Virtual production is rapidly changing the process of producing everything from commercials to large Hollywood films and television shows.
The success of shows like The Mandalorian, which uses LED walls and a game engine to achieve virtual production in a studio environment, have shown how the technique can work, even for large, high-budget productions.
LED walls can display nearly any visual behind actors, props, and set pieces. When paired with an HDRi image , an LED wall can also provide realistic lighting without extensive post-production.
This flexibility dramatically reduces the cost of a big production. It also gives directors and cinematographers an unprecedented level of control over the virtual set displayed behind their actors.
Virtual location scouting is the process of finding and choosing the ideal HDRi Environment to use as a visual backdrop and lighting source during virtual production. In a virtual production workflow, HDRi Environments are sometimes called “virtual sets.”
Choosing Virtual Sets for LED Walls
In some cases, the visuals and lighting data displayed on an LED wall are created in a purely CGI environment. In a sci-fi television series, for example, 3D designers may create a purely virtual world in which to embed their actors and props with an LED wall.
Virtual location scouting is the process of exploring a wide variety of virtual environments in order to choose the best one to use in production.
Just like in traditional location scouting, virtual location scouts might review hundreds of different potential locations in order to determine the one with the perfect lighting, background elements, and visual look and feel for the story they’re telling.
The difference is that, unlike traditional location scouting, virtual location scouting can often be done entirely digitally.
Reviewing HDRi Map Collections
Virtual location scouts comb through a large collection of HDRI maps, like our collection here at CGI.Backgrounds , looking for the ideal background for their production. It’s a much less travel-intensive, carbon-intensive process than traditional scouting.
For example, a virtual location scout might need a street scene in New York City . They could look through hundreds of HDRI maps of New York City. But they could also add additional keyword data.
For example, they could look for an HDRI map of New York City on a cloudy day if they were creating a production scene that needed a more somber or melancholy tone.
This digital metadata serves a similar function as large traditional scouting databases like LocationsHub . Just as LocationsHub includes detailed data on real-world production locations, a good HDRi Map collection will include detailed metadata on virtual environments.
In other cases, virtual location scouts use dedicated tools like Pathfinder or CGI.Backgrounds' CGI.B Connect app to visualize virtual HDRi environments in detail, experiment with various sun positions, and more before making a final choice.
Scouting Tools in the Unreal Engine
Once a virtual location is chosen, many virtual productions use the Unreal Engine from Epic Games to render HDRi Environments for LED walls. The engine is an excellent tool for updating visuals in realtime, and for rendering accurate lighting information.
Here is a video showing how virtual production with the Unreal Engine can work.
The assist with planning angles or lighting within virtual environments, the Unreal Engine has a variety of scouting tools. These allow filmmakers to use virtual reality in to step into virtual environments, exploring their potential as a location for a production.
These tools can either be used by virtual location scouts as part of their scouting process or as a way to allow non-technical members of the creative team to experience the virtual environment in a more immersive, interactive way.
Hybrid Virtual Location Scouting and Physical Scouting
Even for traditional productions, location scouts can still use virtual environments. For example, a location scout might review potential locations for a shoot using 3D HDRI maps in order to narrow down potential choices.
Once they have a few locations in mind, they can visit real-world locations in order to make a final decision about the production’s shooting location. Once they’ve selected the location that’s ideal, they can plan to produce a traditional shoot there.
In that way, virtual assets become a tool to help streamline the process of choosing physical locations. Companies have even emerged that capture real-world locations for virtual location scouting.
For example, companies like Insta360 let location scouts for Disney movies visit potential locations as a small team , capture a 360-degree image with a special camera, and bring that image back to the larger creative team to experience and review.
Virtual location scouting for full CG production
Of course, virtual location scouting doesn’t only apply to virtual productions using LED walls. Even for pure CG productions, choosing the right virtual location for a product photography session or CG scene is essential.
When 3D designers create an automotive rendering , for example, they might choose to place the 3D model of a vehicle into a city HDRI map in a specific geography.
For example, if they are creating a rendering for use in the Japanese market, they might choose to place their vehicle model in a Taipei street scene . But if they’re creating a rendering for the American market, they may place the same vehicle model into a virtual street scene in New York City.
Many freelancers and small agencies scout virtual locations themselves, looking through large collections of HDRI maps to find the perfect location for their rendering. They can then render a client’s virtual vehicle model within their chosen virtual environment.
For an example of using HDRi Environments in a pure CG production, take a look at this automotive case study , or this case study in the defense industry.
How we can help
If you are scouting virtual locations for a production or 3D rendering, having a large library of professionally captured virtual environments can make a big difference.
Here at CGI.Backgrounds, we have over 200,000 HDRI maps and backplates , capturing thousands of locations around the world. Because our HDRI maps have embedded lighting data, they’re perfect for use on LED walls and in 3D renderings.
We also offer easy purchasing options , because we know that virtual location scout often need to present anywhere from 10 to 100 potential locations to their creative team before making a final decision. Without options for large numbers of HDRi downloads, this can get expensive.
Our subscription plans allow you to download comps of our locations to assist in your creative process, as well as to license full-resolution virtual locations at scale as you get further along in your production timeline.
Take a look at our “How to Search” page to learn more about using our collection for virtual location scouting, and our “ Plans and Pricing” page for more information on subscribing to CGI.Backgrounds.
