Virtual Production
Real-time visual effects integration during filming using LED volumes and game engines.
Definition
Virtual production is a filmmaking approach that integrates real-time visual effects during production rather than in post. Using large LED walls or volumes displaying environments rendered by game engines like Unreal Engine, filmmakers can shoot actors against dynamic digital backgrounds that interact with lighting and camera movements.
This technique, popularized by "The Mandalorian," offers advantages including seeing final imagery on set, reduced location travel, and greater creative flexibility. Virtual production is transforming how films and episodic content are made.
Why It Matters
Virtual production is reshaping film production economics and creative possibilities. Understanding this technology helps producers evaluate when it makes sense and how to budget for virtual production approaches.
For the industry, virtual production expertise is increasingly in demand as studios invest in this capability.
Examples in Practice
A sci-fi production shoots entirely in a virtual production stage, creating alien worlds without location travel or extensive post-production VFX.
A period drama uses virtual production to depict historical settings that no longer exist, at lower cost than building practical sets.
An episodic show uses virtual production to maintain consistent quality and speed across many episodes with ambitious visuals.