SUSTAINABILITY VP STORY
GRE ENER SCRE EN CVP’s technical consultant Callum Buckley and technical sales consultant Jason Grey study the environmental benefits of virtual production
ENGINE ROOM Create convincing environments of all kinds through ever-advancing LED volume tech
V irtual production has come a long way in a fairly short space of time. Initially the preserve solely of high-end TV and movie productions with hefty budgets, the technology has evolved rapidly in multiple areas as costs have fallen. This has led to the brisk proliferation of LED volumes on a global scale, which have been positioned by their investors to fill multiple niches in the industry. They now literally come in all shapes and sizes, and present viable alternatives to location or conventional studio shooting for a wide range of budgets that now encompass everything from the blockbuster down to corporate use cases. One of the main causes for their increased popularity is the contribution they make to sustainable workflows. And it’s not just that either, as implementing virtual production has the twin benefit of saving significant costs in interlinked areas. Much recent debate has centred on the fact that sustainability has been forced to take an unfortunate backseat to return on investment as organisations face tricky economic headwinds. Here,
though, is a case where both can be addressed in the same breath. Virtual production’s main benefit is location. If we agree the technology and techniques have become sophisticated enough that it can be used convincingly to recreate a range of stagings – indoor and outdoor – using it means everything can be shot in the same place.
Let’s take the imaginary example of a new adaptation of Wuthering Heights . This would need to be shot on multiple locations via conventional production methodology and there is a large cost, both environmental and financial, to this. The cast and crew to film each scene have to be physically transported from location to location, catered for and often accommodated while there. Generators are required to shoot in the remoteness of the Yorkshire Moors; exaggerated care has to be taken around listed buildings; the weather must be accounted for, with the possibility of delays built in to the schedule. Sets also have to be erected and struck – and the question of what to do with the materials used post-shoot is an increasingly important consideration.
THIS FLEXIBILITY dramatically reduces CARBON FOOTPRINTS”
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