Virtual Production is rapidly becoming the workflow of choice in cinematic and episodic TV production. With large-scale multi-location productions there are potential cost benefits but it is the versatility, creative scope and the improved efficiency it can bring to production spaces, that are the compelling forces driving adoption.

The basic principles of back projection and greenscreen have been with us for decades and are already commonplace in TV production, especially in news and sports, but the creative versatility of LED volume based virtual production brings fundamental technical and creative differences. The technology and techniques of virtual production are also evolving very quickly and there is not yet a standard approach, with different teams establishing their own approach.

Virtual Production For Broadcast provides a deep exploration of the creative techniques, technology and workflow involved. It discusses what currently can and cannot be achieved, with a specific focus on the unique requirements of broadcast production.

It is essential reading for those evaluating incorporating virtual production technology into new studio design and exploring the creative benefits it can bring.

Virtual Production For Broadcast is a collection of twelve articles presented in four parts. Each part tackles a different theme and there are three or more articles per part:

Part 1. The Foundations Of Virtual Production

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Article 1 : Principles, Terminology & Technology
A broad look at the technology and techniques of virtual production, from the camera back through the video wall, processors, and rendering servers. Readers gain a solid foundation of understanding on which we’ll build in subsequent chapters.

Article 2 : Camera Setup, Tracking & Lens Data
Discovering that we’re perhaps a bit freer to use the camera and lens combination of our choice than we would be with traditional VFX techniques such as greenscreen, we discuss the changes that do need to happen around the camera, what information we generate, and how that informs the pictures rendered on the screen.

Article 3 : Video Wall Configuration
How video walls for VP are built in detail. We discuss the fundamentals of the underlying technology as well as techniques to ensure proper colour rendering and avoid flicker while maximising frame rate and dynamic range.

Part 2. Planning, The Unreal Engine & Virtual Lighting

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Article 1 : Requirements For The Well-planned Virtual Production
Virtual production ideally lets us shoot much more as we usually would, verifying things look right on camera without relying on an extensive post process as existing VFX techniques might. At the same time, though, that inevitably moves some responsibilities to the pre-production process. We discuss how to get that right and minimise problems on the day.

Article 2 : Designing The Virtual World
One of the key tools of virtual production is already well-established in the world of computer entertainment, and it would be easy to think people from that world will be useful in virtual production. And that’s true, but the design constraints can be very different, demanding photorealism over smaller areas, as well as staging and layout that’s suitable for the proposed scene.

Article 3 : Virtual Lighting Fundamentals
When conventional VFX are produced, there’s often a real-world lighting reference available. That sort of approach could also be used in virtual production, but increasingly, the director of photography might want or need to have some pre-production involvement in the development of a virtual world. The job may be familiar, but the tools are likely to be new.

Part 3. Creative Image Capture

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Article 1 : Shooting Locations For Virtual Production
Sending out a crew to capture a real-world environment can be a more straightforward option than creating a virtual world, but there are some quite specific considerations affecting how the material is shot and prepared for use.

Article 2 : Capturing Objects In 3D 
Sometimes, there’ll be a need to represent real-world objects in the virtual world. Simple objects could be built like any VFX asset; more complex ones might be better scanned as a 3D object, something some studios have begun to consider as a service to offer.

Article 3 : Motion Capture
One of the creative advantages of virtual production for performers is seeing the virtual environment in which they are performing. Using motion capture techniques extends this into capturing the motion of performers to drive CGI characters. New technologies are rapidly transforming the creative freedom this brings.

Part 4. Uniting The Physical & The Virtual

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Article 1 : Image Based Lighting 
Video walls are not generally sources of high colour quality light. So, it’s sometimes necessary to reinforce that light with conventional production lighting, though naturally, that lighting must react to changing conditions in the virtual world. Using a rendered image to control production lighting adopts the video game and CGI technique called Image Based Lighting.

Article 2 : Emerging Technology
The field of Virtual Production is evolving rapidly, with new requirements for improved colour quality, dynamic range, multi-cam broadcast and scalability.

Article 3 : Finishing
The goal with in-camera LED wall based virtual production is to capture the final image on set, to eliminate the need for compositing in Post. How much is left to finishing and grading?