Latest technology in movie production at the Hong Kong International Film and TV Market

The 28th Hong Kong International Film and TV Market, Filmart, concluded at the Hong Kong International Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai on Thursday, where industry leaders discussed the future of musical score production, leveraging AI, and the breakthroughs in movie production using Virtual Production (VP) and Extended Reality (XR) techniques.

In a program titled Dimensional Innovation: The Application and Impact of New Technologies in Film and TV Production, film production companies shared how technology is bringing revolutionary changes to entertainment content production, including co-production, post-production, location shooting, visual effects, and music, as well as the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

Among the speakers was Edmond Tsang, BMus Creative Industries Programme Director at Hong Kong Baptist University. 

"AI can produce music that meets goals in a very short period of time. It will be a tool for future composers, helping them to get inspired and compose more efficiently," he said.

 "The use of VP and XR technology applications will result in a production experience with longer preparation time but a faster production process," said Roger Proeis, President of Votion Studios.

This is the first time the Hong Kong company Votion Studios has shown their virtual production studio at Filmart.

This virtual production studio uses Extended Reality (XR) and camera robotics to combine real and virtual footage through computers to create a virtual environment that can interact with humans. 

The shift from traditional video technology to virtual production has changed filming technology from green screen filming to the current use of LED screens and the creation of instant filming effects after real people do instant filming.

Votion Studios has been collaborating with different directors on commercials, music videos, and real estate advertising using their virtual production technology.

“This is the first time we demonstrate to the public that filming technology has already developed from traditional filmmaking to a higher level, virtual production,”  said Ellis Lee, Director of Production and Content Development of Votion Studios.

In the future, Lee said the company plans to use virtual production technology in society-related content such as creating real estate advertisements and helping creative media students. “We have made different kinds of commercials. 

Academies are discussing with us that after their students graduate and join the film industry, they will have experience in using virtual production technology,” said Lee. "We would like to try to get more new technologies on one platform, converging and working together for film and television production." 

 "I think AI should be mastered thoroughly, too, and I will try to let AI inspire me in my future assignments,” said He Siyu, a second-year student majoring in advertising.

"I'm excited about the future development of VP and XR. I see a lower cost, shorter time, and easier production with excellent results in these two technologies, " said Bonnie Chung, an exhibitor at Filmart.