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.
Most recent headlines
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Scripps Research study links sleep variability with sleep apnea and hypertension How consumers' digital activity trackers could enable personalized health s...
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today! By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
...
23/12/2025
The year is winding down, the weather outside is frightful, and it's the perfect time to escape into a story that warms the heart. For listeners looking for...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Lightware will exhibit several major product innovations at ISE 2026, including the new USB-C BOOSTER-V1, Google Meet. integration for various Taurus UCX models...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Taking the Stage at Carnegie Hall-On a Global Scale Boston Conservatory Orchestra students reflect on their epic concert marking the 80th session of the UN Gene...
23/12/2025
Experience the power of WO Automation for Radio's newest service, the System Effectiveness Review. Designed to help you achieve more, a System Effectiveness...
23/12/2025
23 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan and Rakuten Symphony Collaborate to A...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
How Steamy Can It Get? Single's Inferno' Season 5 Pre...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
33 Million Global Viewers on Netflix Watched Jake Paul vs. Ant...
23/12/2025
New technique lights up where drugs go in the body, cell by cell Scripps Research scientists developed a technique that maps drug binding in individual cells th...
22/12/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Presidio's Neerav Shah on the Role of Its Captiva...
22/12/2025
Hitting the bullseye: Sky Sports readies itself for the biggest PDC World Darts ...
22/12/2025
Unique skillset: Bringing new directors to the world of darts at The Worlds with...
22/12/2025
Gravity Media prepares for a flight of fancy with the PDC World Darts Championsh...
22/12/2025
One hundred and eighty: Gravity Media on hitting the production bullseye at the ...
22/12/2025
The Famous Group's Jon Slusser on Fascinating Fans Through Immersive Content...
22/12/2025
ESPN's Meg Aronowitz on Continuing High-Quality Broadcasts of Collegiate Spo...
22/12/2025
ESPN Takes Data-Driven Storytelling to New Heights with MNF Playbook with Next ...
22/12/2025
For a decade, popular German podcast Fest & Flauschig has hosted an annual Chris...
22/12/2025
Paramount Scores Largest Share Increase Among Distributors as Paramount and CBS...
22/12/2025
New multi-year deal integrates Roku's data to fuel Nielsen's measurement suite
Roku gains access to Nielsen's streaming ratings, showing The Roku C...
22/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
22/12/2025
Berklee Wrapped 2025: Our Top News and Stories A look back at a year highlighted by faculty milestones, major film and television projects, Bob Dylan's ho...
22/12/2025
The works of Plato state that when humans have an experience, some level of change occurs in their brain, which is powered by memory - specifically long-term me...
22/12/2025
Partnership integrates complementary satellite data and AI analytics to enhance security, infrastructure, and environmental monitoring solutions for global cust...
22/12/2025
Workflows allow you to create a sequence of planned events which may be added to your template(s) or inserted directly into your sequential or background playli...
22/12/2025
Monday 22 December 2025
Sky extends PGA TOUR partnership until 2029, as Sky Spo...
22/12/2025
Back to All News
Global Anime Hits and New Releases Take Center Stage at Jump Festa 2026
Entertainment
22 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied to clipboar...
22/12/2025
Siobh n McSweeney, Rory McIlroy, Elon Musk, Catherine Connolly, Jim Gavin, Ivan Yates and Traitor Paudie Moloney lead new characters for Callan Kicks the Year 2...
22/12/2025
Winner announced in the picturesque surroundings of Wicklow's Avondale Tower and Treetop Walk
Andrew Trimble wins the show in his first series as coach
Th...
22/12/2025
The 2025 winners have been announced today, Sunday 21 December, for Ireland's largest choral competition Choirs for Christmas hosted by RT lyric fm.
Ove...
21/12/2025
Back to All News
Legoshi and Haru's Story Reaches Its Finale: BEASTARS Fin...
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
