ARRI has announced that its new state-of-the-art mixed reality studio in the UK has officially opened. The studio is equipped with an LED volume that is comprised of a 343 square meter LED wall.
The LED wall was installed in partnership with NEP Live Events production and technical specialist firm Creative Technology. ARRI claims that the studio is one of the biggest permanent mixed reality production spaces in Europe. The studio is 708 square meters (7,621 square-foot).
The volume consists of a main, ‘in vision’ curve that is 30 m wide by 5 m high (98.4 ft x 16.4 ft); two moveable and tiltable side screens, each 3 m wide by 4.2 m high (9.8 ft x 13.8 ft); and a height-adjustable ceiling of 9.6 m by 9.6 m (31.5 ft x 31.5 ft). A back curve measuring 18 m wide by 4.2 m high (59.1 ft x 13.8 ft) completes the fully encapsulated yet adaptable space, and can be programmed to display 360-degree imagery that even when not in frame, casts dynamic, fully integrated lighting effects onto the performers and the scene being shot. The ‘in vision’ curve is constructed from ROE Visual Ruby 2.3 panels, while the side screens, ceiling, and back curve use ROE Visual Carbon CB5 panels.
Much like the modular facilities, technical support can be tailored to the requirements of each production, with the full weight of expertise from ARRI, Creative Technology, and their respective partners available in the form of pre-production advice and creative production services. For productions new to mixed reality, technical support can extend to a full script-to-screen service.
Studio design and systems integration came from the ARRI Solutions Group, which can facilitate complete turnkey installations globally. Other cutting-edge technology companies have contributed to the construction and workflows of the stage and continue to provide ongoing support. Creative Technology designed and installed video walls, playback systems, and a number of powerful control solutions; Mo-Sys supplied a StarTracker camera tracking system and VP Pro XR; Epic Games provided its flagship real-time 3D creation tool, Unreal Engine; and Nvidia’s RTX A6000 GPUs power the image processing.
The ARRI mixed reality studio is available to hire for productions in the UK. Bookings are being taken for films, TV, commercials, and events. Although it is an independent space, equipment package deals are also available from the adjoining ARRI Rental facility. The studio is located at ARRI’s UK premises in Uxbridge.
