Virtual cinematography can be used to shoot scenes from otherwise impossible camera angles, create the photography of animated films, and manipulate the appearance of computer-generated effects.
[2] The term "virtual cinematography" emerged in 1999 when special effects artist John Gaeta and his team wanted to name the new cinematic technologies they had created.
Their work was based on Paul Debevec et al.'s findings on the acquisition and subsequent simulation of the reflectance field over the human face acquired using the simplest of light stages in 2000.
Nonetheless, these scenes still managed to reach a high level of realism and made it difficult for the audience to notice that they were actually watching a shot created entirely by visual effects artists using 3D computer graphics tools.
[13] Techniques such as real-time rendering, which allows an effect to be created before a scene is filmed rather than inserting it digitally afterward, utilize previously unrelated technologies including video game engines, projectors, and advanced cameras to fuse conventional cinematography with its virtual counterpart.
[15][18] The technology used for the film, dubbed "Stagecraft" by its creators, was subsequently used by ILM for various Star Wars projects as well as its parent company Disney's 2019 photorealistic animated remake of The Lion King.
[19][20] Rather than scanning and representing an existing image with virtual cinematographic techniques, real-time effects require minimal extra work in post-production.
Shots including on-set virtual cinematography do not require any of the advanced post-production methods; the effects can be achieved using traditional CGI animation.