Designed to improve the virtual production workflow for broadcast and cinema, the Virtual Production Tool Set is a pair of free software applications from Sony, the Camera and Display Plugin and the Color Calibrator.

Sony Electronics will demonstrate the latest version of the Virtual Production Tool Set at IBC 2024. The solution will be on display at the Sony booth, in Hall 13, during the event. The Virtual Production Tool Set is a pair of software applications, the Camera and Display Plugin and the Color Calibrator, that improve the virtual production workflow for broadcast and cinema – making it easier to get predictable, high-quality results. Both applications are free to download while some features will be available under a paid license.

The Camera and Display Plugin allows users to simulate a specific camera’s movement and settings on screen in a virtual space, prior to physical production with a LED wall. Version 2.0 of the Camera and Display Plugin expands the list of supported broadcast and cinema cameras to include BURANO, FR7, HDC-3500, HDC-5500, and HDC-F5500 adding to VENICE series.

A Windows 10 application

The Camera and Display Plugin allows productions to plan shots as well as leverage the tool’s improved custom Moire alert tool. ​ Version 2.0 also supports Epic Games’ Unreal VCam, making it possible to intuitively control cameras in virtual space using an iPad (at the time of launch the system is compatible with the VENICE series, BURANO, and FR7). Additionally, Sony offers a paid license for Live Camera Sync, which can instantly read changes in the settings of VENICE cameras and lenses on set and reflect them in the Unreal Engine Sony virtual camera settings.

Color Calibrator is a Windows 10 application that creates correction LUTs to achieve high color reproduction in Virtual Production stages and performs color correction (color calibration) of the installed LED walls. To use the LUT creation feature of the Color Calibrator, the calibration chart display function of the Camera and Display Plugin is required. This requires a license for the Camera and Display Plugin.

The LUTs calibrates the LED wall to the Sony camera color space to ensure that the colors visualized before filming match the colors captured while filming. Color Calibrator Version 2.0 supports color calibration via the newly added camera models as well as a user guide function that makes it easier to perform relevant adjustments. The Color Calibration tool is free but creating and exporting calibration LUTs is available through a paid license.