Jake Seal Talks About Virtual vs Traditional Film Sets

In this episode, Jake Seal talks about the dynamic shift in filmmaking as he compares virtual production to traditional film sets. He shares firsthand insights on how each method impacts storytelling, performance, and production workflow. From LED volumes to practical sets, Jake breaks down the pros, cons, and future of both approaches, giving listeners a behind-the-scenes look at how today's filmmakers are blending technology with cinematic tradition.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Filmmaking has always been about creating worlds, some grounded in reality,
others born completely out of imagination. Over the years, technology
has given directors new tools to tell stories in ways
that were once impossible. As someone who's been in the
industry long enough to witness both analog and digital revolutions,

(00:20):
I've seen firsthand how production methods have evolved, and lately,
one of the biggest chifs I've been involved in is
the move from traditional sets to virtual production. Now, people
often ask me which one I prefer. Is it better
to build sets from scratch like we used to, or
rely on LED walls and real time rendering to simulate

(00:41):
a world. Honestly, there's no simple answer. Both have their
place and both offer something unique depending on the project.
But the conversation is definitely worth having because the way
we choose to produce films directly impacts not just the
budget and timeline, but also the creative decisions we make.

(01:03):
When you walk onto a traditional set, there's a tangible feeling,
a certain magic. You can touch the walls, interact with props,
feel the texture of the environment. That physicality helps actors
get into character. The director can block the scene with
real world lighting, and everyone from the camera team to

(01:23):
the production designer can see exactly what's being captured. There's
no need to guess or imagine where a character is
standing or what they're reacting to. But building physical sets
takes time, it costs money, and sometimes it just isn't practical.
Let's say you want to shoot a scene on a

(01:43):
frozen planet or inside a futuristic spaceship that doesn't exist. Traditionally,
you'd either build a partial set and rely heavily on
green screen, or you'd fly your crew to a remote
location and deal with all the logistical nightmares that come
with it. That's where virtual production changes the game. With
virtual sets, we're able to create immersive, photorealistic environments using

(02:08):
LED volumes and game engines like unreal the actors can
see the world around them in real time. We can
change as sunset to sunrise with a few adjustments. The
camera moves are synced with the digital background, so we
avoid many of the visual inconsistencies that used to happen
with green screen. It's incredibly powerful and it's fast. One

(02:32):
of the things I love most about virtual production is
the control it offers. You're not at the mercy of
weather or time of day. If you need the perfect
golden hour light for six hours straight, you've got it.
If the background doesn't quite work, you tweak it on
the fly. It saves time in post production and gives
you results in camera that used to take weeks of

(02:54):
VFX work. But that doesn't mean virtual is always the
right answer. Sometimes a physical set offers authenticity you can't
replicate digitally. A narrow alley in an old European town,
a run down motel with creaky floors. These are places
that have character, texture, history. Trying to recreate that digitally

(03:16):
can look too clean, too polished, and audiences are very
sensitive to what's real and what's not, even if they
can't always explain why. There's also a learning curve. Not
every crew is trained in virtual production. Directors have to
plan more in pre production because once you start shooting

(03:36):
there's less room for improvising. The workflow is different, and
if you are not careful, you can end up spending
just as much or more than you would on a
traditional shoot. Personally, I think the future is hybrid. We're
not looking at an either or situation. The most successful
productions will be the ones that understand when to go

(03:58):
virtual and when to build something. For example, you might
shoot the exterior of a castle using virtual production, then
build a physical interior set where the characters interact or
use practical props in front of a digital landscape to
ground the scene. I've been lucky to work with teams
that are experimenting at this frontier. It's exciting. We're figuring

(04:22):
out what works, what doesn't, and how to push the
medium forward without losing the essence of what makes storytelling powerful.
At the end of the day, the tools are only
as good as the stories we tell with them. Whether
it's a dusty, practical set in the desert or a
hyperreal city rendered in a game engine, the goal is
always the same, make the audience feel something real, and

(04:45):
as filmmakers we now have more options than ever to
do just that. So when people ask me if virtual
production is the future, I say yes, but it's not
the whole future. It's a part of it. Traditional sets
still have their play and always will. The key is
knowing which approach serves your story best, because in filmmaking,

(05:07):
story is everything.