On-set virtual production

On-set virtual production (OSVP) is a technology for television and film production in which LED panels are used as a backdrop for a set, on which video or computer generated imagery can be displayed. With careful adjustment and calibration, an OSVP set can be made to closely approximate the appearance of a real set or outdoor location.[1] OSVP can be viewed as an application of extended reality.

OSVP contrasts with virtual studio technology, in which a green screen backdrop surrounds the set, and the virtual surroundings are composited into the green screen plate downstream from the camera, in that in OSVP the virtual world surrounding the set is visible to the camera, actors, and crew, and objects on set are illuminated by light from the LED screen, creating realistic interactive lighting effects, and that the virtual background and foreground are captured directly in camera, complete with natural subtle cues like lens distortion, depth of field effects, bokeh and lens flare. This makes it a far more natural experience that more closely approximates location shooting, making the film-making process faster and more intuitive than can be achieved on a virtual set.

To render parallax depth cues correctly from the viewpoint of a moving camera, the system requires the use of match moving of the background imagery based on data from low-latency real-time motion capture technology to track the camera.

OSVP developments include Disney's StageCraft system, developed in-house at Industrial Light and Magic for the Disney+ series The Mandalorian.

Industry organizations including SMPTE, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the American Society of Cinematographers have started initiatives to support the development of OSVP.[1][2][3][4]