Virtual Sets: Concepts and Trends

Abstract

Techniques of filming using special effects have existed since the 1920s, well before the advent of computers. Two of them are known as Back Projection—when an actor acts in front of a screen that reproduces other footage (very common in train scenes), and Blue Screen—when an actor acts in front of a blue wall for later composition with another scene (Fielding, 1985). However, it was computer graphics and the technological advance of the computers that made possible the great evolution in this area. Virtual Sets or Virtual Studios are denominations given to the integrated use of computer-generated elements with real actors and objects in a studio. Its main advantages are: more flexibility in changing the scene, risky scenes can be made safely, allowing the production of complex special effects and also providing economy in the production of sophisticated designs, along with flexibility in making quick changes. With the advent of high-speed networks, there is the possibility of remote operation. Real-time Virtual Sets is a very recent area for computer graphics with potential applications in the film and television industry. The literature about this topic is scarce although there are few commercial systems available, which will be described later. This work approaches Virtual Sets, describing its conceptualization and showing its correlation with other areas in computer graphics. The Virtual Sets’ pertinent technologies are identified in computer graphics and have their given solutions and unsolved problems argued.