Virtual Production
Are you looking to learn more about the LED volume walls used in the burgeoning field of OSVP (on-set virtual production)? These walls are a key component of the process, serving as true-to-life backgrounds, and in effect, sets and locations for OSVP. Volume walls are composed of multiple LED displays that are seamlessly joined to form a custom-size screen on which your prerecorded background plates are played back. Here we'll go over the component that stiches together those displays and controls the behavior of your LED volume wall:
In a recent Explora article, we went over the basics of media servers for in-camera virtual effects (ICVFX) and virtual production (VP), describing these beefy machines for media playback and distribution to LED processors for LED walls and volumes. A VP media server can be a custom hardware solution or software installed on an off-the-shelf machine, but either type needs to have a
B&H is excited to announce that our new Virtual Production and XR (Extended Reality) category is now live. Initial offerings include products for cinema capture, broadcast, live events, sports, education, and more, with an emphasis on LED volumes, IMLs (Interactive Media Labs), content creation, advertising, and tradeshows.
Current subcategories for browsing include
Country music artist Megan Moroney is one of the genre's fastest-rising stars. Following the success of her breakout hit "Tennessee Orange," Moroney's debut album Lucky and follow-up release Am I Okay? helped cement her place among country music's most in-demand artists. As her popularity has grown, so too has the scale and complexity of her live productions.
Supporting a nonstop, international tour that spans a wide range of countries, venues, and conditions requires a video system capable of delivering exceptional visual performance in
Trilogy Studios was developed as a cutting-edge virtual production facility designed to support film, television, automotive, commercial, and branded content creation. Rather than building a single LED volume, the team behind Trilogy Studios envisioned a comprehensive, multistage environment that would provide content creators with the flexibility to produce a wide range of projects within a controlled and highly immersive production space.
To bring this vision to life, Trilogy Studios partnered with virtual production systems integrator
LED panels are a key component of the LED volume walls that form the backdrop for virtual production, an increasingly popular technique used in feature film and television production. This emerging technology enables productions to recreate the look of fictional worlds, far-flung or difficult-to-access locations, or multiple real-world sites in the controlled, safer, and more comfortable environs of a soundstage. Crucial specs to look for in an LED panel include a low pixel pitch of <3mm (high-density pixel count), high brightness levels,
Lighting hasn't really changed in the past few decades. Sure, new fixtures, faster cameras and lenses, and shooting styles may change, but the essence of lighting really hasn't changed. The look of the scene is still driven by the DP and still created by the lighting designer; it is still all about ratios, and no matter how technology advances, lighting is a powerful tool for putting realism and drama on screen.
What Is Image-Based Lighting?
Simply put, image-based lighting (IBL) is using lighting fixtures to mimic the effects of natural
Your virtual production (VP) system isn't just playing back high-resolution video in the background. To work as believable 3D your system must be able to render in real-time and in high frame rate realistic 3D environments. To create and playback these environments you need creation software.
What Is Unreal Engine?
Simply put, it is an advanced real-time creation tool that powers your virtual production. It is based on 3D computer graphics gaming engine, and I remember playing Unreal as a multiplayer first-person shooter game, way back in the
The goal of this article is to provide you with an introduction to motion capture, its uses and requirements. As with any journey, it begins with the first few steps.
Motion Capture (MOCAP)
MOCAP is the process of recording high-resolution movement of objects or people and capturing it into a computer system. It has numerous applications, including military, sports, medical, and, of course, for entertainment. While you could trace the roots of motion capture all the way back to the seminal motion capture experiments like Muybridge’s exposures
Getting ready to prep or shoot your latest video project? In addition to being the largest photography store in the USA, B&H Photo also incorporates The Studio alongside a state-of-the-art technology space, The Studio Technology Center (STC). The team focuses on providing complete professional video solutions while The Technology Center serves as an access hub to latest cinema and broadcast technology,
Virtual production (VP) is a professional video technique that combines live-action footage with computer-generated imagery (CGI) in real time. Virtual production typically happens on “volume” stages where seamless interlocked LED panels display rendered photo-real backdrops that change and adapt as the camera moves. This creates impressive in-camera virtual effects (ICVFX) that require little to no post-production work. Let’s jump into the exciting capabilities of
On-set virtual production (OSVP) is the real-time mixing of live-action footage with computer-generated imagery to create amazing in-camera visual effects (ICVFX). These days, most OSVP happens on a volume, a studio space with seamless LED panels (or cabinets, as they’re known in OSVP) grouped together to display rendered images that are then captured live in-camera alongside human talent. These cabinet configurations can be as simple as a flat backdrop stacked from the ground up, and as complicated as a full curved 360° wrap hung from trusses
With all the time and effort it takes to set up a virtual production volume, it’s vitally important to schedule regular maintenance on your LED panels to ensure they stay clean, calibrated, and ready to be used at a moment’s notice. Knowing how best to repair, store, and transport cabinets is also an important part of lengthening the lifespan of these hefty investments. The number one resource is always going to be the documentation that came with your OSVP panels, whether that be a manual, an online database, manufacturer best practices, or
Optimal imaging for virtual production (VP) requires certain camera functions that are not integral to all video cameras. A global shutter (or fast readout speeds), genlock capability, and timecode input are key factors to look for when selecting a camera for your VP video capture. Let’s review these specifications and highlight several cameras that incorporate these key specs.
Global Shutter Sensor
Most video cameras are designed with a “rolling” shutter that successively scans each row of photosites (the physical embodiments of pixels) on
A media server is a key step in the on-set virtual production (OSVP) pipeline, sending assets like background plates, LUTs, and tracking data over a network so that they can be used to create unique real time in-camera virtual effects (ICVFX). Whether it be a rendered set from Unreal Engine or an uncompressed prerecorded background plate, the media server is what stores and transmits these virtual pieces to the LED walls and processors. Let's dive deeper into what these servers do.
What's Important in a Media Server?
Media servers for virtual