The Development and Full Integration of VP Pipelines Adapted for Theatre Affordances

Project partners: Ulster University, Prime Cut Productions

XR Network+ funded a partnership between Ulster University and Prime Cut Productions that designed a Virtual Production (VP) pipeline and digital resources tailored for use by theatre practitioners. 

The collaboration also developed a framework of animation principles to animate and present a non-human character to a theatre audience.

A diverse project team spanning several different industries was critical to the development of the project. Animators, riggers, games designers, VFX artists, lighting designers and performers all worked together with VP techniques and technologies on a smaller studio scale. 

Using Motion Capture Technology, the project team explored different approaches to maximise flexibility and performance during a show where the actors take the role of a MoCap performer and a puppeteer. 

All digital components were designed so that they could be packaged like a game, enabling performers and digital puppeteers full control over the way in which the digital assets are presented to the audience. 

The collaboration also used photogrammetry, 3D scanning technology, and VR Scouting to develop initial concepts of the stage designs, supporting the animation, VFX, and games design teams to develop appropriate assets for the proposed set design. 

This project is one of five initiatives supported by the XR Network+ Embedded R&D funding call. Grants of up to £60,000 were awarded to researchers at UK universities to explore the transfer of knowledge between academia and industry in areas aligned with VP. The projects took place between September 2023 and March 2024. 

Categories: Arts, Performance, Research, Technology