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Step 1 · Learn online · Virtual production

Virtual production Foundation

Six lessons in the order a VP crew meets the work: planning, plates and worlds, camera and tracking, colour and light on LED, Unreal for film-makers, and the roles. Each has a practice task.

Start lesson 1 Board mode for teachers

Time: About 6 to 8 hours
Lessons: 6
For: Anyone 18 or over who has finished VP Day One and wants to work on a volume: stage, brain bar, VAD or camera and lighting on LED.
Pass mark: 80%; safety must be right
Window: 12 weeks
Ends with: Online learning record. Next: book your competency check.
Last reviewed: 12 November 2026

The lessons, in order

6 lessons · 405 min. Safety comes first. Lessons marked 'safety gate' must be passed before the lessons after them open.

What you'll be able to do

Each outcome is mapped to a line in a ScreenSkills skills checklist. The checklists are guides, not accreditation.

Lesson 1 · Break down

Break down a scene for virtual production: wall or green screen, 2D or 3D, what must be ready when, and what it costs in stage time.

ScreenSkills virtual production competencies: camera roles · Supplying and maintaining camera and related equipment for virtual production: "liaise with production manager / producer about gear costs and delivery costs and timeframe"
ScreenSkills virtual production competencies: lighting roles · Carry out recce and confirm pre-production requirements: "Check whether the LED wall is hung / suspended or floor stacked"

Lesson 2 · Plan

Plan the content for the wall: a 2D plate capture and the brief for a 3D world, with the virtual art department.

ScreenSkills virtual production competencies: VFX creation (virtual art department) roles · Design and create drawings to meet production requirements: "design and draw concepts for virtual environments to be used in VP"
ScreenSkills virtual production competencies: VFX creation (virtual art department) roles · Model, texture or paint characters, creatures, props, environments, or backgrounds for visual effects: "evaluate the quality of assets you have ensuring they match any on-set versions"

Lesson 3 · Explain

Explain how tracking, lens data and genlock make the wall follow the camera, and how to avoid moiré.

ScreenSkills virtual production competencies: camera roles · Setting up camera and related equipment for virtual production: "in conjunction with tracking suppliers consider best tracking crown for style of shooting"
ScreenSkills virtual production competencies: camera roles · Setting up camera and related equipment for virtual production: "carry out sync and gen lock tests, calibrate tracking and ensure 3D tracking is functioning"
ScreenSkills virtual production competencies: VFX creation (virtual art department) roles · Create and match live action camera movements in 3D, including use of real-time tracking solutions: "calibrate each lens to identify and remove distortion"

Lesson 4 · Plan

Plan the lighting for a volume scene: what the wall does, what extra lamps do, and how wall and set are matched in colour.

ScreenSkills virtual production competencies: lighting roles · Prepare and use equipment to modify and manipulate lighting: "ensure there is no spill light from conventional fixtures hitting the LED screen as this causes contrast issues"
ScreenSkills virtual production competencies: camera roles · Setting up camera and related equipment for virtual production: "daily check of colour drift and colour balance"
ScreenSkills virtual production competencies: lighting roles · Position and secure fixtures while applying safety considerations: "accurately calculate the weight and load capacity of all the equipment specified"

Lesson 5 · Block

Navigate Unreal Engine, set up a Cine Camera and block a three-shot previs with Sequencer.

ScreenSkills virtual production competencies: VFX creation (virtual art department) roles · Create storyboards, animatics or other preparatory visualisations: "use appropriate media to tell a story, such as storyboards, 2D animatics or 3D pre-vis using a real-time engine"

Lesson 6 · Choose

Tell previs, techvis and postvis apart, describe the VP supervisor's role, and choose the role you're aiming for with the evidence for it.

ScreenSkills virtual production competencies: VFX creation (virtual art department) roles · Render visual effects: "provide information to others on render times and any likely bottlenecks or conflicting priorities"
ScreenSkills virtual production competencies: VFX creation (virtual art department) roles · Create animation rigs: "ensure rigs have a version that can be used for real-time feedback"

How this course is assessed

Checks

Every lesson: three questions drawn from a bank of eight. You need 80%, and any safety-critical question must be right. Three attempts in 24 hours, with new questions each time.

Tasks

Every lesson ends with a short task. A trained reviewer marks it Met or Not yet, with a comment. Not yet means try again, not fail.

After this course

Book a short competency check with us, online or in person, then a practical on our unit. The FIF Certificate comes from the practical. Book a competency check.

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