The artistic director and production designer of Disney's Mandalorian revealed the virtual scene production behind it

What is a virtual scene ？

Virtual scene is a kind of environment in the studio , The team can operate in real time 、 Changing digital context . This enables filmmakers and broadcasters to use software to change things such as location 、 Weather and time . The team can set up actors in any scene ！

What is the difference between a scene and a virtual scene ？

The main difference between virtual scene and traditional scene is the ability to manipulate the background . Teams can use a variety of methods —— Green curtain 、LED Walls to change the scene . Because virtual scenes are created and displayed digitally , So the team can 、 Shoot different venues on the same stage .

The benefits of virtual scenes

There are many benefits to using virtual scenes . You can ：

• You can switch the shooting of different scenes without going to the scene .
• Get rid of the restrictions of weather and time , Make the shooting schedule more flexible .
• Create environments and objects that do not exist in real life .
• Let the director 、 Cameraman , Even actors can see the virtual environment in real time .
• The camera angle can be adjusted during shooting 、 Make temporary changes to the background scene and lights , Make the team more flexible .

《 The Mandalorians 》 How to use LED Wall virtual scene

Disney 《 The Mandalorians 》（The Mandalorian） Use with large LED wall / Virtual scene of the screen , Take the audience into the distant galaxy . These backgrounds were created by the game engine before shooting , Then on the screen behind the props and actors .

Different from the green screen ,LED Walls can provide more accurate lighting and reflection , It also allows all actors and staff to see their surroundings . Although their upfront costs are high , But the team can spend less time on post-processing scenarios .

Production Design on The Mandalorian

In this video , Disney movies 《 The Mandalorians 》 Art director Andrew Jones The value of the assets built by the virtual production and art departments will be discussed , It also reveals the virtual production method adopted by the studio in the Western space TV series , Include which technologies are effective , What is not effective .

Video game technology （ Such as unreal engine and Unity） Allow artists to create realistic 3D background （ Such as 《 The Mandalorians 》 Background used in ）. Combined with motion tracking , The game engine can update the background image , Perfectly match the motion of the camera . From the point of view of the camera , They are like in a real 3D Shooting in space .

Different from the traditional scene , Teams can adjust lights and reflections in the game engine . These technologies are not available in the green screen . For actors ,LED The wall allows them to actually see the final image , These images will eventually appear on TV and movie screens .

Green screen virtual scene

except LED wall , Green screens can also be used in conjunction with virtual production technology , To create a virtual scene . under these circumstances , Not projecting an image onto the background LED wall , Instead, the game engine processes the images from the camera in real time . It takes out the green , And replace it with a virtual scene . Then broadcast it to the cameraman when shooting 、 Director and producer .

Although there are certain shortcomings —— For example, it can not provide real reflection and background lighting , Actors can't see the environment . however , in some fields , The green screen virtual scene shines brightly .

Why do studios use green screen virtual scenes

Because the green screen virtual scene does not depend on LED Panel resolution , The camera can clearly aim at the object . It can be shot in a virtual " distance " Record in , Don't worry about LED Moire or aliasing will appear on the screen . The infrastructure cost of green screen virtual scene is also low . Building a green screen stage is better than LED The stage is much cheaper , And it's easier to change .

Whether you use the green screen or LED wall , Real time software allows the creator to view the environment while shooting , Instead of waiting until post production to add the background . When using real-time software , Version control ensures that you always use the correct version of the virtual scene when shooting .

How virtual scenes work ？ How to create a virtual scene ？

The working principle of virtual scene is to combine pre created digital assets with live camera tracking . Teams can use a variety of software and hardware components , It depends on the nature of the final project . For teams that want to create and display images , Game engines and asset tracking tools are key .

Let's take a closer look at game development techniques that reshape how studios build virtual scenes .

Unreal Engine （Unreal Engine）
A game engine commonly used in virtual scenes is Epic Our illusory engine . It is used for 《 King of speed 》（Ford v Ferrari）、《 Western world 》（Westworld）、《 The Mandalorians 》（The Mandalorian） etc. , To create a higher-level image . Virtual scenes can be created in the illusion engine during preview , And real-time adjustment in the production process , Allow the team to adjust the scene and make virtual images , Even on the set .

3D Assets can also be integrated in CG Reuse in scene post production , Or marketing images used to promote the final film . Being able to share virtual scene files helps unite cross functional teams and teams around the world .

Unity

Unity It has been used by game development studios for many years . lately , They bought Vita Digital （Weta Digital） Enter the field of virtual production . This game engine provides functions similar to the Unreal Engine , And is 《 The book of the jungle 》 and 《 Silver wing killer 2045》CG The driving force behind animation .

The power behind the game engine

Unreal and Unity Game engines allow teams to create new worlds that can be put into virtual scenes . however …

• How the team manages many large assets and multiple iterations related to virtual scene production ？
• How the team delivers documents and feedback to distributed contributors in real time ？

Solution ： version control . It can solve collaboration challenges , Provide the basis for digital asset management . thus , Creators can focus on innovation , Not their tools .

version control = The foundation of digital asset management

The right software can create a single source of facts for digital assets . This allows team members to work together without affecting each other , At the same time, ensure that each artist can obtain the latest works of his collaborators while working .

Small studios may use Google Drive Even share your hard drive . But these choices can be slow , unsafe , And the previous version cannot be restored , It is also difficult to avoid accidentally deleting or overwriting files .

Why? Perforce Helix Core Is the best virtual scene software ？

For top virtual production studios , The solution is Perforce Helix Core. It is the foundation of digital asset management . When creating a virtual scene , The team doesn't have to worry about finding the right assets .Perforce Helix Core You can seamlessly track and manage every change to each file .

And Perforce Helix Core The close combination with game engine has become the standard of game development （95% Of AAA The studio uses it ）. And more recently ,Perforce Has become a Trusted Partner Network（TPN） Part of , This makes it the first choice for studios that need to protect customers' intellectual property . With Perforce Helix Core, Teams can work quickly . This high-performance system makes remote teams feel as if they are all working in the same room .

ETC How to use it Perforce Helix Core Create a virtual scene

When the Entertainment Technology Center （ETC） Start making their short films 《 Ripple effect 》(Ripple Effect) when , They want to build a virtual scene and use LED wall . They put the ICVR、Halon Entertainment Get together with other studios , Create visual effects in the illusion engine .

In order to unite the contributors , They are Perforce Helix Core Everything is versioned in . From the beginning of the project , They can iterate quickly and improve their work . stay Perforce Helix Core Storing everything in the enables them to leverage an asset base for different scenarios .

“Perforce Helix
Core Has always been a basic tool . It helps to create a single source for all the digital assets of our movies . We can support unreal engine in one 、5th
Kind、ftrack And other leading tools , The key to us IP And digital files for version control .”

——ETC Director of adaptive production and special projects Erik Weaver

Creatives and producers don't have to guess where the assets are . They can quickly find and update from anywhere 3D file . Be able to use the shooting time effectively , Lower overall costs . Everyone is rehearsing 、 Make 、 Even in the later stage, they are on the same starting line .

Manage your virtual scene digital assets

When you step into this new field of filmmaking , You need the best virtual scene software to realize your dream . If you need to manage ：

• long-range 、 Isolated contributors
• Lots of big files
• A range of digital assets
• Numerous iterations
• valuable IP The security of

So you need Perforce Helix Core. In the whole production process , It provides your team with a single source of facts .

Binary 、 Audio file 、 Video file 、 Code, etc. can be stored in Perforce Helix Core Warehouse , And securely manage versions . Thanks to the Perforce Federated（ union ） framework , Your team can gain lightning fast performance . You can easily deploy in the cloud Perforce Helix Core, It provides integration with tools that digital creators already use —— unreal 、Unity、3ds Max、Maya etc. .

Try the virtual scene software for free

See for yourself why so many virtual studios choose Perforce Helix Core. Contact Long Zhi , Start using it for free （ most 5 Users and 20 A workspace ）.

Source of the article ：https://www.perforce.com/blog/vcs/best-virtual-set-software