Virtual Production Consulting
Virtual Production is more than an LED wall.
The quality of a Virtual Production shoot depends on how well production, creative, Virtual Art Department, stage technology, camera tracking, lighting, and on-set operation work together.
Stray Vista Studios provides independent Virtual Production consulting and supervision for productions, studios, and companies that need experienced guidance without necessarily shooting at our Austin facility.
Whether you are building a permanent Virtual Production studio, deploying a temporary volume for a specific project, or shooting at a stage you have already selected, Stray Vista can help ensure the technology actually serves the production.
Our role is to be the bridge between traditional production and Virtual Production.
Virtual Production Consulting for Productions
A production may already have a director, DP, production designer, production company, and stage selected, but still need someone who understands how all of those departments need to interact with the Virtual Production workflow.
That is where Stray Vista comes in.
Our team can join a production during development or pre-production and help determine:
Which shots are right for Virtual Production
Which shots should remain practical, location-based, green screen, or traditional VFX
What type of LED stage or Virtual Production system is required
How large the stage actually needs to be
What environments need to be created
How the environments should be designed around camera placement and movement
What technical limitations need to be addressed before production
What crew and operators are required
How much testing and technical preparation should happen before principal photography
Our goal is to prevent expensive surprises on shoot day.
Already Found a Virtual Production Studio?
You do not have to shoot at a Stray Vista facility to work with Stray Vista.
If your production has already selected an LED stage, we can operate as an independent Virtual Production consultant and supervisor.
Our team can evaluate the studio, technical package, workflow, crew, tracking system, processor configuration, and production plan before the shoot begins.
We then work directly with the studio and your production team to make sure everyone is building toward the same creative result.
This gives the production an experienced Virtual Production partner whose primary responsibility is the success of the project, not simply the rental of the stage.
Temporary Virtual Production Stages
Sometimes the right stage does not already exist where your production needs to shoot.
Stray Vista works with technology and stage partners to design and deploy temporary Virtual Production volumes inside appropriate soundstages throughout the United States.
Our team can help determine the appropriate:
LED configuration
Stage size
Processing
Camera tracking
Rendering systems
Networking
Power requirements
Crew
Workflow
We then help coordinate the technology partners, stage, production team, Virtual Art Department, and on-set operators into a single working system.
Stray Vista has experience supporting temporary Virtual Production builds for television and large-scale feature film production.
Rather than forcing a production to travel to a specific stage, we can help bring the Virtual Production stage to the production.
Consulting for New Virtual Production Studios
Building an LED volume is easy to underestimate.
A successful Virtual Production studio requires more than purchasing panels and installing a processor.
The stage needs to function as a production environment.
Stray Vista can consult with companies developing new Virtual Production facilities and help make decisions based on real production experience rather than hardware specifications alone.
We can advise on:
Stage dimensions and geometry
LED wall and ceiling design
Pixel pitch
Processing systems
Camera tracking
Unreal Engine infrastructure
Render nodes
Networking
Sync
Power
Stage layout
Lighting integration
Production workflow
Crew requirements
Testing
Operational procedures
Most importantly, we help evaluate those decisions through the lens of how directors, cinematographers, producers, and crews will actually use the facility.
The most expensive system is not necessarily the best system.
The goal is to build a stage that works.
Virtual Art Department
Stray Vista can also provide the Virtual Art Department for productions we consult.
Our VAD team develops Unreal Engine environments around the production's creative direction, camera requirements, stage configuration, and technical limitations.
Because our Virtual Art Department works directly with our Virtual Production supervisors and producers, the environment is not developed in isolation.
We consider how the environment will actually be photographed.
That includes:
Camera positions
Lens choices
Camera movement
Lighting
Set extensions
Interactive elements
Practical foreground pieces
Reflections
Stage geometry
Performance requirements
Optimization
This connection between the creative environment and the physical stage is critical.
A beautiful Unreal Engine environment that does not perform correctly on the stage is not a successful Virtual Production environment.
Bridging Production and Virtual Production
One of the largest challenges in Virtual Production is communication.
Traditional production departments already have established workflows. Virtual Production introduces new technical departments and new dependencies between them.
Decisions made by one team can suddenly affect several others.
The production designer may affect the Virtual Art Department.
The Virtual Art Department may affect camera placement.
Camera placement may affect stage requirements.
Stage requirements may affect LED configuration.
Lighting decisions may affect the environment.
Changes in the environment may affect performance.
Without someone responsible for connecting those conversations, problems can remain invisible until the production is standing on stage.
Stray Vista acts as that bridge.
Our VP Producers and Virtual Production Supervisors communicate directly with production, creative, VAD, stage technicians, operators, camera, lighting, and other departments so that everyone understands what is required and why.
Pre-Production
The majority of successful Virtual Production work happens before the shoot.
Stray Vista can support:
Script breakdown
Board and reference review
Virtual Production shot selection
Stage recommendations
Technical design
Budget planning
VAD development
Previsualization
Techvis
Production meetings
Stage testing
Environment review
Camera testing
Workflow planning
We want major technical and creative questions answered before principal photography whenever possible.
Production
On shoot days, Stray Vista can provide Virtual Production supervision, operation, and VP production support.
Our team works alongside the director, cinematographer, production designer, AD team, lighting department, stage crew, and Unreal operators to keep the Virtual Production workflow moving.
When something changes, we help the production understand the downstream effects and determine the fastest path forward.
Our job is not to protect the technology.
Our job is to protect the production.
Post-Production
Virtual Production does not always eliminate post-production.
In many cases, the best result comes from combining ICVFX with traditional VFX.
Because Stray Vista understands what happened during production, our team can help preserve the appropriate data and communicate the technical context needed by the post-production team.
The objective is not to force every shot to be final in-camera.
The objective is to use the right combination of production and post-production tools to create the best result.
An Independent Virtual Production Partner
Stray Vista does not need to own the studio, LED wall, or technology package to add value to a production.
We can work independently alongside stage owners, technology vendors, production companies, agencies, studios, and VFX teams.
That independence allows us to focus on one question:
What does this production actually need to succeed?
Whether you are building a Virtual Production studio, deploying a temporary stage, or preparing to shoot at an existing LED volume, Stray Vista can provide the experience, Virtual Art Department, supervision, and production leadership needed to bring the entire Virtual Production workflow together.
Talk to Stray Vista About Your Virtual Production
If you are planning a Virtual Production shoot, building a studio, evaluating an LED stage, or considering a temporary Virtual Production build, involve Stray Vista early.
The earlier the Virtual Production workflow is considered, the more opportunities there are to reduce unnecessary cost, simplify production, and protect the creative vision.