Decolonising Virtual Production? Optimising Skin-tone Representations and Aesthetics in an LED Volume with Personal Colour Analysis

In drawing a concerning comparison between the early Internet and VR zeal, Nakamura (2019) points out that both technologies involved high-cost equipment, limited usage, and target audiences as well as developers and users who were predominantly white men; this risked the disavowal, obliteration, and marginalisation of non-white and non-male race and gender identities. Virtual Production (VP) is similarly hailed as a technology of the future, while its versatility and potential ubiquity are emphasised. I propose that research on VP that focuses on technological advancement and technical design should be critically appraised from decolonial perspectives. Decolonisation, involving the democratisation of technological development and the inclusion of knowledge in communities that suffer from colonial legacies, will shift power dynamics, challenge established paradigms, and value neglected cultures. Cruz (2021) suggests bottom-up approaches to decolonial technical design via empirical studies, which can result in the enlargement and pluralisation of Western products and achievements.

This chapter discusses practice-as-research with Personal Colour Analysis (PCS) – a method assisting individuals in choosing the colours in makeup and costume that match one’s skin, hair, and eye colours. After a lighting test foregrounding three different Asian skin complexions in an LED Volume whereby the colours of costumes and virtual background assets were prepared according to the colour schemes advised by PCS, I analysed the skin-tone perceptions and harmony of images from twenty-one participants who completed the survey by descriptive analysis. I hope to offer co-constructed and alternative guidance in creating virtual set design and choosing physical aesthetics for less-studied skin complexions.