Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Meet the lead virtual studio developer

30/01/2023

dock10s Andy Elliott explains how made the jump from gaming to broadcast, and why the key to loving what you do is to enjoy the process

By Jenny Priestley

Published: January 30, 2023 Updated: January 31, 2023

dock10's Andy Elliott explains how made the jump from gaming to broadcast, and why the key to loving what you do is to enjoy the process

target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>

Andy Elliott, lead virtual studio developer at dock10 What has been your greatest professional challenge? Making the switch from games to broadcast was without a doubt my greatest challenge. I'd reached a point in my career where I needed a change but my skills were specific to game development. There were a few options for someone with my knowledge of design and game engines, mainly around arch-vis or interactive entertainment, but there weren't many vacancies. It was through an industry contact that I ended up making the move to dock10 and starting a whole new career.

How would you compare working in virtual production with working in games? Most of the projects I worked on in the games industry were multi-platform AAA titles with large teams and years of development. The shortest ran for about eight months with a team of 60. Since moving to the broadcast industry, the most extended project I've worked on ran for six months with a team of around 15. Virtual production is an industry in its infancy, so by necessity, we run smaller, more agile teams to deliver projects.

What do you love most about working on a virtual set? The key to loving what you do is to enjoy the process. In my role, I'm involved in every stage, from initial conversations with a client to deployment, and I enjoy it all. But I'll admit that seeing your work in a gallery as the production team makes their show is particularly special.

What do you wish more people knew about virtual production? A lot of clients come to us with preconceived ideas of virtual production, sometimes that's helpful, and sometimes it's not. I think a lot of it comes from social media. Someone might see a short behind-the-scenes clip of The Mandalorian and assume the technology will work for their show, which might not be the case. For example, a lot of clients ask about LED volumes, which work great for single-camera drama but not for multi-camera shoots - not yet anyway. This is where collaboration is key, we're happy to advise the pros and cons of any approach, but it helps to be involved in these conversations as early as possible.

What is the future of virtual production as an industry? Four years ago, Unreal Engine-based virtual production was a little-known technology used mainly for the news and weather. My first project involved helping to deliver BBC Sport's virtual solution. Since then dock10 has delivered all kinds of shows, from children's education and e-sports to factual and light entertainment. During this time I've seen a real shift in the attitude of clients and commissioners. Along with more and more shows embracing virtual, I think emerging tech like volumetric capture and AI will become important.

What piece of advice would you offer someone looking to explore a role similar to yours? Knowledge of game engines is key. Most solutions use Unreal Engine or are based on it like Reality by Zero Density, the product we use at dock10. Some will use Unity or a bespoke engine though, so understanding how game engines work is important. Luckily there's a lot of free training you can do to get started, from both the Unreal Engine website and Zero Density Academy.

The development side of my role involves delivering whatever a client needs, sometimes this means a traditional environment build (like a game level with less interactivity), but we've also delivered motion capture, real-time AR graphics, and lighting via DMX. If it's possible in Unreal Engine we figure out how to do it.

There are a few compatible roles in the games industry such as environment artist, technical designer, and software engineer, so I'd advise anyone in these kinds of roles wanting a change to research virtual production, keep an eye on sites like LinkedIn, and speak to recruiters. After all, it looks like virtual production is only going to grow.
LINK: https://www.tvbeurope.com/business/people/meet-the-lead-virtual-studio...
See more stories from tvb

More from TVB Europe

31/03/2023

The UK industry is really ahead of the game right now!': How virtual production is gaining traction in UK TV production

Universal Pixels Dan Edmonds talks to TVBEurope about the companys work on major...

31/03/2023

Meet the creative director

Zixis Elizabeth Utting-Quereuil reveals how she found herself working in the media tech industry, and why attending industry events and learning from colleagues...

30/03/2023

Can the broadcast industry meet its sustainability goals in time for the next World Cup?

Dejeros Ivy Cuervo considers how the evolution of remote production and blended ...

30/03/2023

Avid unveils new storage solutions for Ultra-High Resolution workflows

The Avid NEXIS | F2 Sold State Drive can be used with 4K, 8K and HDR content, with capacity to scale from 38.4TB to 307.2TB per engine By Jenny Priestley Pub...

30/03/2023

New virtual production facility opens in Warsaw

The facility is powered by Unreal Engine 5, with 3D environments displayed on 800m2 of fully modular LED volumes in real-time By Jenny Priestley Published: M...

30/03/2023

Unified Streaming appoints new CEO

Martin van Aalderen has been tasked with focusing the company on its goal of accelerating global growth By Jenny Priestley Published: March 30, 2023 Marti...

30/03/2023

DAZN wants to end 3pm blackout and show all EFL games live'

DAZN's coverage would include more behind-the-scenes footage, watchalongs, stats, in-play betting and better camera angles and production By Jenny Priestle...

30/03/2023

BBC sets out plans to reduce carbon footprint in coming year

Broadcaster has published its Annual Plan 2023/24, which also sets out its plans for technological innovation By Jenny Priestley Published: March 30, 2023 ...

29/03/2023

UK government publishes draft Media Bill, Ofcom to regulate global streamers

The global streamers could face fines of up to £250,000 or be restricted in the UK entirely if they are found to have broken rules around harmful material By J...

29/03/2023

ARRI creates dedicated business unit for virtual production

ARRI Solutions designs, engineers, builds, and operates virtual production environments of all sizes By Jenny Priestley Published: March 29, 2023 Updated: ...

29/03/2023

Riedel makes new appointments to Product Division management team

The appointments follow Riedels recent acquisitions of Simplylive and SDNsquare By Jenny Priestley Published: March 29, 2023 The appointments follow Riede...

28/03/2023

Edgio appoints Eric Black as CTO

Black joins the company from NBC Universal, where he led the companys media technology strategy across a host of digital properties By Jenny Priestley Publis...

27/03/2023

Vizrt and ROE Visual partner on XR broadcast experience for NAB 2023

Vizrt's Viz Engine 5 and GhostFrame will bring unprecedented multi-angle virtual graphics and video wall control to the show floor By TVBEurope Staff Pub...

27/03/2023

Cloud production control room goes live

Atomos has launched its cloud-based control room, Atomos Studio, which makes live video production and remote collaboration affordable, accessible and easy, the...

27/03/2023

Moonraker VFX hires head of 3D

VFX studio Moonraker VFX has announced the appointment of Lucas Pozzey as its head of 3D By TVBEurope Staff Published: March 27, 2023 Updated: March 28, 20...

24/03/2023

New CTO Office announced at Lawo

The company has established the new CTO Office to drive innovation and deliver on its strategic goals By TVBEurope Staff Published: March 24, 2023 Updated...

23/03/2023

Flexible and adaptable: How European broadcasters can take on the global streamers at their own game

Ampere Analysis Neil Anderson discusses how European broadcasters are playing ca...

23/03/2023

disguise and NVIDIA to collaborate on new partnership

disguise has announced a collaboration between the two companies that will see it integrate with NVIDIA Omniverse for end-to-end M&E workflows By TVBEurope Sta...

23/03/2023

Ofcom sets comprehensive requirements' in new BBC operating licence

Ofcom introducing more than 70 quotas on the BBCs TV and radio services to ensure it delivers a minimum volume of content such as news and current affairs, and ...

23/03/2023

Meet the sales executive

Pixotopes Kate Watson talks about how her job lets her go behind the curtain on major virtual production projects, and why now is the perfect time to get involv...

23/03/2023

Is Apple ready to take a bite out of English football?

The next auction of Premier League rights is due to take place next year, and will cover 2025-28 By Jenny Priestley Published: March 23, 2023 Updated: Marc...

22/03/2023

Nominations announced for BAFTA Television Craft Awards

Bad Sisters, The English, The Essex Serpent, and This is Going to Hurt lead the nominations By Jenny Priestley Published: March 22, 2023 Updated: March 31,...

22/03/2023

Milk VFX opens Dublin studio

The studio will be led by Milk VFX supervisor and Dublin native, Ciaran Crowley By Jenny Priestley Published: March 22, 2023 The studio will be led by Mil...

21/03/2023

Cooke S4/i lenses capture The Last of Us

Cinematographer Ksenia Sereda explains why she chose to use the lenses on the hit HBO series By Jenny Priestley Published: March 21, 2023 Updated: March 22...

21/03/2023

Jigsaw24 Media agrees full-service partnership with pixitmedia

Agreement also coincides with Jigsaw24 Media's first pixitmedia integration project, for London-based facility Fifty Fifty By Jenny Priestley Published: ...

21/03/2023

Origin Film & Television expands into south-west England with Cinewest merger

Based at Bristols Bottle Yard Studios, Cinewest provides customers with cine camera, lens and grip rentals By Jenny Priestley Published: March 21, 2023 Upd...

20/03/2023

AVoD will drive growth in Western Europe OTT revenues over next five years

OTT TV episode and movie revenues in the region are predicted to reach $45 billion in 2028 By Jenny Priestley Published: March 20, 2023 Updated: March 21, ...

20/03/2023

Registration opens for Media Tech Sustainability Summit

The inaugural event is scheduled for 20-21st June and will take place virtually By TVBEurope Staff Published: March 20, 2023 Updated: March 31, 2023 The...

20/03/2023

Meet the senior solutions engineer

Edgios Grant MacLeod tells TVBEurope about a role that involves problem-solving for customers, and why its important to get hands-on experience in the media tec...

20/03/2023

ITV reduces carbon emissions by over a third

ITV will continue to embed sustainability criteria into its selection processes and contracts in order to ensure it works with suppliers that align to the compa...

17/03/2023

High Wycombe's eight-stage studio receives planning permission

Owners Stage Fifty say they also plan to build live broadcast sound stages for homebound unscripted television By Jenny Priestley Published: March 17, 2023 ...

17/03/2023

Blackmagic Design's products used on over 20 Oscar nominees

Among the technology used by creatives were the companys digital film cameras, DaVinci Resolve editing, grading, visual effects (VFX) and audio post production ...

16/03/2023

Smart Chunking: What is it and what does it mean for video encoding?

Bitmovins Markus Hafellner talks to TVBEurope about the companys update to its VoD Encoding solution, and how it will create better visual quality for viewers ...

16/03/2023

Wales becomes home to UK's first national broadcast archive

Content from BBC Cymru Wales, ITV Cymru Wales and S4C has been digitised for the archive By Jenny Priestley Published: March 16, 2023 Content from BBC Cym...

16/03/2023

Garden Studios partners with Anna Valley on second virtual production stage

The new 7750 ssq ft stage features a 26 x 4.5m ROE BPV2 semicircular volume at Garden Studio's Park Royal studio complex By Jenny Priestley Published: Ma...

16/03/2023

Eastern European OTT revenues predicted to double over next five years

Together Poland and Russia will account for 61 per cent of the region's 2028 total revenues By Jenny Priestley Published: March 16, 2023 Updated: March...

16/03/2023

UK TV and film industry reacts to Budget statement

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has held the qualifying threshold for high-end TV shows at £1 million By Jenny Priestley Published: March 16, 2023 Updated: March 17...

15/03/2023

Telestream introduces new PRISM MPP for remote workflows

All three models can be mounted in an equipment room and accessed via KVM or WebRTC network connectivity, making them available for live and remote production o...

15/03/2023

WFTV to celebrate women in post production

The award recognises someone who consistently goes above and beyond the expectations of the role and shows a genuine curiosity and passion for post production ...

14/03/2023

New 6,500 sq ft virtual production studio to open in Maidenhead

CUBE Studio includes a 10.5x5.5m LED volume, crafted with Unilumin Upad IV LED panels, which feature HDR image quality By Jenny Priestley Published: March 14...

14/03/2023

London welcomes new cloud-enabled post production facility

ELMNTL includes suites for colour grading, VFX and CG/motion graphics, with multiple support stations for production planning, ingest, QC and delivery By Jenny...

14/03/2023

Meet the product owner

Appears Annette Hopland on why the media tech industry is a trifecta of amazing people, innovative technology, and an always-evolving industry, and what advice ...

13/03/2023

Delivering streaming media: reimagining CDNs

Greg Burns, head of media products, Arqiva looks at the ways streaming media providers (including traditional broadcasters) are looking to improve their approac...

13/03/2023

Adobe's creative applications bring ten Oscar-nominated films to the big screen

The companys technology was used on Best Picture winner Everything Everywhere Al...

13/03/2023

BOB gets new audio console down by the Riverside

Outside broadcast specialist Riverside Television has chosen Calrec Brio 36 for its bigger outside broadcast (BOB) truck By TVBEurope Staff Published: March...

13/03/2023

NUGEN Audio announces new CTO

The company has promoted Patxi Monedero to the position of chief technology officer By TVBEurope Staff Published: March 13, 2023 Updated: March 31, 2023 ...

13/03/2023

Western Europe pay-TV revenues to drop by almost 20 per cent in next five years

The UK and France will both see revenue drops of almost $1 billion each By Jenny Priestley Published: March 13, 2023 Updated: March 14, 2023 The UK and ...

10/03/2023

Case study: Creating the beauty and horror of All Quiet on the Western Front

Editor Sven Budelmann discusses his work on the Oscar-nominated drama, and how his close collaboration with director Edward Berger led to creating a film that i...

10/03/2023

Adobe's creative applications bring 10 Oscar-nominated films to the big screen

The companys technology was used on Best Picture frontrunner Everything Everywhe...

10/03/2023

Avid confirms return to NAB Show

The company will be back with stands at both NAB 2023 and IBC 2023 By Jenny Priestley Published: March 10, 2023 The company will be back with stands at bo...