CJP kits out new Croydon virtual production studio

CJP Broadcast Service Solutions, systems integration, production, and content digitisation specialist, is equipping a virtual studio and post-production facility to provide access to digital facilities for businesses and community groups in Croydon. The facility is being delivered and managed by StartUp Croydon, in association with BIG South London, South London Partnership and Croydon Council. 

“In today’s fast-paced, digitally driven world, the business community needs workspaces to create and deliver the highest quality content that is affordable and accessible,” said Saffron Saunders, CEO of StartUp Croydon. “Our new Creative Digital Lab brings industry-standard tools and state-of-the art technology to our community enabling them to build their businesses, develop their professional skills or explore careers in the creative industries.” 

The studio is being built, in an existing space in the organisation’s headquarters building, for virtual production. A large, 4.5m x 2.5m LED screen will provide the dynamic background. Absen panels, supplied by UK distributor PSCo, will be driven by a Brompton processor from Mo-Sys VP Pro software, including the Unreal engine for photo-realistic rendering. 

As well as integrating the virtual background, CJP is also providing all the other facilities, including a camera, and recording systems from Blackmagic Design, audio equipment from Behringer, and a simple but effective lighting rig. The project also includes edit suites using Apple Final Cut Pro software and Mac Studio processors. 

Initially the facility will be used as a virtual studio. However, it can quickly be upgraded for full augmented reality production simply by adding the necessary software licenses. 

“CJP has been hugely supportive as we got this project off the ground, helping us develop our ideas, specifying state of the art equipment within our budget, and making sure that it all comes together within our timeline,” Saunders said. “When the Creative Digital Lab goes online, we will have a fantastic resource available to the businesses in our region, but can also support education and communities, and will be a centre for all sorts of collaborative creativity.”  

Christopher Phillips, managing director of CJP, added: “This is a pioneering project, and eyes will be on it from all over the country. We all communicate through digital channels now, and businesses and community groups need access to the right facilities, with the right support, to create the best content. The Croydon Creative Digital Lab will, I am sure, set a trend which will spread across the UK.”  

“This project clearly demonstrates the flexibility of CJP as a completely agnostic systems integrator,” Phillips concluded. “The contract we won specified not only a tight budget but also a very tight timescale. Because we deal with every vendor in the industry, we made our design based on the right technology, budget and on the ability of each vendor to deliver when we need it. Finally, we recognised that this is a pioneering project, so we built in a free year of comprehensive support into our proposal with extended warranty of three years from Absen and Brompton.”

The Creative Digital Lab initiative was launched at a ceremony on 13 September, and the facilities will go live in mid November 2023. However, training in a range of creative digital platforms such as Adobe Creative Cloud, motion graphics creation and photography and other creative courses are being offered and delivered from the beginning of October 2023. StartUp Croydon will also be supporting the development of the next generation of creatives through working with schools, colleges and community groups in South London to help create talent pipelines into the industry. Support for this work will provide a chance to demonstrate Corporate Social Responsibility and create PR opportunities for young people.