AI Could Contribute to Virtual Production Sector Growth
AI tools could help filmmakers overcome some of the current limitations in virtual production, contributing to an expected boost of the sector.
That could mean sizable growth. The global virtual production market size was valued at $2.98 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to $3.38 billion in 2024 and $9.62 billion by 2032, according to a recent forecast from Fortune Business Insights.
The intersection of AI and virtual production was a topic at last week’s AI on the Lot event in Los Angeles, where Synapse Virtual Production CEO Justin Diener reported that his company is already using AI across various parts of its virtual production pipelines, alongside tools currently used in production. For instance, AI tools such as Midjourney and Dall-E are incorporated into its development process.
Kathryn Brillhart, virtual production supervisor on Amazon Prime Video series “Fallout,” suggested that generally speaking, gen AI-enabled tools are not yet ready for large-scale virtual production-enabled projects, though she is currently using AI for those with small- and mid-level budgets, particularly in helping to democratize VFX.
Still, education needs to be addressed, as evidenced by the interest in AI on the Lot, which sold out with 850 registrants. Attendees ranged from Hollywood studio representatives to tech developers to filmmakers, those both established and hoping to make their mark as part of the next generation of storytellers.
In a recent National Research Group survey of creative professionals, 72% said they believe people in creative fields should be educating themselves about AI tools, but in the same survey, only 14% of those who expect their industry to be affected by gen AI have found there are plenty of training materials available.
While creatives mostly agree that more training opportunities are needed, the efforts have started. For instance, Diener reported that Synapse has been involved in virtual production/AI educational efforts with such organizations as the American Society of Cinematographers, DGA and Visual Effects Society. Synapse has also partnered with the Rochester Institute of Technology in a virtual production training program.
Meanwhile additional tech could contribute to virtual production advancements. German visualization tech developer Chaos recently revealed it’s developing a new type of renderer that uses ray tracing — something labs director Christopher Nichols said is “the most accurate” tool for representing lighting and cameras. He believes this could result in a less costly, more efficient and higher-quality option for virtual production volumes.
