Sony Focuses On Virtual Production Business That Has Moncer Growth

Sony Group is increasingly focusing on the virtual production business (photo: @Sony)

JAKARTA - Sony Group is increasingly focusing on the virtual production business that is experiencing rapid growth in the market. This is said by an executive of the company, sticking to the technology advantages of this Japanese entertainment conglomerate.

The business offers virtual production facilities to filmmakers and broadcasters, involving the use of light-diode panel walls (LEDs) featuring images, such as scientific fiction landscapes or city views, which are integrated into shooting scenes.

As an alternative to green screens, where digital effects are added at the next stage, the advantage of the system includes more realistic reflections produced by the light from these panels and greater depth for actors on set.

Sony sees the advantages of the company's power in terms of hardware - the conglomerate manufactures everything from image sensors for cameras to super-sized LED video walls - and expertise in filming as a major player in Hollywood.

"Because we have the hardware, we can create a virtual world," said Yasuharu Nomura, Sony's Virtual Head of Production, in an interview.

In recent decades, Sony has released a problematic electronic line to focus on games, films and music, but is still making hardware like a film camera. The company is an investor at Epic Games, whose Unreal Engine is used to generate a digital environment.

Sony says its virtual production business grows by about 35% each year, faster than the market as a whole, in the hope that most of the sales will come from service.

The company presents better panels and cameras and service options while offering a "volummetric capture," where performances are filmed from various points of view to be seen in virtual reality.

Virtual production technology gained attention after being used in Walt Disney's "The Mandalorian" science fiction show, which uses the domestic visual effect company Industrial Light & Magic.

"This market is still in its early stages, so there is an opportunity for Sony to thrive," said Ezawa, an analyst at Citigroup.