Author: Lauren Brady

We are very excited to announce that we have officially launched a Virtual Production division, headed by former Head of Virtual Production at MPC London, Annie Shaw. 

We have a proud decade-long history of working within Unreal Engine and immersive technologies in the Games, Episodic and Automotive industries. This year we were awarded a grant from Greater Manchester’s Media City Immersive Technologies Innovation Hub to support the design and development of a proprietary Virtual Production tool. Using game engine technology, the tool supports film and TV productions, production companies and game developers, from pre-production through to post. The tool could be used across both live action and full CG projects. It works to visualise 3D environments and capture live virtual cameras and previs for full CG scenes and support the visualisation of set-extensions or CG elements on live-action sets. This multi-functional tool is contained within an iPad, allowing key members of the production team to physically move around and explore their creative vision. 

Says Annie Shaw, Executive Producer of Virtual Production, “This is not about flashy tech, although we have that too! This is about making real-time technologies accessible to a wider variety of projects and having a strong internal team to assess where any of the tools in the Virtual Production toolbox can add value, visibility and control for our clients.  

Every project is different, and we like to really understand those differences to create bespoke solutions from a strong foundation of knowledge gained over ten years of history using real-time tools. This is not about pushing technology where it isn’t needed, but supporting departments from pre-production to post and giving them opportunities to make informed decisions based on early visualisation so they can maximise time and VFX budgets to achieve their creative vision.” 

Our team includes BAFTA-nominated VFX Supervisor James Coore, who oversaw the virtual production on the recent Doctor Who 60th anniversary episode: Wild Blue Yonder. For the hour-long episode, Virtual Production tools in Unreal Engine were used to deliver a 4K set extension of a spaceship that was rendered in a fraction of the time of standard contemporary productions. 

Says Jono Rawlinson, Head of Film & Episodic at REALTIME, “We have always worked closely with our clients across the business to help them visualise their projects as easily as possible. Now that we’ve bought Annie on board and have a formalised offering, we’re in a fantastic place to support our clients from earliest pre-production. This comes at a time when our industry is evolving and anything that we can do to make the filmmaking journey as smooth as possible is a huge benefit.”