In this article, we explore how the recent proliferation of the virtual production stage with its promise of real-time visual effects has not only changed the working environment of the film studio, but also introduced an urgent need for new training and teaching approaches – not only for current and future film students, but also for educators and practitioners. This case study examines a research project involving students from Ravensbourne University London, UK, in collaboration with industry partner Mo-Sys Engineering, a leading manufacturer of virtual production solutions. The complex demands of new, multidisciplinary job roles in virtual production have created a skills shortage in the UK film and television industry. We illustrate the challenges of training not only film students but also educators for a continually changing workplace dominated by disruptive technologies and shifting skill sets.

Cinematic sound design workflows are well-established and refined over many years of practice and scholarly review, and the creative and technical approaches resulting from this are widely adopted and used. Until recently, these approaches were partially dictated by the conventions and limitations of the underlying visual medium: the cinematic screen. Nevertheless, the ongoing technological revolution brings radical changes in the way we approach and consume creative media content and the accompanying soundtracks. Long-established cinematic sound design conventions are challenged and transformed, as emerging cinematic sound systems allow for greater creative freedom and more precise sound spatialisation. At the same time, advanced virtual reality (VR) systems provide an opportunity to break the boundaries of the screen and allow filmmakers to explore new ways of creative expression. With this comes an increased demand for specialised audio content that utilises the unique technological and creative characteristics of the VR medium. Through discussions and commentary based on secondary research and a series of interviews with sound design and filmmaking practitioners, this study aims at identifying some of the creative and practical opportunities and challenges sound designers may encounter when working in VR projects with a cinematic narrative structure and orientation. Ultimately, the study seeks to assist sound designers, VR filmmakers, and immersive media practitioners in better contextualising and defining the potential roles of the soundtrack in VR filmmaking and the associated workflows, contributing to the ongoing dialogue as the language of the new medium is being developed.

Background: Higher-immersion virtual reality (VR) systems are increasingly deployed across education, clinical care, gaming, and immersive journalism, but the extent, range, and nature of the peer-reviewed evidence linking system immersion to user outcomes has not been systematically mapped. Objective: This scoping review maps the peer-reviewed journal literature comparing higher- to lower-immersion VR conditions, characterising how the evidence is distributed across application domains, outcome constructs, measurement instruments, and study designs, and identifying knowledge gaps. Methods: Following the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR), we searched five databases and screened 135 full-text reports. Eligibility was restricted to peer-reviewed journal articles (excluding preprints, conference proceedings, book chapters, and theses) reporting an empirical higher- vs. lower-immersion contrast with extractable quantitative outcome data. Data were charted descriptively; no inferential meta-analytic pooling or certainty rating was performed, consistent with scoping review methodology. Results: Forty-six journal articles met the inclusion criteria, of which 45 provided chartable effect-size data spanning 2019–2026. Evidence concentrated in Gaming and Entertainment (k = 16) and Education and Training (k = 14), with smaller bodies in Journalism and Prosocial Communication (k = 8) and Clinical and Rehabilitation (k = 7). Across studies, the standardised mean difference (Hedges’ g) had a median of 0.79 (range −0.98 to 3.79); 41 of 45 studies favoured the higher-immersion condition and 36 did so with confidence intervals excluding zero. Presence and immersion were the most frequently measured constructs (26/45); measurement instruments were heterogeneous. Conclusions: Peer-reviewed evidence consistently points toward higher system immersion enhancing user outcomes, especially presence-related constructs, but is methodologically fragmented, dominated by small between-subjects studies, and sparse in clinical contexts. The map identifies priorities for future confirmatory synthesis.

Virtual Production (VP) techniques are claimed to be changing areas of filmmaking but how might an artist from outside these industries and these modes of production use them? VP has been promoted as an accessible filmmaking technique in recent years. However, as a specialist area of filmmaking, and one built around meticulous planning and pre-visualisation, what barriers might a new, non-filmmaker, user experience? Is it possible to achieve satisfying results on a relatively limited budget? In our practice-based project, an artist brought an experimental approach to making and a conceptual interest in the techniques themselves, rather than a way to achieve pre-visualised shots and looks. The focus was not on evaluating VP’s effectiveness as a production pipeline, but on how VP constraints and assumptions are navigated and challenged by an artist from outside established film/media production practices.