Presenting ViV: A world-first robotics solution for virtual production

Developed by our Dimension Futures team and CTO Callum Macmillan, ViV was built in collaboration with industry robotics expert Dickon Mitchell. While robotic camera systems have been explored in VP demos, LED panels have remained static – until now. The ‘impossible’ shots we can achieve with ViV cannot typically be achieved on fixed LED volumes, for example shots that include a range of movement such as an actor walking through multiple locations, around corners, etc. Or shots that require a camera to look up or down, which would usually be limited by a volume being a wall and not extending onto a floor or ceiling. By adding motion to the LED volume itself, all of those movements are now possible.

ViV uses two robotic arms; one mounted with a camera, the other with a 2m x3m LED wall that is scalable. Together, the two motion-controlled components form a dynamic, LED volume, moving in precise synchronisation with the virtual environment, in real-time.

Our Futures and VP teams tested ViV with two demo shoots: “The Climb” and “The Office” – both with scenarios that wouldn’t be possible with a large, static LED volume. For these two shoots, Dimension was supported by LED partner ROE.

Watch a behind-the-scenes film of ViV in action, showcasing our demos on the ViV Solutions page.

ViV lets filmmakers take advantage of using fewer LED panels of a higher quality, reducing the production cost. It also provides a highly cost effective option for independent filmmakers who have challenging in-camera on-location shots. Similarly, ViV makes VP more accessible to online, short-form and brand content creators who can use ViV as an efficient production solution with greater functionality and benefits than a green screen, and without needing to invest in a large volume production.

ViV is production-ready and available as a complementary set-up for large VP shoots, used to achieve those otherwise impossible shots, but also as a standalone system.