Discover why ROE Visual’s powerful panels were selected for NantStudios’ ambitious virtual production offering.  

When UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, and Matchbox Pictures chose NantStudios as the virtual production vendor for upcoming projects set to shoot in the State of Victoria, an ambitious and technology-driven project came to fruition. These parties developed the world’s largest LED in-camera VFX stage, located in Melbourne, Australia, choosing ROE Visual as their LED partner. 

The project comprises six stages in total, spanning more than 10,000 sqm; one super stage, which opened in March 2022, three conventional stages, and two stages equipped with an LED volume based on ROE Visual LED panels. 

NantStudios’ Australian subsidiary was responsible for building the two new LED in-camera VFX stages at Docklands Studios. NantStudios is led by Michele B. Chan Soon-Shiong, president; Gary Marshall, VP of virtual production; and Keaton Heinrichs, VP of operations & business development, and is part of the NantWorks ecosystem of companies. The company offers fully integrated services, including digital asset creation, AI machine learning expertise, motion control, consulting, performance capture, and on-set operations. 

Soon-Shiong is thrilled to bring the next generation of film and television production to Australia: “Building on the success of our studios in Los Angeles, the NantStudios technology team has engineered a truly next-generation LED stage design, and we are honoured that UCP will be the first to utilise our stages in Melbourne.” 

“Together, VicScreen, Nant, UCP, Matchbox Pictures, and Docklands Studios Melbourne are pioneering a new frontier in virtual production, delivering the next instalment of sophisticated and dynamic LED stages backed a world-class team of technicians,” added VicScreen CEO Caroline Pitcher. “The build includes the largest permanent LED volume in the world, creating a multitude of new possibilities for both local and international productions, allowing the most ambitious and imaginative stories to be brought to life in Melbourne.” 

ROE Visual supplied 6,000 Black Pearl BP2V2 LED panels for the volume in Stage 1. The Black Pearl LED panels are utilised in many virtual production stages globally. With over 100,000 units of this iconic LED panel in use for virtual production work worldwide, the panels bring the security of proven technology, tried and tested in the field.  

The Black Pearl BP2V2 LED panel is specially developed for film applications. They are cinema-grade LED panels with very stable performance that brings a rich colour accuracy and in-camera quality that industry experts rely on. 

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Stage 1: The largest LED volume in the world 

• Sound stage: 2,323 sqm stage 
• Grid height: 14.7 m  
• LED volume dimensions: 30.7m wide x 37.9m long x 12m height tall 
• Features a waterproof pit: 12m wide x 28m long x 3m deep  
• Features two moving LED wall sections: 6m x 9.95m wide  

• Silent air conditioning 
• Soundproof (sound attenuation of 50dB(a) minimum) 
• Grid system and catwalks above the LED volume allow a uniform distribution load of 480kg per sqm  

Stage 3: Flexible LED volume & vehicle process stage 

• Sound stage: 929 sqm stage 
• Grid height: 9.7m  
• LED volume dimensions: 17m wide x 21m long x 7.9m tall 
• Features two moving LED wall sections: 4m tall x 6m wide  
• Silent air conditioning 

• Soundproof (sound attenuation of 50dB(a) minimum) 
• Grid system and catwalks above LED volume allow a uniform distribution load of 480 kilograms per sqm (98lbs per sqft) 

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Stage 1 is based around a large, curved LED volume, complemented by an LED ceiling and two roving LED walls. The ceiling architecture is constructed to create several independent moving LED pods. A motorised motion control system allows the ceiling sections to sit at trim or travel down to working height. Each “pod” can swivel by up to 30 degrees in each direction, allowing production to push light into any stage corner and fully wrap sets with immersive lighting control. These motorised ceiling pod movements are sent directly into Unreal Engine in real time for correct N-display mapping. 

The two roving LED walls are used to position LED screens where needed, for example, to act as side fill. The central curved LED wall is supported by a custom-engineered scaffolding system that guarantees safe access to each one of the 6,000 LED panels. Each panel can be removed and replaced with a pipe for various rigging purposes along the main wall. 

The second LED stage, Stage 3, offers the same articulating LED ceiling design, perfect for small to medium-sized set pieces and moving vehicle scenes. This stage also has roving LED walls to position LED screens where needed. This studio utilises 2,000 ROE Visual Ruby RB2.3 LED panels. 

The Ruby LED series is developed for film and broadcast applications, including virtual production and feature pixel pitches from 1.5 to 2.6mm. The Ruby panels have an optimised black body, resulting in less reflection and more contrast. Sporting advanced driver ICs and LEDs with large colour space, the Ruby LED panels are fully HDR adaptive. They add excellent colour depth and great greyscales to visuals. 

Having worked with Nantstudios before on its revolutionary virtual production ecosystem and innovation campus in El Segundo, CA, selecting ROE Visual for this project was a logical step. The state-of-the-art ICVFX sound stage was designed and innovated in collaboration with Lux Machina, the company that’s been on the leading edge of designing and implementing ICVFX stages. Lux Machina advised using the ROE Visual Black Pearl BP2 LED panels for the LED volume, which Lux Machina’s team had used earlier on the set of The Mandalorian. Combined with a ceiling of ROE’s Carbon CB3 LED panels, this is a proven and ideal set-up. 

In addition to NantStudios, ROE Visual’s LED panels feature in film studios worldwide, including PXO & WFW Stages, Monolith Studios, Cinecittà Studios, Nordisk Film Shortcut Stage, Netflix Studios, TDC Stages, Amazon Studios, XR Studios, and more. The company has won the trust and reputation of various customers in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific regions. Equipped with LED-based virtual production technology, these studios offer film and TV producers new, creative options to optimise their production workflow, creating flexible and cost-effective shooting solutions. 

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NantStudios, a NantWorks company founded in 2012 by Michele B. Chan Soon-Shiong, is a state-of-the-art full-service production ecosystem comprising traditional, broadcast, and virtual production stages with high-speed layer 1 connectivity, a family of issued patents covering hybrid cloud fabric, machine vision, and computing technologies. The NantWorks ethos is rooted in the spirit of dynamic innovation, and this drives NantStudios’ expansion as it leads the way for the coming decades of media transformation. The company is headquartered in El Segundo in Los Angeles County, California.  

For more information, please visit www.nantstudios.com  

Interested in ROE Visual’s solutions for virtual production? Visit: www.roevisual.com 

Links: 

https://www.roevisual.com/nl-en/

Black Pearl: https://www.roevisual.com/nl-en/products/black-pearl-2v2 

Ruby: https://www.roevisual.com/nl-en/ruby 

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ROE Visual – Proven technology for virtual production 

LED panels are the ideal solution to portray sets and backgrounds created in virtual reality. Creating a suitable canvas is not just building any LED screen. Stunning results are achieved when the LED panel, processing, and camera setting come together. With its high-end manufacturing and premium parts, the ROE Visual LED products are perfectly suited for virtual stages and productions.  

Delivering state-of-the-art products and services, ROE Visual is recognised as the industry standard when it comes to LED products. 

ROE Visual LED panels are the premier choice for film and broadcast studios, being utilised in virtual production globally. ROE Visual works with high-end components and state-of-the-art driver ICs, which makes all the difference for on-camera performance. 

Superb visuals and perfect in-camera behaviour  

Black Pearl BP2 is specially developed for use in the film industry and xR applications. Featuring in large-scale film projects, the LED panels’ features have been adapted based on extensive testing and industry partners’ feedback, like NantStudios. The Black Pearl BP2V2 series offers low refresh cycles due to a low scan rate. Its high refresh rate helps to avoid visible scan lines. With a bit-depth of 16-bit, colour banding and inaccurate colour representation are a problem of the past. Outstanding colour processing and excellent contrast ratios matched with a bit-depth of 16-bit guarantee a very accurate and stable colour representation. 

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GhostFrame 

GhostFrame makes it possible to simultaneously show several sets of full dynamic images on an LED screen within a camera’s production frame. A director can then see four separate camera feeds with their own unique perspective, all of which appear in real-time.  

GhostFrame unlocks unlimited creativity while remaining comfortable for on-set actors and crew. Combining the strengths and possibilities of LED and camera technology, GhostFrame enables the creative and powerful use of film- and broadcast technology. 

Are you looking for game-changing technology for your virtual production studio?  

Have a look at roevisual.com or ghostframe.com