Filmmakers and actors are excited about virtual production. You should be too

Behind the scenes shot of 'Miss Shetty Mr Polishetty', which used virtual production. (Photo via YouTube/Qube Studios)

What do the movies Top Gun: Maverick, Barbie and the promo video for Bigg Boss Telugu have in common? While the first two are blockbusters which have done a billion-and-a-half dollars of business at the global box office, the third is one of the most popular TV franchises in India - all of them, however, have used virtual production techniques during filmmaking. But what is virtual production (VP), why are filmmakers and actors excited about it, and why should you, the Indian audience, care? Let’s do what George Lucas did in 1977 and start not quite at the beginning, but somewhere close to it.

More than just a wall of LEDs

The history of using technology to simplify filmmaking is as long as filmmaking itself; be it the use of rear projection to capture a driving scene in The Maltese Falcon, or the performance capture rig used by Andy Serkis to portray Gollum in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films. VP is the next stage of this inevitable evolution, combining the use of real-time computer-generated imagery (CGI) using game engine technology (as opposed to static, pre-rendered graphics), huge LED walls (which are fast supplanting the ubiquitous green screen), and real-world sets (the collective term for a fully equipped virtual production stage is “The Volume”) to deliver a more immersive creative experience for filmmakers and actors. For audiences, this means, more content at a higher visual fidelity.

Non-linear, like a Christopher Nolan movie

Traditionally, filmmaking has been linear (a three-step process of pre-production, production, post-production). VP, on the other hand is an inherently non-linear process, incorporating several techniques such as previsualization and in-camera VFX, that allows creators to get a much-clearer look at the finished product during production. One clear benefit, for instance, would be saving significant time during the post-production process since VFX which would’ve been added in later is available during filming. For filmmakers, removing constraints of location, time of day (and in some cases, budget), is a game-changer, allowing for more iteration and quicker project turnaround.  For actors, it’s a tool that enables them to deliver authentic performances.

Not six years ago, you could see movie stars recount hilarious anecdotes about having to pretend that tennis balls on sticks were real objects or people in movies they were filming, or that they were in some harsh environment fighting for their lives, when they were actually in an air-conditioned warehouse purpose-built for such a charade, dressed in synthetic bodysuits that bore little-to-no resemblance to their movie costumes. However, when surrounded by giant LED walls with photorealistic environments in combination with tactile sets, actors can simply react, without having to pretend anymore. Well, at least they can focus on the parts of pretending that matter to audiences.

Virtual production in India

Forecasts estimate the VP market in India to be worth half-a-billion US dollars (approx. ₹4,150 crore) by 2030, and it’s not surprising that the space has begun to see some competition. Some major virtual production stages in the country include Mumbai-based K Sera Sera’s Studio Virtual Worlds (set up in partnership with Vikram Bhatt and Mahesh Bhatt), Annapurna Studios and Qube Cinema’s ANR VP stage in Hyderabad, and Media.Monks’ (subsidiary of London-based S4 Capital) virtual production studio located in Noida Film City.

Applications for these stages have ranged from filming commercials, music videos, shooting tech demos and uses in movie and television. Outside of these stages, there are several companies providing technical expertise, while movie productions have used VP techniques on set.

The Indian movie industry is generally very quick to adopt cutting-edge movie technology—the demand for content is high and any tools that enable quicker turnaround for projects are welcomed (a good example of this was widespread use of digital photography and workflows in the late 2000s). While the use of VP techniques isn’t ubiquitous at present (the initial fixed cost is high and the workforce to support virtual production’s technical aspects isn’t abundant), there have been several instances of Indian films using VP techniques. Most notably, in RRR when shots were conceived virtually, and a combination of real and virtual cameras allowed the cinematographer to monitor VFX-heavy scenes on set.

It’s only a matter of time before creators embrace the practical, financial and storytelling benefits offered by this new tech—we may not have seen the explicit design of content creation around a VP workflow (like Disney’s The Mandalorian, for instance), but it’s only a matter of time before Indian audiences are able to recognizably experience a Tollywood/Bollywood/Kollywood blockbuster crafted using virtual production techniques.

Yes, that movie or show you watched used virtual production

·         All the Star Wars shows (Disney+ Hotstar)

·         1899 (Netflix)

·         The Silent Sea (Netflix)

·         Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Jio)

·         All the Old Knives, Solos, Boys (Amazon)

·         Brahmastra Part One: Shiva (Disney+ Hotstar)

·         Hijack (Apple TV+)

·         K.G.F: Chapter 2 (Prime Video)

·         House of the Dragon (Jio)

·         Thor: Love and Thunder (Disney+ Hotstar)