VIRTUAL PRODUCTION ROUND TABLE INDUSTRY.
clients and their clients are new to the space; and many are in need of guidance on how to navigate the landscape. We take pride in walking hand-in-hand with creative and production partners, so their vision can become a reality in this highly technical space. Our years of experience and direct focus on creating this new workflow has allowed us to be highly specialised in understanding the intricacies of the VP space, while still continuously trailblazing in an industry that is constantly, rapidly changing. OS: Due to the success of our products in the stage business, Roe has been increasingly able to inspire the film industry since 2017. Film studios have a similar production environment, and therefore many rental companies have helped build the first virtual production studio volumes and sets. Some of these companies have expanded their business towards integrators. The moiré effect is a problem for LED VP – how do you navigate it? TK: First of all, perspective. The further the subject is from the wall, the better. Regardless of lens angle of view, having the subject further forward is always critical both for moiré and selling the perspective of the wall content. This is the power of large volumes, since they allow people to back away further from the wall without seeing seams. Secondly, props and scenery. Obfuscation and distraction via the physical world in front of the wall lead the eye away from seeing moiré issues. Thirdly, optics. This is the dodgier ask because it changes the look, and one
may not want that. Shooting with larger format sensors will reduce the depth- of-field for a light amount, which would help immensely. Shooting at a wider stop achieves this. One can also detune the optical path of the lenses to defocus those finer details while still keeping focal clarity. But not everyone has access to this niche service. DL: During pre-production, it’s possible to mitigate moiré issues. By working with the VP supervisor, DOP and production designer, you can schedule moiré planning into your techvis stage. Key information for the production team includes the pixel pitch of the LED, where the plane of focus (relative to the camera’s distance to the video wall) will be in each of the planned shots, and where physical sets and props are placed. With this information, it is fairly easy to understand if there is a risk of encountering artefacts. Additionally, during on-set production, it is advised to have large monitors with the camera’s output displayed to help spot visible artefacts during takes. These monitors don’t need to be particularly critical in terms of colour or brightness. However, they should be 55in or larger, as this makes it far easier for the DOP or VP supervisor to identify moiré. CC: Moiré is a physical effect that can’t be resolved from the processing side. But we leverage our vast experience with systems worldwide to give the best information to users so they can improve results. JTR: Our stage designs and LED product choices are influenced by the threat
of moiré, and it is definitely discussed often. Our relationships with camera and lens manufacturers are extremely important. We continually stay in touch with them, often to share experiences, brainstorm how to find better ways to escape things such as moiré, and discuss recent developments. Over the last few years, one of our biggest focuses has been to emphasise the need for pre-light and camera blocking days and times. Part of this is to ensure shots are successful for things such as moiré, outside of the normal guidelines and workflows we share with camera teams in the space. OS: Unfortunately, the moiré effect is a physics problem that results from any overlay of patterns or grids, even if those patterns are randomly distributed. In the days of 720p broadcast cameras, there’s a reason that shirts with small stripes or patterns were avoided. The only real ‘solutions’ to moiré are to increase the resolution of the LED wall relative to the resolution of the camera, which comes with other major costs in terms of display brightness, cost and required rendering power for virtual production. But moiré can be managed to a large extent by shot selection and keeping the LED wall out of the depth-of-field of the camera lens. Even in a future where far higher LED resolution becomes viable, moiré will still exist, and VP users will still need to employ management techniques in their shot planning, so it’s worth learning these lessons now. How do you reduce input lag? TK: Remove as many devices and barriers in the signal chain. Increase processing power on the render. Render fine detail only in the frustum. DL: Moving towards a standardised, high-speed infrastructure will be key to reducing latency. IP-based infrastructures (Ethernet, fibre) and standards (SMPTE 2110) will replace baseband, SDI, DMX and other legacy transport systems, in order to reduce latency to near real time. Additionally, the continual increase in computing performance, together with system architecture and software optimisations, will also improve latency. Finally, the overall and continuous growth, development and standardisation of global infrastructure, both physical and cloud-based, will continue to improve the speed of which users of virtual production can operate.
SET THE STAGE As an ever-expanding industry, but one that remains young, virtual production expertise must be disseminated
55. APRIL 2023
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