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For the last two weeks, we had one-on-one tutorial sessions with Nigel. My session was scheduled for the first week, and I prepared a document for it. The preparation document he provided included the title, research question, structure, literature review, bibliography, and other elements to show the progress of my research. I hadn’t made up my mind until then, so I decided to read a book covering the overall VFX workflow. Midway through the book, the limitations of green screen and virtual production caught my attention, so I wanted to focus on these subjects. Based on this focus, I filled out the document.

Research question or title: The integration of reality and graphics with the evolution of virtual production technologies

Keywords/key phrases: Virtual production, green screen, LED panels, real time rendering, visual effects

An Abstract 50-100 words: TBD

A structure indication chapter headings and subheadings:

  1. Introduction
  2. Literature Review
  3. Chapter 1: Historical evolution of virtual production
  4. Chapter 2: Technological development of virtual production
    1. Type of technologies
    1. Case study
  5. Chapter 3: The implications of virtual production
    1. pros and cons – ethical, sustainability, etc.
  6. Conclusion
  7. Bibliography
  8. Image List

Show development on literature review:

(Earlier stage) Green screen technology, its challenge and limitation

(recent) Technology for virtual production (motion capture, LED panel, game engine), the advantage of virtual production

A bibliography:

TBD

  1. Dinur, E. (2023) The filmmaker’s guide to visual effects: The art and techniques of VFX for directors, producers, editors and cinematographers. 2nd edn. London: Routledge. ‌
  2. The Mandalorian (2019). Produced by Lucasfilm, Disney+.

During the tutorial session, Nigel mentioned that my work was mainly about technical facts rather than critical thinking, even though it included elements that required critical thinking, such as ethical and sustainable considerations. He suggested revising the title based on the research question. I hadn’t fully considered the research question, so I had to think about it more deeply. For example, he suggested narrowing down the title to something like: “Are ethics challenged in the evolution of virtual production technologies; Have they improved the sustainability of industry?”

After the session, I tried to narrow down the subject and set the research question. During this process, I happened to watch an episode of a Netflix series. The title of the episode was “Joan is Awful,” part of the Black Mirror series. Inspired by this, I decided to focus on the ethical implications caused by the evolution of technology in the film industry. Then, I rewrote the preparation document.

Research question or title:

How the evolution of virtual production technologies blurs the borders; Are ethics challenged in these changes?

The ethics of digital deception; Deepfakes and virtual production in contemporary filmmaking

Keywords/key phrases: virtual production, deepfake, ethics

An Abstract 50-100 words:

This report investigates the ethical implications of deepfake technology in the context of virtual production. It motivated by the “Black mirror” episode “Joan is awful.” The analysis focuses on how these new technologies blur the boundaries between reality and imagination, bringing up concerns about consent, authenticity, and possible abuse. By examining the development of virtual production technologies and contemporary industry practices, this report aims to propose ethical principles for navigating the intricate world of digital deception in filmmaking, balancing between innovation and ethical responsibility.

A structure indication chapter headings and subheadings:

  1. Introduction
  2. Literature Review
  3. Evolution of virtual production technologies

Content: Green screen, Real-time rendering, Deepfake

  • Ethical implications of technological advances

Content: Potential issues (authenticity, privacy, etc.), Case study (Netflix series: “Black mirror – Episode “Joan is awful”, “A killer paradox”)

  • Conclusion
  • Bibliography
  • Image List

The summary of “Joan is awful”: An ordinary woman discovers that her life has been turned into a reality show without her consent, (strictly speaking, she wasn’t aware of the consent when she signed up the service) using deepfake technology to create a digital replica of her. She loses her privacy and the relationship in her daily life. This episode shows how deepfake can be used to exploit individuals and the need for ethical guidelines to the use of deepfakes.

Show development on literature review:

Deepfake technology: A combination of “deep learning” and “fake”, deepfakes are hyper-realistic videos digitally manipulated to depict people saying and doing things that never actually happened.

Virtual production: Virtual production is the augmentation or replacement of traditional visual effects or animation workflows by the use of real-time, digital technology.

A bibliography:

TBD

  1. Westerlund, M., 2019. The emergence of deepfake technology: A review. Technology innovation management review, 9(11).
  2. Zwerman, S. and Okun, J. A. (eds.) (2023) The VES handbook of virtual production. Oxford, England: Focal Press.

I still haven’t selected the final title and am considering two options. I thought I could get more advice from Nigel, so I sent him an email requesting feedback. I hope to get more advice and proceed with writing the report.

10.06.2024 Added

I had an additional session with Nigel to get feedback on my revised structure. Fortunately, he mentioned that the second version is much better than the previous one. He helped fix the title with a slight revision: “How has the evolution of visual effects technologies blurred ethical borders?” He also shared some papers related to my subject. It was a bit regretful that some of them were closely related to my subject, but I had to pay for them. So, I searched for other free references. Based on them, I’m going to build up my report.

VFX virtual cinematography

  • Maddock, D., 2021. What Is Cinematography in the Age of Virtual Film Production? Posing a New Definition for the Practice of Cinematography. Journal of Film and Video, 73(4), pp.44-58.
  • Ilmaranta, K., 2020. Cinematic space in virtual production. In Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and Computer Graphics: 7th International Conference, AVR 2020, Lecce, Italy, September 7–10, 2020, Proceedings, Part II 7 (pp. 321-332). Springer International Publishing.
  • Bédard, P., 2022. Virtual Production and the Transformation of Cameras Mechanical, Virtual, and Actual. Animation, 17(2), pp.226-243.

Deepfakes ethics

  • Crippen, M., 2023. Conceptual and moral ambiguities of deepfakes: A decidedly old turn. Synthese, 202(1), p.26.
  • Cejudo, R., 2024. Ethical Problems of the Use of Deepfakes in the Arts and Culture. In Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (pp. 129-148). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.

Deepfakes in virtual production

  • Oscar, S., 2023. Curious spectatorship in the age of deepfakes. Digital Creativity, 34(3), pp.230-247.