On October 23-24, 15 women from Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland came together at FilmGear, Copenhagen, for a two-day virtual production workshop. The workshop is a partnership between Netflix and The Institute of Immersive Media (IIM). It is the second edition of the Women in Virtual Production training, and the first to take place in the Nordics.
Virtual production combines live-action filmmaking with digital technology, creating new roles and career paths across film and TV. The programme helps women already working in the industry add this technique to their toolkit and widen their career options.
The participants work across various disciplines within film production — including cinematography, directing, producing, lighting and VFX — and have a least five years of experience. None of them have worked in virtual production before, but were all selected based on their interest in the technology.
On day one, participants explored the choices that shape a virtual production, from LED walls, camera tracking and lighting to budget and color workflow. Day two was a full production day. Working from a creative brief, participants built, filmed and reviewed their own scene. Experienced virtual production professionals led the sessions, with guest speakers from IIM and Netflix.
Christina Caspers, Co-founder, Institute of Immersive Media (IIM)“Virtual production is one of the fastest-evolving areas of our industry, and women deserve an equal place in shaping it. Right now, they don’t have one. This initiative exists to change that by giving women hands-on experience, practical skills, and a network that helps them move into key roles.”
Jenny Stjernströmer Björk, Content Director, Netflix Nordics“To continue telling the best Nordic stories, we need an industry that is inclusive and built on different perspectives. That is why we also need more women working within virtual production. It has been a pleasure to work with the Institute of Immersive Media on this initiative, and I hope the participants leave here with renewed confidence, new skills and connections that will be valuable to them in their careers going forward.”
Maggie Olkuska, Director of Photography“I feel incredibly grateful to have been one of 15 women from Scandinavia invited to the Virtual Production Training. I was blown away by the passion, quality and depth of the training. We learned from visionary filmmakers and virtual production specialists, each sharing their own perspective, experience and approach to this technology and this method of telling stories and working as a team. We explored not only what it makes possible, but also its limitations and how to use it in practice.”
Lena Milovic, Film Director“It has been incredibly inspiring to meet so many skilled and committed filmmakers, exchange experiences and gain insight into different creative perspectives. The workshop has given me not only new professional skills, but also a valuable network of people I hope to exchange ideas and collaborate with on future projects.”
Marika Markaroff, Producer, Creative Director and Founder of Gutzy Animation“It was great to see all the women talent in the room. We came at this with different backgrounds and skillsets which was very productive. There can be both social, educational and work place barriers for women working in the technical field, and there are few female role models in the tech industry. The workshop felt like an important initiative to change this and try to create a more inclusive environment. There’s definitely not a lack of women talent, but there are still many stereotypes and many challenges for women working in this field.”
Agapi Christina Triantafillidis, Cinematographer“It means a lot to be able to mirror experiences in those of fellow pracitioners, share input and know that there are like-minded women colleagues in the Nordics. We need to challenge traditional notions of where men and women belong in these industries. Technical skills, creativity and the ability to make good films are not about gender, but about interest, experience and competencies.”
