In LED-based virtual production, color management is a critical factor in ensuring the quality and consistency of the final image output. However, the production pipeline faces numerous challenges — from differences in production standards (SDR for asset creation) and display devices (LED walls, art monitors, cameras, on-set monitors), to the varying color spaces and color management systems across different DCC tools like Unreal Engine, Nuke, Maya, and DaVinci Resolve.
To tackle these challenges, I designed a complete virtual production color calibration and HDR production workflow built on ACES, OCIO (OpenColorIO), OVC (OpenVPCal), and Unreal Engine. The system covers a wide range of color algorithm solutions, hardware-software integration workflows, and pipeline optimizations — all aimed at delivering an efficient, reliable color management solution while pushing image quality higher through HDR output.
This workflow comprises two software tools (a calibration application and an art monitor application), along with an industrialized pipeline built around hardware integration. Compared to solutions from vendors like SONY and ARRI, this approach offers better cost-effectiveness, a smoother user experience, and stronger adaptability — and has already been successfully deployed on multiple virtual production projects.
This solution enables a fully end-to-end HDR production pipeline:
- HDR monitoring during pre-production (Unreal Engine, art monitors) or automatic texture upconversion;
- HDR monitoring during shooting (camera, on-set monitors) + LED HDR wall display + multi-screen HDR color calibration for unified display consistency;
- HDR monitoring for post-production footage review.
- This HDR solution is the first fully end-to-end HDR workflow in the Chinese virtual production industry to go live on an actual production.