Virtual Production: Real-Time Rendering Pipelines for Indie Studios and the Potential in Different Scenarios

Abstract

This work aims to identify and propose a functional pipeline for indie live-action films using Virtual Production with photorealistic real-time rendering game engines. The new production landscape is radically changing how movies and shows are made. Those were made in a linear pipeline, and now filmmakers can execute multiple tasks in a parallel mode using real-time renderers with high potential for different types of productions. Four interviews of professionals in the Spanish film and television market were conducted to obtain the whole perspective of the new paradigm. Following those examples, a virtual production set was implemented with an Antilatency tracking system, Unreal Engine (version 5.3), and Aximmetry (version 2023.3.2) as the leading software applications. Results are commented on, presenting how all the work is currently closely connected between pre-production, shooting, and post-production and analyzing its potential in different fields.