COMMERCIALS VIRTUAL PRODUCTION
T he soft TV advertising market might expect to be reflected in a downturn in demand for production. However, shooting campaign spots in a volume – without the expense of going on location – is becoming a key way of controlling budgets. Director and DOP Rob Payton, who consults for ARRI Stage London, says the company is seeing a significant increase in enquiries for commercials. There are three clear drivers for this: cost- efficiencies, sustainability agendas and the creativity that working in VP brings. “Interestingly, this change is client- led, with many blue-chip companies advocating VP to their agencies and production houses,” he says. “Many talented commercial directors, despite their extensive experience, have not worked in a volume before, and we want them to treat it like any other location using familiar tools and techniques. My advice: maximise your prep time. What traditionally may have been one-day prep, two-day shoot could now be three-day prep, one-day shoot. If screen
MAINTAINING creativity and variety ACROSS CONTENT IS KEY”
content and previs are optimised in prep, it is incredible how much can be shot in a single day.” Chris Chaundler, MD at Quite Brilliant, says that business is ‘stable’ but stresses the importance of examining the context of the market over the last 18 months. “Demand has picked up but there’s a huge gap between interest and conversion,” he says. “VP is still in the ‘proving itself’ phase. Brands are very interested because of the efficiency and sustainability benefits, but agency decision-making is done by creatives and sustainability isn’t high on the agenda. Directors and production companies are open to
virtual production, but first and foremost they need to win the bid and make the budget work, so VP often gets overlooked in favour of cheaper overseas options.” With some production budgets and turnaround times being scaled back, the need for production innovation and practical solutions is bigger than ever. “Maintaining creativity and variety across content is key for our clients,” says Bee Devine, Garden Studios COO. “Working on a VP stage, productions are able to turn around multiple scenes and shoot in a variety of locations within a single day – and do this sustainably. Our scalable VP solutions cater for every budget level, from small-scale car shoots to larger- scale complex scenes.” The London-based studio Quite Brilliant claims to be the ‘go-to’ VP expert for the advertising and content market. “It’s a huge advantage coming from the world of advertising, as we understand how clients and agencies work and can manage their expectations and workflows,” says Chaundler. “What’s ‘good enough’ for many people in the Unreal Engine/gaming world often doesn’t cut it in creative advertising. “I would say make sure you go with a supplier who has actually produced a lot of VP projects. I know this sounds obvious, but this is a new technology and commercials are more challenging, as there are more stakeholders and usually less pre-production time. You need the right people overseeing the pre-production/previs stages, as this is where the heavy lifting is done.” Quite Brilliant made a safety video for Lufthansa earlier this year which required more than ten global locations with seamless transitions between each. To stretch the budget, it shot across
NUMBERS GAME VP studio 80six insists on the benefits of planning in creating great VP content
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