ROUND TABLE
sessions or students at MARS Academy have that ‘penny drop’ moment experiencing the volume in real life. It can be as simple as experiencing the volume, armed with a basic understanding which removes that fear and opens the door to getting involved. Visualising and planning for VP has historically been a challenge we’ve observed. This has improved greatly in recent times, however, with teams becoming more comfortable with the notion of investing more in the pre-production stage. The old adage of ‘fix it in post’ is not as relevant here, as the investment put in upfront in pre-planning the shoot means the resultant footage moves much closer to final pixel, requiring little or no post. To support productions shooting at MARS Volume, last year we launched our own internal previsualiser tool. This effectively produces scale-accurate previs of our volume with client content applied to it. It’s a game changer, giving productions confidence that shots will be successfully captured on the volume. JJ: Established filmmakers are often daunted by the scale and scope of digital software when they start. Through training and practice, most take themselves to the level they wish to achieve to get their work done. For example, DOPs learn how to pre-light basic scenes, and directors learn how to block out scene movements with simple previs. They don’t necessarily need to know how to design physics simulations and programme interactive content.
CLOSING THE GAP Virtual production education is rapidly evolving to meet the demands of the industry. Institutions and professionals alike are exploring ways to bridge the skills gap and prepare students JJ: There are a range of courses available both from National Film & Television School as well as other institutions; they appear to be available AG: The basic skills gap is relatively easy to overcome with training. However, we do need seasoned veterans who come with years of experience. Because VP is still a newcomer, top-end experts are rare. This will be solved once there are additional professionals with more time and experience on-set in an LED volume. Our VP Accelerator course aims to solve this by offering that on-set experience and a chance to make your own short film in an LED volume. Def: How well do you think current educational opportunities address the demands of virtual production? Are there aspects you feel are underrepresented or not adequately covered? The option, however, is always open for them to go further if they desire. It helps there is no limitation to them other than time and determination to learn (they will need a recent laptop, Mac or PC to run the software). However, what they do bring with them is the experience of collaborating on-set or in a production environment. People coming from an interactive/games background generally have a solid background in the software, but lack the time spent on-set to learn how people communicate effectively in that world. JB: The uptake of virtual production within an established, centuries-old filming workflow is extremely difficult to convince. There have been a few bad actors in the business that have scared off the clients. All the while, gaining best-practice experience is extremely difficult. The speed of uptake versus the upskilling of the workforce is particularly tough to keep consistent so practitioners are getting enough experience on actual shoots on a regular basis to maintain continuity of experience.
across the UK in different areas. We have been oversubscribed with applications to our certificate in virtual production on every occasion it has been run – so the demand to learn these tools remains strong. Epic Games has also been a great supporter of educational efforts to use their software tools. Our training is designed to suit a mix of filmmaking disciplines working together, which culminates in the creation of short VP films against an LED wall. In the future, as the requirement for digital filmmaking grows, we expect to see an increase in more specialist training focused to specific disciplines such as production designers and cinematographers. ER: Education is just starting to tackle the skills gap – and teachers are currently learning what they’re going to teach – but the process of building and funding a programme takes time. Curricula are in the development and testing stages – it’s all occurring simultaneously. We need a greater focus on hybrid solutions; it’s better to teach concepts with hands-on training to many students with separate workstations and large monitors, than spend the same amount of money to demonstrate concepts on a single large LED wall set-up. If affordable, both would be best. Ideally, we want to be creating opportunities for students and professionals to practice VP, over and over again. LR/JA: There are many great people involved in education within virtual production. In the UK, ScreenSkills is a fantastic industry organisation that champions bridging critical skills gaps, and conducts crucial research to uncover where the gaps lie. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed partnering with them to deliver courses. We’ve also been privileged to work with various universities. I’m always impressed with a forward-thinking faculty who seek us out to discuss their plans for ensuring their students are equipped for future skills in film and television. University of the Arts London, University of Bath, Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts, Brunel University and Greenwich University are just some investing into facilities and curriculum development, incorporating virtual production skills –
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