Closing the Loop: How Sony Builds the Full Virtual Production Pipeline

At NAB Show 2025, AVNation’s Tim Albright chatted with Ryan Fares at the Sony booth to dive into one of the hottest topics in pro AV today: virtual production. And Sony isn’t just dipping a toe in—they’re going all in.

Fares, part of the team leading Sony’s charge in this space, walked us through how Sony is uniquely positioned as the only camera manufacturer building both cinema-grade cameras and LED walls—offering unmatched color accuracy, sync precision, and full ecosystem control. Their close collaboration with Epic Games and Unreal Engine is pushing the boundaries even further. One standout innovation? A Virtual VENICE plugin that mirrors all camera settings in Unreal, making previs and real-world shoots nearly identical in execution.

The big reveal at NAB was Sony’s brand-new camera tracking system, Ocellus, which officially completes their end-to-end virtual production solution. Mounted on the VENICE 2, ocellus provides real-time 3D positional data of the camera, syncing perfectly with their Verona LED panels—which come in 1.5mm and 2.3mm pitches for ultra-flexible set designs. That precision lets directors and DPs plan shots ahead of time, detect moiré before they shoot, and even compensate for off-angle color shifts thanks to Sony’s proprietary pixel orientation knowledge.

And it doesn’t stop there. Ocellus works both indoors and outdoors, enabling FBX file exports that let creators seamlessly integrate CG characters or virtual elements in post. Want to film on location and drop in The Hulk later? Now you can—accurately and efficiently.

Sony is also pushing the envelope on metadata integration, providing post teams with invaluable insight—like pinpointing moiré or focus issues—directly in the file.

“This is the time Sony is really listening to the customer,” said Fares. “We’re building tools that simplify the entire virtual production workflow—for DPs, creatives, and production teams alike.”

Learn more about Sony’s virtual production ecosystem, explore their free Unreal Engine plugins, and get your hands on the future of filmmaking at Sony. Watch the full interview and explore more show floor coverage from NAB Show 2025 at AVNation.tv.