The Role of Educational Environments in Influencing the Experience of Women and Gender Diverse People in the Virtual Production Sector

As a new means of filmmaking that harnesses game engine technology to create ‘previsualised’ screen content, virtual production (VP) impacts filmmaking workflows in ways the screen industry is just beginning to reckon with. Several industry leaders have championed the developments brought about by VP, suggesting that the zero cost of accessing these technologies might ‘allow a greater diversity of individuals to tell unique stories’ (Jobin, 2022, The catalysts, standards, and diffusions of virtual production technologies and workflows: Perspectives from key stakeholders. PhD thesis, Baylor University). However, in drawing as it does from pipeline industries like film and games that have grappled in recent years with #MeToo and gender pay gaps, VP may import workplace cultures that continue to make it difficult for women and gender diverse people to succeed in the workforce. This chapter considers questions about careers and opportunities for women and gender diverse people in the VP sector in relation to the educational environment in which workforces are developed and framed. Educational environments where VP skills are taught have an impact on worker expectations which they will carry forward as they enter the sector. We offer an analysis of preliminary data drawn from interviews with tertiary instructors involved in VP education around Australia as part of a developing project about gender equity in Australia in the VP sector.