Ronald Fischer, Universal Studios

Biography
Ron graduated into the film industry after a decade at Silicon Graphics, bringing experience with cutting edge virtual set and motion capture systems. For the next ten years he alternated between building pipelines for and directly supporting virtual set and motion capture work on stage in films like Polar Express, Beowulf and Alice in Wonderland. He is now Technical Director of the Universal UVS1 virtual stage facility, bringing the benefits of “Simulcam” techniques to a broad set of clients in film, television and commercial production.

Talk synopsis

An insider's view of "Bringing Pre-production, Production and Post-production together with virtual sets and mocap" as told through experience on various projects, reflecting on how different production departments encounter and adapt. Virtual set technology combined with motion capture has already changed some types of production. Bob Zemeckis pursued full virtual production for a decade with single minded determination, only to encounter mixed reviews and be buried by the Avatar Avalanche. How were their production processes similar or different? What were the success or failure factors? Are we mired in an "uncanny valley" or is that a red herring? Now that this first generation of big money virtual productions has passed, what's the next one shaping up to be? This talk hopes to encourage discussion about the delicate moment when creative minds seize new technologies, and how each part of the production pipeline can both keep it real and keep it plussing.