On-Set VFX Support
VFX support that strengthens your offering without increasing overhead. Visualskies provides industry-standard capture kit for hire, backed by the technical expertise to run it: terrestrial LiDAR, aerial systems, object scanning and environment capture. We integrate into your workflow so every scan and dataset arrives production-ready.
What VFX Support
Means On a Live Set
VFX support is the on-set capture service that records a physical set, location, prop or performer as accurate 3D data, so the visual effects team can rebuild, extend or replace it later in post. It covers the survey-grade kit, the trained operators who run it, and the processing that turns raw scans into assets a VFX pipeline can open on day one.
Most productions need this capability for a handful of days across a shoot, not permanently. Buying a Leica scanner, an RTK drone and a photogrammetry rig ties up capital and needs specialists to operate them. Hiring VFX support gives you the same capability on the days you actually need it, which is why studios and facilities use it to widen what they can offer without carrying the overhead.
Visualskies has worked in 3D capture for more than thirty years, and our VFX support work spans feature film, episodic television, commercials and virtual production. We are based in London and travel worldwide. You can see the range of work on our 3D scanning projects page, or read more about the specialists who run the kit.
A VFX support brief usually starts with a conversation about what post actually needs. A set that will be extended upwards needs different coverage from one that will be replaced entirely, and a performer who will appear as a digital double needs a different capture approach again. Working that out before the shoot day is what stops a crew arriving with the wrong kit, and it is why we ask about the shot list rather than just the schedule.
On a typical shoot day that means several kinds of data captured in parallel. Structure comes from laser scanning, surface detail and colour from photogrammetry, lighting from bracketed HDRI, and anything moving or unrepeatable from a synchronised camera array. Cast and hero props are scanned separately, usually in a quiet corner between setups rather than on the shooting floor. Each of those streams answers a different question in post, which is why VFX support is rarely a single piece of kit.
The other half of the job is the handover. Raw scan data is not an asset until it has been registered, cleaned, decimated and named to a convention your artists recognise. Our capture services cover that processing step, so what lands with the facility is something they can open and use immediately rather than a folder of files somebody has to interpret first.
Who VFX Support Is For
- VFX supervisors and facilitiesBring in VFX support for a specific show without hiring permanent crew or buying hardware that sits idle between projects.
- Production and line producersBook VFX support as a fixed, quotable line item on the schedule, rather than discovering a missing asset in post when the set is gone.
- Virtual production teamsBuild accurate digital twins of real locations for LED volume work, in-camera VFX and virtual scouting before the shoot begins.
- Art department and constructionCapture a built set before strike so it can be rebuilt digitally, matched for reshoots, or extended beyond what was physically constructed.
Capture Kit
For Every Brief
Five categories of capture kit cover almost every VFX support brief we are asked for. Every item earns its place on working sets, not in a showroom. We slot into your call sheet, capture between takes, QC the data the same day, and hand over production-ready datasets.
Terrestrial LiDAR
Set & Location
Scanning
- Leica RTC360 Interior setsHigh-speed laser scanning with automated registration. Our workhorse for high-volume interior set digitisation. See the manufacturer specification for full performance figures.
- Trimble X7 Rapid stage workSelf-calibrating LiDAR with streamlined workflows. Best when turnaround on stage is tight and the unit is waiting to move on.
- Leica P50 Exteriors & vistasLong-range, high-accuracy scanning for massive exterior locations and environments, including backlot and city-scale work.
Aerial Capture
Drone &
Photogrammetry
- DJI Matrice 300 + Sony 61MP · RTKEnterprise RTK drone paired with a 61MP full-frame Sony sensor. Approx. 30 to 35 min flight time with payload, for large-area photogrammetry.
- DJI Mavic 3 4/3 CMOS · 43 minCompact aerial system, up to 43 min flight time. Our go-to for accessible aerial photogrammetry on tighter locations.
- DJI Mini 5 Pro 1″ CMOS · 34 minLightweight drone, up to 34 min flight time. Fast to deploy where larger aircraft cannot go or where access is restricted.
Object & Character
Props &
Digital Doubles
- Artec Leo Wireless · real-timeHandheld scanner delivering real-time, high-resolution geometry and texture. No tether, no processing rig, so it works between takes. More detail on our object scanning page.
- DSLR Scanning Kit Polarised flashHigh-resolution photogrammetry for texture-rich assets, hero props and digital doubles. Polarised ring flash available for clean albedo.
Environment & Plate
HDRI & 360°
Capture
- HDRI Kit Lighting referenceBracketed 360° HDR capture for accurate on-set lighting reference that drops straight into your comp pipeline.
- Roundshot Seamless 360°Motorised polarised system for seamless 360° environments and clean, repeatable plate capture. Pairs with our environment scanning service.
Sync Arrays
Multi-Camera
Reference
- GoPro Media Mod Array 16-cam · timecodeUp to 16-camera sync array with frame-accurate timecode metadata. Consistent multi-angle reference for crowd scenes, stunts and complex action that would be impossible to recreate.
Don’t see what you need?
We offer bespoke VFX support solutions and can source or configure specialist setups to meet the specific demands of your production. Training and experienced operators are also available on request.
A Scan Day With Us
You have enough moving parts on a shoot day. Our job is to be the department that just works: on the call sheet, out of the way, and wrapped with the data verified. This is how a typical VFX support day runs.
Brief
Tell us what you are shooting, where and when. We come back with a kit recommendation and a day rate, no obligation.
Prep
Kit tested, batteries doubled, redundancy packed. Our operators arrive on your call sheet ready to slot into the schedule.
Capture
We work around the unit: between takes, during turnarounds, at wrap. Full coverage without costing you a single setup.
QC On Set
Every dataset is checked before we leave. Nothing gets discovered missing three weeks later in post.
Delivery
Registered, cleaned and named to your pipeline spec. Delivered through Volustor or straight into your existing workflow.
Strike Day Insurance
Sets get struck, locations get handed back, actors move on. A VFX support day costs a fraction of a rebuild, and once it is scanned, it is yours forever. The cheapest time to capture a set is while it is still standing, and the decision usually has to be made weeks before anyone knows whether the shot will need it. That asymmetry is the whole argument: a capture day is a small, known cost against an unknown one that only appears when the option to fix it cheaply has already gone.
When To Bring In
VFX Support
Capture is cheapest and most useful when it happens at the right moment in the schedule. These are the three points in a production where VFX support earns its place most often.
Before The Build
Scanning a location during prep gives the art department and VFX a shared, measurable reference before anything is constructed. Set designers can check that a build fits the space, and VFX can plan extensions against real geometry rather than a sketch.
This is also when environment scanning feeds virtual scouting, letting directors and heads of department walk a location remotely and lock decisions before the unit travels.
While It Still Exists
The main window for on-set VFX support is principal photography, when the set is dressed, lit and standing. We capture geometry, lighting reference and texture in the same condition the camera saw it, which is what makes a digital extension match the plate.
Because we work between takes and during turnarounds, this coverage usually costs the production no dedicated setups. Cast scanning for digital doubles also happens here, while the actors and their costume are already on site.
Reshoots & Pickups
Once a set is struck, a scan is often the only way to put it back. Accurate capture means pickups can be shot against a rebuilt digital environment, or a sequence can be extended without recalling the crew and reconstructing the build.
Productions that scanned early almost never regret it. The ones that did not are the reason we get called when a set has already gone and the shot still has to work.
VFX Support For
Virtual Production
In-camera VFX only works if the digital world measures the same as the physical one. When a camera tracking system moves the frustum on an LED volume, any error between the scanned environment and the stage geometry shows up immediately as slippage in the plate. Accurate capture is what stops that happening.
That is why virtual production teams book VFX support during prep rather than after the stage is lit. We scan the real location, process it into engine-ready geometry, and hand over an environment that lines up when the tracking is live. The same dataset then serves virtual scouting, previs and the final comp, so departments are working from one source rather than three approximations.
We deliver Unreal-ready environments and Gaussian splats alongside conventional meshes, and we can match the scale, origin and orientation conventions your stage already uses. If you are running a volume, tell us at briefing stage and we will capture with that workflow in mind.
LED Volume Plates
Real environments captured at sufficient fidelity to sit behind principal photography without reading as a backdrop.
Virtual Scouting
Walkable versions of real locations so directors and heads of department can plan coverage before travelling.
Previs & Techvis
Measured geometry for blocking, crane and camera plans that hold up when the unit reaches the location.
Set Extension
Accurate structure and lighting reference so extensions match the built portion of the set exactly.
Production-Ready Data,
Not Homework
A scan is only useful if it drops straight into your pipeline. Everything our VFX support team hands over is registered, cleaned and formatted to your spec: ready for tracking, layout, environments and lookdev without a conversion pass.
Point Clouds
Registered and cleaned, delivered in the format your tracking and layout teams already use.
Meshes
Decimation levels to order: from proxy geometry for layout to dense meshes for hero work.
HDRI
Bracketed 360° lighting reference, unclipped and colour-managed for accurate CG lighting.
Plates & 360°
Seamless environment plates and 360° captures for set extensions and backgrounds.
Digital Doubles
High-resolution scans of cast and hero props with texture sets ready for lookdev.
Real-Time Assets
Engine-ready environments for virtual scouting, previs and in-camera VFX workflows.
Working to a pipeline spec? Send it over: naming conventions, formats, colour space. We deliver to it. If several vendors are sharing the same capture, we can prepare a different package for each of them from one scan rather than making the facilities convert between formats themselves.
Volustor:
Your Virtual Pipeline
Capture from the field. Process in the cloud. Volustor is the secure bridge between the physical set and the VFX house, and the delivery route for most of our VFX support work. More than storage, it is a collaborative engine that keeps your data moving from first scan to final delivery.
Capture
Use Voluscan to scan and upload directly from your phone. Quick reference captures without dedicated hardware.
Store
Secure cloud storage for all raw assets. AES-256 encryption, enterprise SSO, strict multi-tenant data isolation.
Process
Remote server-side rendering handles massive datasets while you move to the next location. No render farm in your van.
Review
Instant web-based previews and sharing for VFX supervisors. Finished assets delivered back into your project folder with zero friction.
Working To
Your Pipeline
Good VFX support is judged on what happens after the shoot day. A scan that needs a week of cleanup before anyone can open it has moved work rather than removed it, so we treat processing and naming as part of the job rather than an extra.
Before the shoot we ask for your pipeline specification: the formats your tracking and layout teams use, your naming conventions, decimation levels for proxy and hero geometry, and the colour space your comp team works in. If you do not have one written down, we will suggest a sensible default and confirm it with your vendors.
Because VFX support is often booked by production rather than by the facility receiving the data, we regularly deliver into facilities we are not otherwise working with, so handing data to a third-party vendor is routine. Access can be granted directly through Volustor, which means finished assets arrive in the right project folder without anyone shipping drives. Our technical team can talk directly to your pipeline TDs if that is faster than going through production.
Where a show has an unusual requirement, such as a bespoke rig, a specific scanner or a capture method we have not been asked for before, we would rather build it properly than force the brief through kit that nearly fits.
- Send usShot list, schedule, locations, and the vendors receiving the data.
- We confirmKit list, crew, access requirements and a day rate.
- On the dayCapture around the unit, with data checked before wrap.
- HandoverRegistered, cleaned, named and delivered to spec.
- AfterAssets stay available for pickups, reshoots and future seasons.
Ready to Brief Us?
Tell us what you are shooting, where, and when. We will come back with a VFX support kit recommendation, the right crew and a day rate. No obligation, no spreadsheet to fill in.