DNEG, Sky Studios and Dimension JOIN FORCES FOR INDUSTRY-FIRST COLLABORATION ON VIRTUAL PRODUCTION

Leading visual effects (VFX) and animation studio DNEG recently announced their partnership with Dimension, Sky Studios, Creative Technology and ARRI to create the ‘Virtual Production Innovation Project’, an industry-first initiative to provide insights, expertise and practical training in virtual production to upskill the UK’s creative community.

The innovation project collaboration builds on the pioneering virtual production work that the project partners are already delivering across film, drama and broadcast. It is directed by two-time Oscar-winner and DNEG creative director Paul Franklin (Interstellar, Inception) and lensed by DPs Dale Elena McCready and Robert Payton.

Filmed over a two week period in October 2021 at ARRI and Creative Technology’s mixed reality stage in Uxbridge, West London, the Virtual Production Innovation Project was created to demonstrate the advantages and versatility of virtual production for capturing in-camera VFX and final pixel shots using an LED volume, and aims to upskill the next generation of creative talent.

Together, they will provide a comprehensive and insightful view of the state-of-the-art technology, techniques, achievements, and key learnings from the project, demonstrating the versatility of virtual production across a range of genres for broadcast productions as well as feature films. The project will be edited into a series of short films, each offering a deep dive into a specific scene and virtual production objective.

“Speaking as a filmmaker, the Sky Virtual Production Innovation Project was a dream come true. Working with a state-of-the-art LED volume, I was able to explore a wide range of dramatic scenarios ranging from urban locations through natural landscapes to deep-space sci-fi worlds – all on the same stage. The photographic realism that can be achieved is astonishing – I can’t wait to shoot in the Volume again!” Paul Franklin, Director

“This collaboration has reinforced the potential of Virtual Production to be a game-changer for creatives working at the forefront of storytelling. Having used VP throughout the development and production of various upcoming Sky Originals, we are pleased to be working in partnership with Dimenson, DNEG, Creative Technology and Arri to share these learnings with the industry.”

Eugenio Perez, Head of Production Scripted, Sky Studios

“We built our volume stage with ARRI to help accelerate and develop Virtual Production. It was inspiring to be part of a project, joining forces with Sky, Dimension and DNEG to push the technology to its limits and collaborate, explore and share workflows, showcasing this new technology and sharing it with the broader industry. We really are at the beginning of what we can achieve with this technology as it becomes more accessible and a fundamental part of the filmmaker’s creative toolkit.”

Will Case, Director of Innovation, Creative Technology

“The opportunity to work with such a talented and diverse group of creatives, innovators and industry leaders has been a real privilege for ARRI. It was the perfect opportunity to validate all the design decisions ARRI and Creative Technology made to deliver this highly integrated Mixed Reality studio. The speed and creative flexibility we were able to achieve during this project was phenomenal. To think this is only the first generation of this type of studio solution is really exciting. ARRI can’t wait to see how far we can push the technology, ourselves, and to see what the creative’s will inspire all of us to do next.”

David Levy, Director, Business Development, Global Solutions, ARRI

“Virtual Production is a creative technology that has the potential to revolutionise the production of filmed content. It is already opening exciting new creative avenues for filmmakers, as well as addressing some of the challenges we face producing content during a period of ongoing restrictions. We’re just scratching the surface of what will become possible with this technology in the next few years, and it is exciting to collaborate with Paul and the teams at Sky Studios and Dimension to produce a series of short films that demonstrate how versatile and game-changing this technology can be in realising the filmmaker’s vision.”

Namit Malhotra, Chairman and CEO, DNEG

“With this latest collaboration, Dimension set out to demonstrate how Virtual Production can offer incredible creative possibilities as well as affordable, practical production solutions.

We’ve distilled our experience with high-budget shows and proved that Virtual Production can not only work within the constraints of episodic drama, but can expand the creative choices available to directors and producers who embrace its strengths.”

Steve Jelley, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Dimension