Mapping the virtual production eco-system

Report of a research project undertaken by the Creative Research and Innovation Centre at Loughborough University London. The aim of this project was to map the emerging ecosystem of virtual production in the creative industries, capturing existing and proposed assets, or facilities, and creating a framework for assessing where in the value chain such assets are positioned. It was intended to map the landscape in terms such as geography, capacities, functions and technology readiness, using the Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) framework that is familiar in R&D literature. As a short piece of work, operating across a rapidly changing set of creative technology practices post-pandemic, the ‘map’ or ‘maps’ created were intended to be snapshots of a dynamic landscape; and the more substantial outcome of the work would be the creation of a Framework for future study.