What is Virtual Production?
Learn about an exciting method of filming using 2D and 3D virtual art assets and explore its benefits and limitations.
The Virtual Production Fellowship course was provided by:
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What is Virtual Production (VP)?
VP uses technology to blend the digital with the physical world to allow filmmakers to interact with the computer generated 2D/3D content in real-time.
A typical use case utilises high-fidelity game engines eg. Unreal Engine to run photorealistic scenes.
What are the benefits?
- Crew and cast can visualise the same the digital content
- Lower production and logistical cost savings
- A more environmentally sustainable method due to less travelling
- Consistent lighting and weather controls
What are the limitations?
- Requires costly specialist equipment eg. high performing computer setup to run high-fidelity game engine scenes
- Skilled personnel required eg. 3D artists, LED wall engineers
- Staff may require re-training
My Virtual Production Journey
I was enrolled onto the Virtual Production Fellowship course which ran from Sept 2025 to April 2026. The course was funded by Media Cymru and it provided hands-on experience of a full film production process using virtual production.
The course provided learning content from Final Pixel Academy, FiveFolds and Gorilla. As a student in the Virtual Art Department (VAD) cohort, I gained new technical skills by creating scenes in Unreal Engine.
The finished film
Preproduction
After the learning content, we were separated into two teams and we were tasked to produce a short film using virtual production techniques.
As a team we held many online and face-to-face meetings to develop on a storyboard, script, schedules, 2D and 3D virtual content.
Virtual Art Creation
I made full use of photorealistic 3D models to build my Unreal Engine scene (a park), which itself were created using photogrammetry or gaussian splatting techniques.
For the 2D video content (warp speed lines), I animated cubes flying away from the camera and added lighting effects in After Effects ensuring the framerate matches the filming camera (25fps).
Filming day
The filming took place in March 2026 at FiveFolds Studio. In addition to the traditional lighting and camera setup, LED walls provided the backdrop as well as reflection. The camera was kitted out with Vive motion tracking sensors so the software (Unreal Engine) can readjust the visual output accordingly.
Postproduction
The postproduction process took place at Gorilla. As a team we developed and agreed on the colour grading and audio design processes.
CONCLUSION
I gained valuable technical skills and hands-on experience in a film production process using virtual production techniques. I developed new workflows to produce virtual art content for use in a VP set.
Additionally, I am exploring new areas to apply virtual production techniques eg. producing immersive content for firefighting training purposes.
Thank you to everyone behind the Virtual Production Fellowship as well as my fellow students for a fascinating and enjoyable course!