Home to a technically advanced film production complex, Garden Studios is a one-stop-shop for a wide variety of TV and film productions, designed specifically to support the latest technologies as well as decades of future innovation. Its in-house virtual production stage is driven by Brompton Tessera processing, ensuring it delivers superb image quality to every production that comes through its doors.
Launched this year and growing rapidly, Garden Studios aims to be the most friendly, supportive, and sustainable film studio in London. The facility boasts three traditional sound stages, totaling over 3,700m2, as well as an array of supporting spaces. The jewel in its crown is its state-of-the-art Virtual Production stage, which allows filmmakers to shoot live action footage within a pre-visualised virtual world, using 3D CGI modelling and precision camera tracking to make it all look as real as possible.
“Whether our clients are looking to shoot a feature film, short-form promo, commercial or music video, Virtual Production can deliver a sustainable and cost, time, and travel-effective solution for their project,” says Garden Studios’ Virtual Production Supervisor, Mark Pilborough-Skinner.
The 445m2 Virtual Production stage is powered by cutting-edge tech from Epic Games (Unreal Engine), Mo-Sys (Star Tracker tracking technology), ROE Visual (Diamond 2.6mm LED panels), and Brompton Technology (Tessera LED processing), opening up unlimited creative possibilities in a sustainable and cost-effective way.
Additionally, the LED panels have been dynamically calibrated with Brompton’s Hydra measurement system, making them Brompton HDR-ready. This unlocks the full potential of each LED and allows the team at Garden Studios to take full advantage of exceptionally realistic-looking visual content and extra-wide colour gamut.
“Brompton is an integral part of our VP stage,” explained Pilborough-Skinner. “Apart from their Tessera processors, which are the industry gold standard for LED processing in virtual production for film and television, we can always count on the company’s renowned 24/7 service and support. Brompton heavily invests in R&D and offers extensive training resources to our in-house VP technicians, helping us push forward and deliver the high-quality service we have already become known for.”
Another feature Pilborough-Skinner and the team find particularly useful is the remote 3D LUT control offered by Brompton’s latest Tessera v3.2 software, via Pomfort’s Livegrade.
“Using Livegrade Studio to export 3D LUTs directly to Brompton Technology’s Tessera processor has allowed us to rapidly switch between different grades of our VP content and lighting scenarios non-destructively,” says Pilborough-Skinner. “This is fantastic for Virtual Production and opens up more creative possibilities without having to spend additional time rebuilding and switching between set ups.”
Brompton has always recognised the importance of investing in long-term business relationships with likeminded organisations. Garden Studios’ overall ethos, and its commitment to adopting technology that can constantly deliver and evolve with the market, instantly resonated with the team at Brompton.
“We feel privileged to be able to work with innovative companies such as Garden Studios, bringing cutting-edge LED processing technology and sharing our technical expertise with their team,” said Brompton technical solutions manager, Adam Callaway, who has worked closely with Garden Studios. “Forming long-term technical relationships with our customers has always been Brompton’s objective, right from when the company was founded back in 2011. It’s been amazing to watch Garden Studios’ facility grow and evolve in such a short space of time. Their vision and dedication are inspiring, and the results they’re achieving are absolutely first class.”
“The great thing about Brompton is their extended network of industry contacts and our shared values when it comes to delivering high quality service and creating an open and transparent working space, where each member feels empowered to share their knowledge,” concluded Pilborough-Skinner. “It’s brilliant having Brompton as a partner and we are confident that our current set-up means we can continue innovating and bringing the latest in VP to our clients!”
