Production has a history of innovative technologies that heighten the entertainment experience for audiences of every type of media. One of these recent technologies is virtual production – the recording of a performance and voice of an actor wearing special “trackable” clothing and using that information to animate digital character models in 2D and 3D computer animation, transforming the live performance into a digital performance. Today, virtual production is used in films, television, videogames and original digital content
In June 2014, Warner Bros. Post Production Services and its Warner Bros. Game Audio department worked with Profile Studios to launch the Studio’s first-ever Virtual Production Stage. Profile Studios’ team of 3D artists and engineers has helped pioneer the virtual production process on major films such as “Avatar” and the upcoming “World of Warcraft.” Profile also works with leading video game developers such as Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Activision and Microsoft Games Studios.
The state of-the-art facility is located inside Stage 30 at the Warner Bros. Ranch just up Hollywood Way from the main lot. The new Virtual Production Stage offers 2,400 square-feet space outfitted with 42 prime Optitrak cameras to capture motion across the entire space. Sensors on the actors’ bodysuits are captured by these special cameras and then used to inform computer programs as to how the final image should look on screen. Under the direction of Warner Bros. Post Production, the actors’ voice performances are recorded as well, eliminating the need to lay in audio tracks later. These audio and video processes help filmmakers capture movement, emotion and character reactions in ways never before possible. Building further on this innovation, the stage’s lighting grid is composed entirely of Warner Bros. Studio Facilities’ propriety LED lights which are energy efficient and generate little to no heat. All the lights are linked and consistent in terms of luminance with no variances in color temperature and shadows, resulting in excellent capture of data.
With this new capability, Warner Bros. has become a competitive, full-service virtual production facility. Services available as part of the virtual production suite include previsualization, performance capture and simulcam (a special effects camera system), alongside our Post Production Sound Services such as casting, voice-over recording, sound editorial, sound design and Foley.