Starting Pixel Live 24: Sarah Thomas Moffat on Crafting Emotion through Light in Virtual Production

At Starting Pixel Live 24, cinematographer Sarah Thomas Moffat shared a compelling perspective on virtual production (VP) that emphasised the heart of storytelling over the technical trappings. In a presentation packed with artistic insight, Moffat offered a behind-the-scenes look at a recent project where she merged cinema, tech, and theatrical elements crafting emotion through light in virtual production and a deeply immersive narrative environment on a virtual set.

A Meeting of Worlds: Cinema, Tech, and Theatre

A veteran cinematographer with 30 years of experience, Moffat detailed her approach to a Los Angeles-based recreation of a project originally staged in London by SMPTE. Taking place at XR Studios, the production brought together live audiences and a talented cast, with Moffat at the helm of the lighting and cinematography. Her vision relied on creating a blend between three cultures—cinema, tech, and theatre—each bringing its own language and style.

Moffat described the project as a true exercise in cross-disciplinary collaboration: “We had a live audience of about 200 people in the studio watching, and one take to pull it off,” she explained. This “one-take” requirement, along with a strict one-day timeline for load-in and tech setup, made for an intense production environment.

The Power of Negative Fill: Shaping Light and Emotion

One of Moffat’s techniques involved turning off the LED wall’s outer frustum to reduce the light spill that VP can often produce. By doing this, she achieved what she called “negative fill,” creating an authentic, moody ambiance that allowed the actors to feel like they were genuinely immersed in their surroundings. As Moffat explained, “The biggest job I have is to capture the emotion being delivered. I can’t do that if it’s bright as day with a virtual production wall that’s all lit up.”

This approach not only created a more cinematic quality but also encouraged the actors to respond naturally, heightening the emotional resonance of their performances. In Moffat’s words, this balance between light and shadow “created all of this mood,” fostering a more intimate and grounded connection between actors and environment.

Painting with Light: A Cinematic Case Study

Moffat offered a detailed look at her lighting setup for a scene set in an abandoned gas station on Route 66. She used a mix of LED lights, softbox configurations, and custom colour grading to create a setting that felt both gritty and atmospheric. An Aputure P600C light was used to mimic sunset light, while puddles and carefully controlled reflections added to the scene’s realism.

To soften the digital sharpness of the LED screens, Moffat layered filters on her lens and relied on traditional techniques to “kill the digital edge.” As she put it, her goal was to avoid the sterile, hyper-digital look often associated with VP and instead create a filmic texture. “I always try to push technology back to that film space because it has an emotional connection for me,” she said, grounding her approach in her background in classic film techniques.

Beyond Technology: A Painter’s Approach to Cinematography

Closing her presentation, Moffat revealed one of her guiding tools—a simple paintbrush. She keeps it on set as a reminder to approach cinematography as a painter, focused on crafting each shot to evoke a particular feeling rather than getting lost in the technical complexities of the medium. “I paint with light,” she explained. “I’m not going to fight you on numbers and equations. I’m just going to say, this is what feels right to me.”

Moffat’s session was a reminder of the importance of staying grounded in the storytelling aspect of VP, even as the technology itself becomes ever more complex. Her artistry lies in her ability to harness digital tools while keeping a painterly, emotional quality at the core of her work.

A New Era for Cinematography

Moffat’s approach at Starting Pixel Live 24 showed that virtual production can be more than a technical challenge—it’s a new frontier for emotional storytelling. By blending the best of cinema, technology, and theatre, Moffat is pioneering a cinematic language that uses digital tools to amplify, rather than overshadow, the human experience at the heart of each scene.

Sarah can be found here: sarahthomasmoffat.com