton has just released three new educational eb...
21/06/2021
Ofcom to be given SVoD regulatory powers'
Government reportedly want to level the playing field between broadcasters and VoD services By Jenny Priestley Published: June 21, 2021 Government reportedl...
21/06/2021
Amino Technologies rebrands as Aferian
Companys two go-to-market brands, 24i and Amino Communications, will continue to operate under their respective names By Jenny Priestley Published: June 21, 2...
21/06/2021
Healthy Touring And The Back Lounge Launch Resilience Workshop Series For Touring Professionals
Healthy Touring And The Back Lounge Launch Resilience Workshop Series For Tourin...
21/06/2021
KJLA-TV Selects Hitachi 4K Studio Cameras to Meet Growing Demand for Ultra HD Production
KJLA-TV Selects Hitachi 4K Studio Cameras to Meet Growing Demand for Ultra HD Pr...
19/06/2021
England v Scotland scores 20 million on ITV
England v Scotland scores 20 million on ITV ITVs exclusive coverage of England and Scotlands draw at Wembley last night peaked with 20 million viewers/79% shar...
18/06/2021
Reporting on refugees: Belonging and unbelonging
Ahead of World Refugee Day, a day dedicated to refugees, their plight and their rights, we spotlight the work of Jordan-based filmmaker Jumana Saadeh and Kashmi...
18/06/2021
BAFTA Award winning Sky Original Life & Rhymes returns for a second series on Sky Arts
BAFTA Award-winning spoken word series Life & Rhymes will return to Sky Arts, th...
18/06/2021
RT Supporting Pride 2021
Official Media Partner to Dublin Pride | Proud to stand. Proud to party. www.RTE.ie/Pride | #Pride #RTEPride #virtualprideparade RT is again celebrating Pri...
18/06/2021
Nokia and KDDI trial Japan's first liquid cooling innovation to promote sustainability
Nokia and KDDI trial Japan's first liquid cooling innovation to promote sust...
18/06/2021
Gok Wan hosts brand new ITV series Bling
ITV today announces a brand new daytime series Bling, a Twofour and Possessed co-production. Hosted by Gok Wan, the 20 x 60' series delves into the dazzli...
18/06/2021
Footballers get behind ITV's Britain Get Talking campaign
Footballers get behind ITV's Britain Get Talking campaign Home nation games on ITV, kicking off with England v Scotland on Friday 18th June, will feature s...
18/06/2021
Fox Corporation Announces $2 Billion Incremental Stock Repurchase Authorization
Fox Corporation Announces $2 Billion Incremental Stock Repurchase Authorization William A. Burck Elected to the Board of Directors New York, NY and Los Angele...
18/06/2021
EBU and Vienna Philharmonic renew 5-year deal to bring classical concerts to millions
EBU and Vienna Philharmonic renew 5-year deal to bring classical concerts to mil...
18/06/2021
Adobe Reports Outstanding Second Quarter Results
-- Revenue Growth of 23% Year Over Year Drives Record $1.99 Billion Cash Flows from Operations...
18/06/2021
Modal release Cobalt8 update & Argon expansion
Firmware v1.1 adds AM, FM and more Bristol synth-makers Modal have released a major update to their Cobalt8 range of virtual-analogue synths. Firmware v1.1 ...
18/06/2021
Channel 4 could be privatised as soon as next year'
Options are said to include an outright sale, a partial offloading of the governments stake or a mutual ownership model By Jenny Priestley Published: June 18,...
18/06/2021
Two new earphones from Audix
A10 & A10X feature dynamic point-source drivers Audixs new A-series of headphones has just gained two new members. Unlike the companys debut headphone model...
18/06/2021
Astera Launches New PixelBrick product
Astera Launches New PixelBrick product posted: 18/06/2021 Wireless LED lighting specialist Astera adds another ingenious dimension to its expanding portfo...
18/06/2021
Small housing, impressive performance: KVM manufacturer G&D launches high-end product series [Sponsored Post]
Small housing, impressive performance: KVM manufacturer G&D launches high-end pr...
17/06/2021
Spotify Accelerates Podcast Discovery With Acquisition of Podz
At Spotify, we are investing to build and scale the world's best (and most personalized) podcast discovery experience-and we've acquired Podz, a small, ...
17/06/2021
Get to Know Some of the Features in Our Live Interactive Audio Offering, Greenroom
At Spotify, we're constantly iterating and innovating the future formats of ...
17/06/2021
Schneider Electric Unveils New Research and IT Innovation to Meet the Demands of a Digital-First Future
Home News & Press Releases Spokespeople Assets Blog Contact us ...
17/06/2021
RT ANNOUNCE MAURA HIGGINS AS PRESENTER OF NEW SERIES GLOW UP IRELAND
Pout Pose Sparkle Shimmer Shine! Glow Up Ireland, presented by TV star, model and influencer Maura Higgins is coming to screens this Autumn. RT and Indiepi...
17/06/2021
Riedel Extends Comms and Signal Distribution Solutions Supporting 2021 Eurovision Song Contest
Wuppertal June 16, 2021 Riedel Extends Comms and Signal Distribution Solutions...
17/06/2021
Nokia accelerates Telenor and Telia joint 5G network rollout in Denmark
Nokia accelerates Telenor and Telia joint 5G network rollout in Denmark Press Release Nokia accelerates Telenor and Telia joint 5G network rollout in Denma...
17/06/2021
Pebble and Nevion announce an integration between re
Integration adds SDN control to Pebble Control Weybridge, Surrey, UK and Oslo, Norway, 17 June 2021 - Pebble, the leading automation, content management, and ...
17/06/2021
YouGov research shows how ITV's Mental Health Awareness week coverage resonates with viewers
YouGov research shows how ITV's Mental Health Awareness week coverage resona...
17/06/2021
Love Island: The Morning After
Love Island: The Morning After Podcast returns for new series bigger than ever Love Island: The Morning After is back for 2021 and this year Love Island fans ...
17/06/2021
Moritz Polter unveils name of new scripted German label as Windlight Pictures
Moritz Polter unveils name of new scripted German label as Windlight Pictures Award-winning executive producer announces three exciting new hires London, Mun...
17/06/2021
GSMA Study Reveals That The Gender Gap In Mobile Internet Use Is Shrinking, Despite The Onset Of The COVID-19 Pandemic
South Asia led the global trend, while the gap in mobile ownership persists 17...
17/06/2021
Honouring colourists
Wolfgang Lempp, CEO of FilmLight, explains the driving force and inspiration behind the launch of the new FilmLight Colour Awards 2021 At FilmLight, we have be...
17/06/2021
France Tlvisions and the EBU - partners of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift
France T l visions and the EBU - partners of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift...
17/06/2021
Clear-Com Announces New CC-28 Lightweight, Premium Headset
Comfort, Functionality and Best-in-Class Audio Clear-Com is pleased to announce their new CC-28 lightweight headset is now shipping. The CC-28 has been design...
17/06/2021
Clear-Com's Station-IC Virtual Desktop Client Now Available for LQ Series of IP Interfaces
Clear-Com's new Station-IC Virtual Desktop Client, a Mac- and Windows-based...
