You are standing on the bridge of a starship. Galaxies drift outside the window. The lights shift with the stars. You can feel the mood of the scene. It’s not a green screen. It is all around you. Welcome to virtual production, or as many now call it, The Volume.
If you have seen The Mandalorian, you have already seen this technology in action. Most of those jaw-dropping landscapes? Not shot on location. They were created live, on set, using LED walls and real-time rendering. Actors like Pedro Pascal performed in dynamic, immersive environments, not against a blank screen.
As actors, this changes everything.
So What Is Virtual Production?
At its core, virtual production uses giant LED screens to display a real-time, interactive background while you film. The environment responds to the camera’s movement—shifting perspective as you or the lens move—just like the real world would. It blends the digital and physical in-camera.
This means you no longer have to imagine the alien planet. You are standing on it.
Why Should You Care as an Actor?
1. You Get to React to Real Visuals
In traditional green screen work, you often pretend to see something that isn’t there. With virtual production, the desert, the castle, the skyscraper; it’s all there in high resolution. Your reactions become more instinctive, more truthful.
2. Lighting Matches Perfectly
LED walls provide accurate lighting, meaning shadows, reflections, and colours hit your face naturally. You look better on camera, and you feel more grounded in the scene.
3. Fewer Continuity Nightmares
The light does not change, weather does not interrupt, and locations do not shut down. You can shoot “golden hour” at 10 a.m. or 10 p.m. With consistent conditions, your performance stays strong take after take.
4. Your Performance Is Captured More Fully
Because the VFX is baked into the shot, directors and DPs can work with your full performance, not patch it together later in post. You have more control over how your work is captured.
What’s It Like On Set?
Imagine rehearsing a scene in a forest that’s been digitally created but displayed in full scale all around you. It’s surreal. And it is fast becoming the norm.
Studios across the world are building LED volume stages. Directors love the creative freedom. Producers love the efficiency. And actors? We love how real it feels.
Tips for Working in Virtual Production
- Get Comfortable with Game Engine Pre-vis: Many environments are created in Unreal Engine. During rehearsals, you may be shown a video game–style mockup. Do not let it throw you—ask questions, use it to understand where you are emotionally and spatially.
- Practise Precision and Stillness: Much like screen acing generally, every subtle movement you make matters. Screen acting rules apply tenfold; eye-line, breath, micro-expressions.
- It’s Not a Performance Replacement: Technology will not replace actors. But actors who adapt will lead the charge. Learn how lighting behaves on LED, how digital sets respond to camera, how you can use the environment to your advantage.
- Think of It Like Theatre: Oddly, this brings acting back to something more theatrical as you have a shared space, lighting in real time, immediate audience (the crew). Treat it with the same presence and trust.
Virtual production is not a fad. It is a rapidly growing part of how stories are told on screen. As actors, embracing it early gives us a huge advantage not only for auditions, but on set, in rehearsal, and in building relationships with directors who are looking for adaptable performers.
