Role: Disguise Media Server Operator & Junior Programmer
Clients: High Res x Sony Pictures x Screen Gems
Shot: October 2022
Released: April 2023
This was my first ever Virtual Production shoot, and it remains one of the most meaningful projects of my career.
I was not new to film. Having worked as a producer on projects that went on to win festival awards, stream on Amazon Prime, screen on RTÉ, and feature in the Virgin Media Shorts programme at DIFF. I had also spent a year as an in-house PA for a production company, doing everything from printing cue sheets to editing videos, managing LTO archives, and even rebuilding a Mac at one point.
What I was new to was VP.
I came into this role with strong producing instincts, solid technical foundations, and a growing desire to move into a more hands-on technical position. Two weeks into the company, I completed d3 online training, followed by another two weeks of intensive sessions with Chris Simcock at Sensel Studio.
I had first heard about Virtual Production about a year earlier while watching Charmaine Chan’s VOX interview during Covid. I was a soon-to-be film graduate passing time online, completely fascinated by the technology. Never did I imagine that just over a year later I would be operating that same system on a feature film.
Chris was scheduled to operate the shoot. A change in the production schedule created a conflict that could not be resolved. The plan shifted. I would step in as operator.
I was diving into the deep end for someone who was only learning about VP. Looking back, I cannot believe how calm I felt. Ignorance really is bliss. At the time, I felt prepared, and I was. Chris had equipped me with the tools and understanding I needed to step up. I had followed him on set, recording everything he did and said on my phone in case I needed to refer back to it later.
With the experience I have now, I can say the setup was straightforward enough. We used flat walls with pre-selected driving plates. There was no formal prelight. I also now recognise that others were probably more nervous than they let on.
The day itself required flexibility. Some of the expected technical challenges never appeared, while some the new creative requests required me to adapt my learnings with Chris to problem solve. I had to respond in real time and adjust the workflow to support what the DOP needed on the day. That experience became an early lesson in what VP really is: preparation, meeting adaptability.
We shot for one day, covering both a day and night driving sequence. To my fresh eyes it felt busy, but manageable. In fact, it remains one of the smoothest driving plate VP shoots I have worked on.
Everything was new. The pressure had not yet fully registered. It was a baptism of fire that, somehow, did not leave scars.
And for that reason, it will always be special.
