VuFinder Studios’ Virtual Production-First Approach Anticipates the Future

Melania Kulczycka didn’t always work in production but you could say that production is in her blood. At university, Melania studied aerospace engineering before moving to the UK to work with the military to design training missions in virtual and mixed reality. So far, so unusual. Yet Melania was always interested in production as Jacek Kulczucki, her dad, would come home and tell her all about the weird and wonderful world of the OTO Film group, which houses seven different companies and is responsible for over 2000 ads. 

It was with the advent of virtual production however that Melania felt that her interest was really piqued, citing her “more technical and mathematical rather than artistic” character. Today, she’s VuFinder Studios’ client services director tasked with overseeing client relationships and also educating the industry on the developments and capabilities of virtual production since they’re evolving in real time. An expert on all things VP, Melania wants the industry to embrace the creative capabilities of this game-changing tech, saying that “We are only limited by our minds.”

To date the company has created a number of stunning virtual environments. Some, like ‘Red Planet Mars’, help viewers to realistically picture what the topography of an unknown planet looks like; others, like Choctaw Casino, present stylised and funky visuals that instantly create a mood. Other work includes BMW, Veet, Calgon, Vanish, and Cillit Bang for international markets spanning the US, Europe, and Australia, with international directors and DPs.

Today, we caught up with Melania to learn more about VuFinder, its advantageous Warsaw location, and to ask her all about why virtual production is so exciting right now plus what’s next for the company. 

Above: 'Red Planet Mars'

LBB> Tell us a little bit about how you first developed your interest in production and how you got your start in the industry?

Melania> My interest in production started a long time ago. My dad, Jacek Kulczycki - the owner of seven different film companies in the OTO Film group, has always told me about his work. I always listened to his stories with a lot of interest. I was always intrigued by how his days are very different from each other and how you can never be bored in this industry. However, my natural talents were more technical and mathematical rather than artistic. Throughout my professional career, I was working with new technologies including virtual reality. When a completely new technology – virtual production – appeared on the horizon, I couldn’t say no. It was a perfect mix between the engineering and the fast-paced film industry. We started talking with Jacek about opening a new company that would take care of virtual production. I couldn’t do it without him and I have a feeling that he wouldn’t do it without me. A perfect situation. That’s how I started working with virtual production.

LBB> What’s your career history prior to VuFinder?

Melania> I studied aerospace engineering at the Warsaw University of Technology and after that, I moved to the UK to gain some experience and step out of my comfort zone. I was responsible for designing UK military training missions in virtual and mixed reality. That was an eye-opening experience as I learned how powerful this technology is. Later, I moved towards a managing position to keep developing my skills. After a few years, I decided to move back home and fully switch to virtual production.

LBB> VuFinder was first incubated by OTO Group. How did it become its own entity - what was the thinking behind that move?

Melania> Yes, initially virtual production was one of the services of OTO Film. Initially, we were learning about this technology and testing it. The first bundle of commercials ended up a great success and that was the moment when we realised the size of the potential of this technology. Virtual production and traditional production are very different from each other. Virtual production requires highly specialised Unreal artists, technicians, and virtual production supervisors. It was better to keep these two areas separate and have people specialised in particular fields in separate companies. Despite the fact that VuFinder Studios work often with OTO Film, it is important to highlight that we are not exclusive. VuFinder is happy to offer the services to other companies as well.

LBB> How big is the team right now? Do you plan to grow over the next year or two?

Melania> Currently, our team consists of 14 people and that includes Unreal artists, an art director, virtual production supervisors, producers, production managers, assistants, technical support and others. We are planning to grow, I think over the next two years we will double the size of the company, and I believe there will be about 30 people working with VuFinder over the next two years.

Above: behind the scenes on the Choctaw Casino spot shoot

LBB> What does your role as the client director entail? 

Melania> My main responsibilities are keeping in touch with clients and finding new projects. I try to promote the company at different conferences and festivals, and educate people on virtual production. Honestly, I do much more than being just a client director. I take care of the marketing and sales as well. It can be sometimes very tiring but also extremely satisfying at the same time!

LBB> As experts in virtual production, you work with a lot of tech. What tools do you have to help your clients make their creative vision come to life?

Melania> We use a lot of artificial intelligence. Using text-to-image or image-to-image generators we can quickly visualise the ideas and make sure that we and the client are on the same page. That usually happens in the early stage of the project when all the details still need to be confirmed. 

When it comes to shooting and the tools we use it’s usually Unreal Engine, LED screens, and a tracking system. Unreal Engine is a computer game engine that we use to create virtual worlds. The 3D environments are fully controllable. We can change all the props, landscape weather, or time of the day. Once the virtual scenography is done, we display it on a large LED wall that is located in our studio. The LED screen is positioned behind the actors and physical set construction, meaning that the virtual environment acts as a background in a scene. Finally, the tracking system is used to locate the physical camera in space. The physical camera is synchronised with the virtual camera, meaning that when we move the physical camera, the perspective in the virtual environment changes. It creates an unbelievable illusion of reality for the audience.

LBB> VuFinder is based in Warsaw. Why is Warsaw such an advantageous location for local and international clients alike?

Melania> Warsaw is an amazing city and capital of Poland. I like to compare Warsaw to a smaller Berlin or London. You still have the big city feeling but you don’t feel overwhelmed by it. With the strategic location, Warsaw is easily accessible as we have two airports and a flight from Berlin or London takes only 50 minutes or 2 hours accordingly. We have amazing restaurants, hotels, and modern infrastructure. Every part of Warsaw is different and everyone can find something to like. Apart from that, we have extremely skilled film crews. They are all hard working and have a strong educational background. We have very good film schools in Poland. And last but not least, Poland is still more cost-effective than other European locations. 

LBB> You’ve created some amazing locations for clients in the past - do you have any that stand out to you in particular? 

Melania> We created numerous virtual locations. My favourite one that really shows what can be achieved using virtual production is the red planet, Mars. We recreated the location based on references from the client and the effect is stunning. The combination of the virtual assets and the physical sand and rocks creates an extreme illusion of reality. The two worlds blend together seamlessly.

LBB> Virtual production is increasingly popular. What do you think is driving this? What do you see the advantages of VP to be?

Melania> There are numerous advantages of virtual production. We can shoot up to five completely different locations in one shooting day, which is impossible when using traditional film production. We have the liberty of creating virtual environments and we can create any existing or non-existing location. Futuristic cities, Willy Wonka landscapes, different planets, historic streets or anything you can imagine. We are only limited by our minds. Since virtual environments are fully controllable, we can have a perfectly sunny, warm day in our studio when it’s cold and rainy outside. 

Also, virtual production is a sustainable method of filmmaking. We don’t have to travel to distant places like Thailand or South Africa. The whole production can take place in one studio. In addition, the virtual production is fully immersive, the actors can see the background meaning that they don’t have to imagine it as with green screens. As a result, their acting is more natural. A great example of another advantage is a car scene. The LED wall emits light, so you can see the reflections in the car body. We can move the displayed image on the LED wall and you will see that change in the reflections. I could list many more advantages but these are the most important ones.

LBB> And how do you see VP evolving over the next couple of years?

Melania> The technology is constantly changing. Epic Games releases a new version of Unreal Engine every couple of months. The progress is unbelievable. Recently they presented metahumans. They recorded a person using an iPhone camera and converted the recorded person into a metahuman – a virtual person. This has great potential for shooting scenes with hundreds of extras on a film set. For example, a stadium can be full of metahumans that move and behave differently. That would save a significant amount of money. I believe that in the future, we will be able to create virtual elements that would be impossible to differentiate from the real ones. AI will definitely help us with that.

LBB> Thinking about all the projects you’ve done to date, which ones stand out to you the most?

Melania> The one that stands out the most is the Choctaw Casinos & Resorts commercial. Two people were sent to gather the footage of the casino in Oklahoma. After that, we could display the virtual casino on our LED wall. Thanks to that, the client didn’t have to close the casino for commercial purposes. We recorded the whole commercial in our studio in Warsaw. Have a look at the colours that we used in this commercial. I believe the effect is just mesmerising.

LBB> What’s next on VuFinder?

Melania> Next, we are planning to shoot more commercials and feature films. We cannot disclose the details yet but I hope you will be able to hear more about it soon. Our in-house team of Unreal Artists is working intensively on creating stunning virtual locations for clients. Other than that, we continue to promote virtual production and our services at different festivals and business events. If that sounds interesting to you we can meet and talk in Cannes this year!