What is Virtual Production? An Explainer & Research Agenda

Virtual production harnesses the power of virtualising technologies to create digital environments in, and through which film and television can be made. In combination, these technologies offer more flexibility to filmmakers and the potential to cut carbon emissions. But while the technologies at the centre of virtual production are not new, their application in combination with each other is generating new approaches to production which are evolving fast. In this report, we highlight the prominent technologies involved in virtual production and how these have been used in three approaches to virtual production: live action green/blue screen, entirely virtual worlds and LED volume virtual production. The report then goes on to examine the ‘emergent orthodoxies’ of virtual production: what the opportunities and challenges associated with virtual production are and how virtual production is changing established production workflows. We conclude by outlining a research agenda for further work on virtual production, posing questions about how the industry and its associated working practices may develop and how virtual production might address skills shortages and equality, diversity and inclusion.