Virtual production ecosystem mapping

In late 2022, CRAIC (the Creative Research and Innovation Centre) at Loughborough University London and BOP Consulting conducted a mapping of the various advanced media and creative capabilities associated with the Virtual Production (VP) ecosystem in the UK. 

This mapping exercise aimed to provide a baseline overview of the VP landscape in terms of the geographic distribution of assets, organisation type, facilities offered, the technologies at stake, and capabilities, as well as the connections between assets and their relationship to different creative industry sectors. It intended to signpost strengths and opportunities, and to help inform support which aims to foster wider and more advanced industry use. 

It is largely based on a survey that was run during the course of the application process for the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s (AHRC) Convergent Screen Technologies And performance in Realtime (CoSTAR) funding programme. This major UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)-AHRC research and innovation infrastructure investment programme (estimated £75.6 million investment over six years) funded primarily through the UKRI Infrastructure Fund, will support a network of experimental labs to research the development and use of convergent technologies in the creative sectors.

The launch of the CoSTAR funding programme gave a particular impetus to this research by providing a timely opportunity to survey a number of organisations operating in the VP landscape. The survey response collection timeframe was aligned with the CoSTAR application period, running to the end of January 2023. Consequently, there is a larger proportion of responses coming from research and R&D VP assets rather than commercial studios. 

As a result, this report should be viewed as an initial mapping exercise, based on a limited set of responses with an emphasis on research and R&D, that provides a platform for more nuanced future research activity.