From Gaussian splats and generative AI to advances in real-time rendering and photogrammetry, the next phase of virtual production tools are transforming how digital worlds are created.
VP world-building used to mean one thing: 3D assets built in game engines, painstakingly modelled and lit by specialist teams. That pipeline has not disappeared, but it is no longer the only option.
Ben Bentley of Nightsky Studios says productions using the company’s customisable LED volume – which can be configured at the Coatbridge studio or at a location of choice – have found that plate libraries, pre-shot environments available to license rather than build, provide access to VP workflows without the cost of creating custom 3D environments. “It makes it more cost effective for them,” he adds.
At the 3D end of the pipeline, Connor Ling, virtual production supervisor at Framestore, describes a fundamental shift in what real-time engines can handle. “We’re no longer fighting polygon budgets or baking lighting the way we used to – we can build incredibly dense, dynamically lit environments and actually maintain performance.” Procedural workflows are also accelerating environment creation and variation, according to Ling, while advancements in Unreal Engine, including Nanite, Lumen and Megalights, have underpinned more flexible and scalable world building.
SOURCE:
British Cinematographer: https://britishcinematographer.co.uk/supplement_posts/the-next-phase-of-virtual-production/
