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From square one to virtual studio Jason Grey, studio projects manager at CVP, designs virtual production studios from scratch. He explains why Assimilate Live FX Studio is his go-to V irtual production, once a niche filmmaking technique, has become standard practice, seeing more industry adoption
Callum Buckley, and the majority of the work we do is within VP,” he shares, “whether green screen or LED. A big part of what I do is look for brands and software providers to build solutions that are usable by anyone, at different expertise levels, to meet different price points – which is where Assimilate came in.” Assimilate’s Live FX Studio works across VP applications, from chroma keying to an LED stage to image-based lighting, “giving you that immersive, wraparound feel,” says Grey. “We go for custom-made, image-based LED clouds. They are a lot lighter, a lot cheaper, with much higher colour accuracy. You can run them over traditional DMX desks and programme them through Unreal.” Grey cites a myriad of reasons for choosing Live FX Studio, including lower licensing costs, a simplified set-up, a fast learning curve and quick turnaround. “It’s flexible and plays nice with everything,” he begins, thus lowering the cost of entry. The Live FX Studio ecosystem doesn’t lock users into specific workflows, and it runs efficiently on standard GPU workstations. Live FX Studio is “extremely affordable in comparison to the competition,” adds Grey. “There are no recurring licences; you can pay for additional support, but it’s not a pay-to-play service.” According
by the day. For instance, Studio Ulster in Belfast, Northern Ireland’s largest VP facility, recently opened its doors, notably expanding the area’s filmmaking abilities. Meanwhile, halfway across the world, the University of Southern California received a $25m donation for a 15,000 sq ft VP centre, designed to train the next generation of filmmakers on using the state-of-the-art technology. With the global film industry firmly embracing VP, suppliers are following suit – but not all solutions are affordable or easy to learn. Few are democratising VP like Assimilate. With roots in colour grading, the company widened its net to include VP, with its Live FX Studio software solution boasting high colour fidelity and ease of use at an affordable price point. “I learnt it in a day,” admits Jason Grey, studio projects manager at CVP, who now uses the software to power his VP projects. An obvious choice Grey manages CVP’s projects team, also referred to as its ‘systems integration arm’, he asserts. “I built the team with the help of experienced technical consultant
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