Virtually Real

Abstract

Due to the rapid pace of digitalization, Virtual Production (VP) in film is gaining importance. With this gamified production process, live-action and computer graphics can be combined in real-time while filming on set. This paper focuses on an interdisciplinary research project that investigates the effects of VP on visual aesthetics, on the changing workflows of filmmakers and actors, and on the perception of a cinema audience. To systematically compare conventional filmmaking with new virtual forms of production, two short feature films were shot both conventionally (in real locations) and virtually (in the digitally scanned versions of these locations). The filmmakers aspired to keep all parameters of the production the same so that wherever possible, the only differences would be in terms of spatial representation. The process of VP included shooting with green-screen and pre-visualization based on real-time image rendering in a moderate quality. The high-resolution variants, however, were still processed in post-production. The methodology comprised a combination of qualitative, practice-based research and quantitative, empirical approaches, in the tradition of mixed methods. As VP continues to develop, green-screens are being replaced by large arrays of LED-displays, as in, for example, The Mandalorian. The present study shows that in the first phase of VP, in which green-screen procedures are still predominant, composition artifacts occur mainly in the context of moderate production resources and are still measurable in terms of image quality.