Spark FX has a bunch of talks on the subject
Virtual production is big right now. Production on The Mandalorian has embraced it in a big way. VFX, animation, and previs studios are using real-time rendering extensively. And many other projects are employing virtual cinematography to plan and execute scenes all the time.
There’s a couple of ways you can find out more about virtual production and one of them – if you’re in Vancouver – is Spark FX, where a special session called ‘Tacking Towards Real-Time and Virtual’ will take place as part of the three-day event. This session is on Sunday February 16 at 3:00 PM at the Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre in Vancouver.
Here’s the details of the three talks in the one session:
A. Virtual Production: Redefining Visual Storytelling for the New Decade
Speaker: Kathryn Brillhart Producer, Project Manager, Halon Entertainment
This talk will explore how intersecting technologies have paved way for real-time production methodologies and how they are redefining and advancing the art of visual storytelling for the new decade. Kathryn will take a deep dive defining Virtual Production tools, techniques, and team building strategies that are essential to uniting creatives around a common vision, effectively maximizing both creative and financial resources.
Halon Entertainment is a full-service visualization company that brings together industry leading Directors, Supervisors and Artists who are committed to advancing the art of storytelling. We rely on cutting edge technology and real-time workflows to deliver reliable, client focused digital production solutions that integrate into any pipeline.
B. A Cinematic Challenge: Going Real-Time in Gears 5
Speaker: Greg Mitchell – Cinematics Director, The Coalition Studio (Microsoft)
In its early days, The Coalition Studio assembled a team of experienced professionals with pre-rendered cinematic know-how to create 1080P HD rendered scenes for their games. The studio wanted to raise the bar with Gears 5 and looked to highlight 4K gameplay on Xbox One X and PC, but also ship on Xbox One supporting only 1080P HD content. Shipping multiple rendered resolutions wasn’t an option, and only one answer made sense — create real-time cinematics. The idea of real-time cutscenes is nothing new to games or Gears of War, but it posed a challenge to our pre-rendered cinematics team in learning how to weave its scenes into the inner workings of a game. This talk will focus on why the team moved to real-time cinematics, present some of the challenges in the process, and show results of the team’s hard work.
C. In-Camera VFX & Real-Time Production
Speaker: David Morin – Executive Director, Academy Software Foundation and Head, Epic Games Los Angeles Lab
Advancements in “in-camera visual effects” are transforming the art of filmmaking. With software developments that marry a real-time game engine and on-set video equipment, filmmakers can now achieve final pixels visual effects while still on set, thereby allowing for a new level of creative collaboration and experimentation in principal photography — as well as greater efficiency. These new developments allow changes to digital scenes, even those at final pixel quality, to be seen instantly.
This special Spark FX talk will highlight the latest projects in the industry, including Project Spotlight: At SIGGRAPH 2019, Epic Games partnered with Lux Machina, Magnopus, Profile Studios, Quixel, ARRI, and DP Matt Workman to demonstrate how LED walls can provide not only virtual environments but also lighting for real-world elements, so the entire scene can be captured in camera in a single pass.
Check out the Spark FX line-up for more.
