Too Much Volume? The Tech Faces Growing Pains

Ever since Disney+ series The Mandalorian began making news for its inventive use of an LED stage and virtual production pipeline for filming and incorporating real-time effects — en route to winning Emmys in VFX and cinematography, as well as a 2022 Engineering Emmy that was awarded to Industrial Light & Magic for the system’s development — these types of stages have become what is arguably the fastest-growing area of visual effects and production technology. But amid the explosive surge in LED stages, observers warn that the business, tech and creative models for these pricey installations require more understanding before their potential can be fully realized.

“We are tracking roughly 300 stages, up from only three in 2019,” Miles Perkins, industry manager of film and TV for Epic Games, maker of the Unreal Engine used in virtual production pipelines, reports of the rise in capacity stemming from investments from studios, stage complexes and VFX companies.

These installations include ILM’s StageCraft volumes at Manhattan Beach Studios, used on The Mandalorian and Lucasfilm’s upcoming Ahsoka. Marvel employed a bespoke StageCraft build in Sydney for Thor: Love and Thunder and relied heavily on ILM’s system at Pinewood Studios in London for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. VFX company Pixomondo’s Toronto-based LED stage has a longterm lease from CBS and has been used for series including seasons four and five of Star Trek: Discovery. And more recently, Prysm Stages, an NEP Virtual Studios company, opened its inaugural stage at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, with Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis as its first production. Meanwhile, NEP’s Lux Machina reports that its virtual production credits include movies from last summer’s Sony actioner Bullet Train to Warner Bros.’ Shazam: Fury of the Gods, due in March….