An event of visions and chances – the Visual Media Lab Conference 2023

https://www.hdm-stuttgart.de/vmlab/conferences/VMLC

The Visual Media Lab Conference (VMLC) in Stuttgart brought together students and long-term professionals to present their works and ideas of the future of filmmaking and broadcasting. Over three days the participants were able to share visions and ideas and plan common projects at Hochschule der Medien, Stuttgart.

“If you have the chance between doing nothing and doing something – always do something.” 
said David Stump – Academy Award (“Oscar”) winner DoP, member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) and just one of the many professional speakers that attended the VMLC in Stuttgart.

David Stump (ASC) Foto: Samuel Tschaffon

And we can promise this much: A lot of work has been done from the 8th until the 10th of March, when visitors got the chance to dive deep into the newest technical topics of filmmaking and broadcasting: How to balance between HDR and SDR perfectly? What are the current practices in virtual production and what’s the best way to use LED-walls in virtual production? Through many interesting presentations, students as well as professionals from all around the world were able to not just learn, but also network and connect for common future projects.

Ingmar Rieger (Image Scientist at ARRI, Alumnus HdM). Foto: Samuel Tschaffon
Science & Technology
With a change in technology follows a change in the required skills and profiles of media professionals. Dominique Hoffmann (SWR) and Frank Heineberg (RTL) stated the importance of mixed teams with different experiences as you change the workflow by establishing HDR (High Dynamic Range) in TV shows and in the broadcasts of sport events. Trying to recreate cinematic looks, broadcasters are challenged with balancing possible distractions of the audience through conversion on the one hand and a much better focus on the other hand, as Pablo Garcia (Cromorama) put it. To dive really deep into the technical understanding, Sean Cooper and Ingmar Rieger (ARRI) informed the audience further on the right coding processes for lights and future developments of HDR. As a prime example of the advantages of cooperation, Dr. Hans Hoffmann (European Broadcasting Union/SMPTE) presented a new Student Chapter of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE). The chapter is founded by three universities including HdM and offers students a possibility to reach out and connect with other students, as well as peers and professionals from around the world and to have an insight into their work and knowledge.

Frank Heineberg (RTL). Foto: Samuel Tschaffon

Opening of SMPTE Student Chapter Germany: Prof. Stefan Albertz, Dr. Hans Hoffmann, Prof. Dr. Jan Fröhlich, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Ruppel. Foto: Samuel Tschaffon

SMPTE Student Chapter Germany Foto: Samuel Tschaffon

A new (virtual) reality
Especially with the use of Artificial Intelligence, virtual production in broadcasting and film has developed rapidly in the past years. The speakers, such as John Brown (OptiTrack), Marc Dauth (Pixomondo) or Daniel Schua (DoP, alumnus of HdM) agreed that by using virtual elements for projects, the workflow changes quite a bit, with a lot of things to be aware of. Combining cameras with a MoCap (Motion Capture) system together with LED-walls takes a lot of preparation and planning to work fluently. The workload will therefore shift more towards pre-production and possibilities of changing things in the post-production become limited.
While the use of Virtual Production has many advantages such as no travel costs, quick shootings and endless possibilities, it also comes with high studio costs, a limited set size and a lot of planning.
Still, the audience was stunned, when they got insights into different projects such as the feature film The Social Experiment or the student project The Tower, as well as in high budget productions such as House of the Dragon, The Mandalorian or the Netflix mystery series 1899 – which was produced in the Dark Bay Virtual Production Studios of Babelsberg (Christian Kästner - Framestore, Christina Caspers-Römer - Trixter, Tobias Stärk - Woodblock). 
Despite its challenges, Virtual Production offers endless options and will surely play a massive role in the new cinematographic landscape. Or to quote Ralf Drechsler (Hyperbowl): “In just two years it has developed so much, I can’t even imagine what the next two years will bring. It is fascinating.”

Prof. Jan Adamczyk (Visual Effects Society, VES). Foto: Samuel Tschaffon

Elfi Kerscher (Plaza Media). Foto: Samuel Tschaffon

Christian Kästner (Framestore), Christina Caspers-Römer (Trixter). Foto: Samuel Tschaffon

Artists working together
Every participant of VMLC could feel the fascination of an ever-developing field of work and an optimistic perspective towards the future – be it lecturers, students or professional guests. In a concluding panel discussion, Prof. Stefan Grandinetti and Alexander Böhle (Berufsverband Kinematografie) invited several speakers of the conference and special guest DoP Jost Vacano (ASC, BVK) – famous for filming the award-winning classic Das Boot (1981) – to talk about the future of cinematography. Talking about the rise of new technologies and the different opportunities they offer, there was one thing that they all agreed on: Behind every successful project – there is a motivated and inspired team that helps each other out.
And this is, what this year’s VMLC stood for: Work together, acknowledge each other’s work, and never stop exploring.
To come back to David Stump: 
A lot of experience and progress has been made in these past years.
A lot of it was shared at VMLC.
A lot will be done on this foundation in the future.

Julia Isabel Leber (Alumna HdM) Philippe Ros (AFC) Foto: Samuel Tschaffon

IMAGO Technical Committee (ITC) at VMLC: Philippe Ros (AFC), Aleksej Berkovich (RGC), David Stump (ASC), Stefan Grandinetti (BVK), Dirk Meier (BVK, CSI), Daniele Siragusano and Andy Minuth (FilmLight). Foto: Samuel Tschaffon

Panel discussion BVK-CineTalk about the Future of Cinematography in Virtual Production: David Stump (ASC), Jost Vacano (ASC, BVK), Daniel Schua (Alumnus HdM). Foto: Samuel Tschaffon

Poster Sessions and Networking Parties at VMLC in HdM-Studios. Foto: Samuel Tschaffon

CITO (Cinematography in Progress - Journal) workshop at VMLC: Researching and Teaching Virtual Cinematography. Yu-Lun (Luc) Sung (School of Arts and Creative Industries, London), Prof. Dr. Tony Costa, (Universidade Lusófona, Lisbon), Prof. Ella van den Hove (Institut Supérieur des Arts, Bruxelles), Prof. Stefan Grandinetti (HdM).

Fabulous Student Team of VMLC-2023 Foto: Samuel Tschaffon