Absen LEDs used at Silvertown Studios

Silvertown Studios is a film studio specialising in Virtual Production (VP).

Founded during the pandemic, the original company London Audio Visual undertook a change of course as the events industry was closed, resulting in a need to diversify. Being left with LED technology and unable to use it, the team decided to utilise an existing office space as a small pilot virtual production studio. Following a strong initial period, the company decided to open an impressive new 6,000ft² VP studio in Silvertown, Royal Docks. Specialising in large scale events in VP, film, television and broadcast, the studio has steadily grown to offer a range of services to a wide portfolio of clients.

Virtual Production is a rapidly growing technique which allows filmmakers to shoot in-camera VFX, creating realistic and immersive environments using LED screens. For VP to work correctly it is imperative to use the best LED solution. After researching and testing various LED products, the team at Silvertown Studios chose to install the Absen PL2.5 Pro.

The impressive Absen screen at Silvertown Studios consists of 516 LED panels of the PL2.5 Pro. With a ⅛ scan rate and pixel pitch of 2.5mm this is an industry leading standard LED for virtual productions. The broadcast grade panels emit 1500 nit brightness, whilst also incorporating Brompton processing. This powerful system offers support for full 4K screens with 12 bits per colour output. The processor’s Shuttersync feature tunes the LED screen to the camera, giving creative flexibility for camera configuration.

The Absen PL2.5 system has several key benefits including:

• Wide viewing angle of 160/140: results in less colour obscurity and less colour shift
• Fast installation: The Absen panels are quick and easy to install, allowing the Silvertown Studio team to efficiently reconfigure the LED screen to each production’s specific requirements
• 16 Bit Grayscale: Gives the ability to accurately reproduce colour and tonal transitions, resulting in less posterization.

The new Absen LED system has enabled Silvertown Studios to produce high-quality virtual productions with existing and new clients. The studio is confident that virtual productions will continue to grow in popularity in the coming years. With this in mind, Silvertown Studios is planning to continue investment in the VP technology, providing its clients with the best possible virtual production experience, with Absen screens at its heart. The Absen team and after-sales support have played an important role in ensuring the LED performed in optimal fashion.

“We have really enjoyed working together with Absen,” commented Ian Vine, CEO of Silvertown Studios. “We have no technical limitations with the system. Being able to offer quality virtual productions has meant we are experiencing a growing flow of incoming business. This entire project has been an exciting time for Silvertown Studios and we are grateful for the support that Absen has provided.”