Uni's virtual studio at 'cutting edge' of UK film

The video wall creates the illusion of a realistic backdrop for a studio set

A university hopes its new virtual production studio will put it at the forefront of the next generation of filmmaking in the UK.

The video wall creates the illusion of actors, creators or even newsreaders being in any location imaginable - all from a hangar in Mile Cross in Norwich, and at a fraction of traditional production costs.

Film students at the Norwich University of the Arts (Nua), which built the studio in partnership with Sony and Target 3D, described the technology now available to them as "insane".

"This is a big deal - it embodies a new direction for production globally," said Nua's incoming vice chancellor Prof Ben Stopher.

"It gives us access to cutting-edge production technology and to develop a new generation of skills and talent."

He compared the virtual set to that used on Disney+'s The Mandalorian, where actors perform in live environments with virtual backgrounds.

For the launch of the studio, the set became a desert with a rally car with the life-like backdrop created on a screen.

"This is super efficient; it's much less location work, it means you can be more ambitious with your locations and they're less tied to place," added Prof Stopher.

"You also don't have to fly people around the world, which is a positive development."

Second-year student April Ward is keen to use the new studio

Elliot Marris, a production workflow specialist with Sony Europe, who helped set up the studio, said the technology allowed everyone on set to see the virtual environment and interact with it, unlike the imagined world of a green screen.

"You can modify the vegetation, the landscape, which would be very invasive in a typical environment," he said.

"The systems are quite complex and require a good amount of skill and knowledge to work and to bring them all together.

"For work and for job prospects it's very exciting as it allows you tap into a whole world which not too long ago was very hard to find - now it's right here."

The studio is alongside Nua's existing immersive visualisation and simulation lab

April Ward, a second-year film and moving image production student, said the studio opened up "so many possibilities."

"It's a massive deal for us, it's quite amazing," she added.

"We've never have thought about our course being able to do something this insane.

"We have access to cameras and, for me, that's all we come to film school for - now we have a virtual production studio."