Virtual Set
 | The term Virtual Set continues to be blurred somewhat as time passes, originally meaning to train on a computer and a camera tracker to develop a background in realtime to chromakey talent into, Virtual Sets now encompass both live and post, tracking and trackless solutions, and it is even used to talk about simple blue/greenscreen work where talent is keyed in a studio. There are many different kinds of virtual sets; I'll let you know that these are commonly used:
Standard Definition, High Definition, and 4K are used with Post Production programs like editors and compositors. They come as layers letting you create the illusion that this talent is standing behind a desk knowning that video is playing inside monitors. NewTek's Tricaster SD and Tricaster XD versions are powered by their proprietary hardware, but make operating an active virtual set very simple, scaling the talent in the set, placing the B Source to the screens and adding reflections. The main difference between the two is resolution, the XD having the capacity to produce in High Definition and that the XD are able to do virtual camera moves like zooms. The 3D Studio MAX version is optimized for realtime rendering, it's really a 3D version uniquely situated to use with realtime rendering platforms however with it's lighting a part of the textures, it's not at all very editable. NewTek's Lightwave 3D version is the most powerful and flexible, but the most technically demanding to use giving you full control of every aspect of the set plus a true 3D environment for help tracking markers. Virtual Set Production falls into two main categories, Live and Post. The first sort giving you feedback in realtime to what your greenscreen composite looks like, the later giving you more flexibility and control to produce decisions at your leisure. One other main difference being price, you will get into virtual set post production for hundreds of dollars vs. thousands of dollars for live productions. Live Production Long the domain in the six figure budgets virtual sets took an unexpected turn in the late nineties while using release of Play’s Trinity. With a built in chroma keyer and a few unusual virtual set features it turned the industry’s understanding of what a virtual set was on it’s ear. Years later NewTek released it’s Video Toaster system which in version 5 had similar functionality, permitting realtime keying, scaling, and reflections of talent along with a B source. That technology followed onto their Tricaster line and matured with their XD products; an HD switcher with virtual set abilities such as a trackless zoom. The Tricaster products have been very popular due to their comparatively low pricing, multiple functionalities, and different virtual set abilities not within other products at any price tag. Post Production Any program with a chroma keyer can create the illusion of a virtual set in a far lower cost than live production. These include a few better editors including Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro, Sony Vegas, and other alike. These can be as simple as keying your talent over a background, or as complex as tracking markers and layering together an intricate scene with camera motion. www.videovirtualsets.com now offers virtual set design services to change any of their existing library of virtual sets as well as to create a virtual set custom from scratch, examples and pricing is found on their website. Some productions require changes for the set, or the client would rather have a unique identity, whatever the need the ability to modify sets for a client’s designs is available. With amazing network quality productions coming out of garages and classrooms as a result of modern computing power, innovative software, and cheap virtual set backgrounds it’s tough to imagine what will come next. Now in beta testing, intensiKey's post production virtual set software promises to offer the power of an true 3D program devoid of the complexity. Virtual Set |
