Tackling my first Virtual Production was challenging, exhilarating and very rewarding. My team and I created an ad campaign for the Coachella Valley Firebirds and documented the entire process for this case study.

I hope you can learn from our adventures and implement some new ideas into your own projects.

Enjoy!

 

Here is our technical recipe for a successful Virtual Production:

VashiVisuals Virtual Production Toolkit and Pipeline

UNREAL ENVIRONMENTS
DELL Precision 7920 Tower Workstation
Intel Xeon Gold 6136 CPU @3.00GHz 12 Cores (x2)
NVIDIA RTX A6000 GPU 48GB VRAM
192GB RAM
Windows 10
DELL UP3221Q UltraSharp 32 HDR PremierColor Monitor

VIRTUAL PRODUCTION SHOOT
RED Komodo Camera shooting 8K anamorphic (2:1) R3D files @ 8640 x 4320 pixels
LOMO anamorphic lenses (50mm T2.4 / 75mm T2.4)
MoSys Startracker Camera Tracker
Vu 3.9 Translucent Ceiling Panels with MoSys Tracking Stars
Aputure LS 600d (x3) + Aputure Nova 300c (x6)
Sidus Link app for remote lighting control
5+1 Servers (5 NDisplay Render Nodes + 1 Artist Node) each with a NVIDIA RTX A6000 GPU

POST-PRODUCTION
Dell PRECISION 7865 Tower Workstation
AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5975WX 32-cores / @3.6GHz
NVIDIA RTX A6000 GPU 48GB VRAM
128GB RAM
Windows 10
Dell UP3221Q UltraSharp 32 HDR PremierColor Monitor
Dell U4924DW UltraSharp 49 Curved dual QHD Monitor
Dell UP3218K UltraSharp 32 8K Monitor
Frame.io for review and version sharing
LucidLink for cloud-based editorial and remote post-production

 

10 TIPS FOR VIRTUAL PRODUCTIONS

  1. Light the talent from above in the Volume. Overhead panels help blend the talent in with the LED wall. Color temperature of the overhead ambient light at VÅ« Studio was also controllable to match the time of day in the 3D Unreal Environments.
  2. Keep the talent at least 10 feet away from the LED wall to hide the gap and seams between the individual panels. Any closer to the wall and you may see vertical lines or moire on the LED wall.
  3. Shoot with a lower aperture (f1.4 – f4) to help hide the seams and unify the background. The slight blurring of the background using depth of field aids in selling the visual.
  4. Additional lights for talent should not point directly at the LED walls as that will lower the contrast of the background LED wall and spoil the illusion. Use side lighting or soft light at an angle to better illuminate the talent without spraying light onto the LED panels.
  5. Anamorphic lenses or a widescreen aspect ratio (even by cropping in post) helps showcase the background and create a wider, more cinematic look. Wide stages help fill the frame and add that immersive quality to the imagery.
  6. Find and collaborate with experienced Unreal Engine artists that can help realize your 3D environments and craft realistic worlds in which to shoot. Hire the best artists your budget allows and give them as many reference images from films, TV shows and other inspirations as you can find.
  7. Embrace photogrammetry and free digital information for topography to build your locations and worlds. From LIDAR Google images to Open Street Maps to MapBox, there are assets out there to help build photorealistic worlds.
  8. The smaller the pixel pitch of the LED panels in the Volume, the better the final results will be. A smaller pixel pitch offers less moire and allows for getting closer to the LED wall to retain resolution and clarity.
  9. Capture in camera, but realize you can always add or adjust shots further in post. We added snowflakes, blowing sand and also used Generative Fill AI to enhance the footage shot on the virtual stage.
  10. Turn the Volume into a giant green screen for additional options if time allows at the end of your shoot. The cast and crew are already there, so grab bonus camera angles to integrate into your project as supplementary footage. It could solve a problem downstream.

 

VashiVisuals would like to thank:

Matthew Allard
Cynthia Olivo
Rick Champagne
Travis Wells
Crystal Cook
Elson Lim
Tim Moore
Jason Soto
Isabella Borromeo
Jamie Clemons
Nick Tavcar
Thiago Carneiro
Jono Hickson
Noam Kroll
Taylor Clemons
Kelly Finn
Ali T. Khan
Gina Rotolo
Kristin Thompson
Fuego the Firebird
Drew Pettus
David Stewart

Until Next Time,
Vashi Nedomansky, ACE