Postgraduate Spotlight: Thomas Martel on Studying MSc Virtual Production at ALT

Can you tell us about your virtual production project?

My virtual production project is a short film called Esoterica. It is a psychological and metaphysical drama that explores themes of belonging, curiosity, fate and moral responsibility. 

The story follows a group of disconnected university students who perform a ritual from an ancient book, initially as an act of curiosity and a way of feeling connected to one another. However, when the ritual unexpectedly works, one of them is taken to another realm and confronted with an extraordinary choice: they are given God-like power to decide the fate of the world. The film ends at the moment of choice, inviting the audience to reflect on power, consequence and human nature.

Visually and thematically, Esoterica draws inspiration from philosophical cinema such as The Seventh Seal, while also using virtual production techniques to create an off-world, metaphysical environment. As both director and producer, the project became an opportunity to combine storytelling, technical experimentation and research into the creative potential of virtual production.

How did virtual production elevate the film and what aspects did it allow you to achieve that wouldn’t have been possible without it?

Virtual production elevated Esoterica by allowing the film’s most important metaphysical moments to feel immediate, immersive and visually distinct from the ordinary world of the students.

Using an Unreal Engine pipeline and an LED volume enabled me to create an off-world beach environment for the creature scenes, giving the film a sense of otherworldliness that would have been very difficult to achieve on a no-budget production through traditional location shooting or post-production alone.

One of the biggest advantages was that the environment was visible in-camera and to the performers in real time. That meant the actors were not performing against an abstract green screen, but responding to a world they could actually see, which helped the atmosphere and performances feel more grounded and believable. It also allowed the lighting from the virtual environment to interact naturally with the subjects, helping to create a more immersive image.

Virtual production was also valuable in pre-production, as I previsualised the entire film in Unreal Engine. For a no-budget project, that was incredibly useful because it allowed me to plan blocking, framing and pacing in advance, test creative ideas early, and identify which scenes would benefit most from the LED volume. In that sense, virtual production was not only a filming medium, but also a planning and worldbuilding tool.

Without virtual production, it would have been much harder to create the film’s metaphysical realm with the same level of ambition. It allowed me to move beyond simply filming realistic spaces and instead use technology to support the story’s larger themes.

How did you go from idea to final product?

The process began with the story idea and the themes I wanted to explore, particularly disconnection, belonging, ritual and moral choice. From the outset, I knew I wanted the film to move from a recognisable student reality into something more metaphysical and otherworldly, so the concept was developed alongside the question of how virtual production could help realise that shift visually.

 Once the idea was established, I moved into pre-production by developing the script and previsualising the entire film in Unreal Engine. This was a major part of the process, as it allowed me to test framing, blocking, pacing and transitions between the ordinary world and the off-world realm before shooting. It also helped me decide which scenes would benefit most from the LED volume, so virtual production became part of the planning process as well as the final shoot.

 During production, I worked as both director and producer, balancing the creative side of the project with the realities of making the film on a very limited budget. The LED volume was used specifically for the creature scenes and the off-world beach environment, while the rest of the film was shot more conventionally. Working this way meant we could focus resources on the moments where virtual production would have the greatest impact.

Like many independent projects, the film continued to evolve in post-production. We refined the visual style and made creative choices that strengthened the final identity of the film, including finishing it in black and white, which gave it a more unified and atmospheric aesthetic and connected well with one of its key influences, The Seventh Seal.

Overall, the journey from idea to final product was both creative and experimental. It involved writing, previs, production, problem-solving and post-production refinement, and it showed me how virtual production can shape story, performance and visual identity from the earliest stages of filmmaking.

What did your virtual environment consist of and what software did you use to bring this to life?

The virtual environment was designed to represent an off-world beach, which appears during the film’s creature scenes and marks the shift from ordinary reality into a more metaphysical realm. Rather than creating a fully realistic location, I wanted the environment to feel liminal and otherworldly, somewhere that suggested distance, awe and uncertainty. It was intended to support the film’s themes of fate, transcendence and moral choice, while also giving the audience a clear visual contrast with the grounded setting at the start of the film.

To bring this environment to life, I worked with fellow alumni Lukas Westbury and Olive Kitteridge, and they used an Unreal Engine pipeline. That allowed us to experiment with the look and structure of the world early on, as well as plan how the virtual space would work in relation to performance, camera movement and blocking. The final environment was then displayed using an LED volume for the key scenes involving the creature and the other realm.

One of the most valuable aspects of using this workflow was that it connected design, pre-production and filming together. Unreal Engine allowed us to build and test the world digitally, while the LED volume brought that world into the physical production space, so the actors and camera could interact with it in real time. For Esoterica, the environment was not just a backdrop, but part of the emotional and philosophical experience of the story.

Were there any challenges in the project that you had to overcome?

 As with any ambitious creative project, there were challenges along the way, but overcoming them became one of the most valuable parts of the experience. One of the biggest lessons was understanding just how important preparation is within virtual production workflows. Working with the LED volume highlighted the level of planning and coordination involved, and that in itself was a hugely useful part of the learning process.

We also encountered some technical issues during production, including moiré on the LED wall and some visual inconsistencies in relation to the original colour brief. However, these moments became opportunities to adapt creatively and think like a filmmaker rather than simply follow the initial plan. The final decision to present the film in black and white ultimately gave Esoterica a stronger visual identity, enhanced its atmosphere, and reinforced its thematic connection to The Seventh Seal.

The project was also made on a very limited budget, with much of that going towards creature makeup, so it required careful prioritisation throughout. That challenge actually sharpened the process, as it encouraged me to use the LED volume selectively for the scenes where it would have the greatest impact, while relying on Unreal Engine previz and careful planning to make the most of the resources available.

Overall, the challenges were a positive part of the project because they pushed me to problem-solve, adapt and make stronger creative decisions. They also reinforced how valuable it is to study in an environment that encourages experimentation with industry-relevant technologies, while giving students the space to learn through practice.

What made you decide to study MSc Virtual Production at ALT?

I decided to study the MSc in Virtual Production at ALT because I was really interested in the future of filmmaking and how emerging technologies are changing the way stories can be developed and realised on screen. Virtual production sits at a fascinating point between creative practice and technical innovation, and I wanted to build skills in both areas rather than treat them as separate disciplines.

I am also a media lecturer at Barnsley College, so undertaking this master’s has been part of an upskilling process for me professionally as well as creatively. A major motivation was to develop my own knowledge of the latest workflows and technologies so that I can bring that experience back into further education teaching and continue to develop my courses in ways that reflect current industry practice.

 What appealed to me about ALT specifically was the opportunity to study virtual production in a hands-on, practice-based environment. I wanted a course that would allow me to experiment creatively, develop technical confidence, and apply those ideas directly to my own filmmaking projects. The programme offered that balance of research, production and industry-relevant workflow, which made it particularly attractive.

It also felt like the right degree for the kind of filmmaker and educator I want to be. I am interested not only in telling stories, but in understanding how new tools such as Unreal Engine, LED volumes and virtual environments can expand what is possible artistically, especially for independent film production. Studying at ALT has given me the chance to explore that in a very direct and meaningful way through a project like Esoterica, while also helping me bring new knowledge and contemporary production methods back into the classroom.

What have you enjoyed most about your degree and what skills have you learnt?

What I have enjoyed most about the degree is the way it has combined creativity, research and emerging technology in a very practical way. It has given me the opportunity to explore new forms of filmmaking while also thinking critically about how and why these tools matter. I have particularly enjoyed being able to develop a project like Esoterica through both creative experimentation and technical problem-solving, and seeing how virtual production can influence a film from pre-production all the way through to the final edit.

I have also really valued the fact that the course has supported me both as a filmmaker and as an educator. As a media lecturer at Barnsley College, one of the most rewarding aspects of the degree has been gaining up-to-date knowledge of current industry workflows and technologies that I can take back into the classroom. It has allowed me to think not only about my own practice, but also about how I can better prepare students for the changing landscape of screen production.

In terms of skills, I have developed a much stronger understanding of Unreal Engine and virtual production workflows, including previsualisation, environment planning and LED volume production. I have also built skills in project development, visual planning, problem-solving and adapting creatively when things do not go exactly to plan. Because I worked on Esoterica as both director and producer, I also strengthened my ability to balance creative ambition with practical limitations such as time, budget and technical constraints.

Overall, the degree has helped me become more confident in using contemporary production tools, more reflective in my creative decision-making, and better equipped to bring those skills into both my filmmaking and teaching practice.

What is unique about studying on Production Park?

What is unique about studying on Production Park is that it feels much closer to a real industry environment than a traditional campus setting. Being based in a space that is so closely connected to professional production gives the course a very immediate, practical energy, and it constantly reinforces the link between education and industry practice.

For a degree like MSc Virtual Production, that setting is particularly valuable because the technologies, workflows and ways of thinking are not being taught in isolation. They are being explored in an environment that reflects how contemporary screen and live production operate in the real world. That makes the learning experience feel much more tangible and relevant.

There is also something genuinely inspiring about studying in a place where large-scale creative and technical production is part of the wider culture of the site. It encourages you to think ambitiously, but also practically, because you are constantly aware of how ideas need to translate into workflow, collaboration and execution.

For me, as both a filmmaker and a media lecturer at Barnsley College, studying at Production Park has been especially valuable because it has given me insight into current industry-facing practice in a very direct way. That has helped me develop my own project work, while also giving me knowledge and experience that I can bring back into my teaching and use to help shape courses around the latest production technologies and methods.

What do you hope to do once you finish your postgraduate degree?

 Once I finish the degree, I hope to build on it in two connected ways: by continuing to develop my own filmmaking practice, and by using what I have learned to further enhance my teaching at Barnsley College. As a media lecturer, one of my main goals is to make sure students are engaging with current industry workflows and technologies, so completing this master’s will help me bring more up-to-date virtual production methods, software and production approaches into further education. 

 Creatively, I would also like to continue exploring how virtual production can be used in independent filmmaking, particularly in ways that are ambitious but still accessible on smaller budgets. Working on Esoterica has shown me that these tools can be valuable not only for final production, but also for previsualisation, planning and worldbuilding, and I would like to keep developing that side of my practice in future projects.

I feel the degree will help with this because it has given me both practical skills and a broader critical understanding of the field. It has strengthened my knowledge of Unreal Engine, LED volume workflows and virtual production processes, but it has also helped me think more strategically about how these technologies can be applied creatively and realistically. That combination is important to me, because it supports both my work as a filmmaker and my role as an educator preparing students for a changing screen industry.

What advice would you give someone thinking of studying a postgraduate degree at ALT?

My advice would be to approach the degree with curiosity, openness and a willingness to experiment. Postgraduate study at ALT is a great opportunity to push yourself creatively while also developing a deeper understanding of current industry practices and emerging technologies. The more willing you are to test ideas, solve problems and reflect on your process, the more you will get out of it.

I would also say that it really helps to come in with a clear sense of what you want to develop, whether that is your filmmaking practice, your technical skills, your research interests, or, in my case, your teaching practice as well. For me, the degree has been valuable not only in helping me grow as a filmmaker, but also in allowing me to upskill as a media lecturer at Barnsley College and bring more current workflows and technologies back into further education.

Most importantly, I would encourage anyone considering a postgraduate degree at ALT to make the most of the environment, the facilities and the chance to work in a setting that feels closely connected to industry. It is a space where you can think ambitiously, but also learn how to translate ideas into practical workflows. If you are interested in where creative production is heading and want to develop skills that are relevant, current and adaptable, it is a really exciting place to study.