SPE’s award-winning virtual production and VFX company assumes operation of the virtual production stage located on the historic Sony Pictures Studios lot in Culver City.
Sony Pictures Entertainment’s (SPE) award-winning virtual production and visual effects company, Pixomondo (PXO), will assume operation and management of SPE’s first state-of-the-art LED virtual production stage. The LED Volume, built by SPE’s award-winning entertainment technology company, Sony Innovation Studios (SIS), is housed in Stage 7 on the historic Sony Pictures Studios lot in Culver City.
The stage, established in 2022, is the largest to use Sony Corporation’s high brightness and wide color gamut Crystal LED display panels. Pixomondo executive producer Chris Cox will oversee the LED virtual production, supported by PXO’s artists, technologists, and producers. The transition will be effective later this month.
Most recently, the stage served as the backdrop for New York-based recording artist, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist INIKO’s music video Jericho. A first-of-its-kind collaboration among INIKO, Sony Immersive Music Studios, and SIS, it was produced on the virtual production stage and captured with Sony’s VENICE digital cinema cameras and Epic Games’ Unreal Engine.
PXO has deployed and operated virtual production stages across North America and the U.K., with over 30 virtual production credits. Stage 7 will become PXO’s third permanent LED stage geared toward innovative production solutions for commercials, television, and film, focusing on complex vehicle process work using in-camera VFX.
“It is an exciting and transformative time for PXO as we evolve our L.A. business to be housed on the Sony Pictures lot, bringing us right into the heart of the filmmaking process,” said PXO CEO Jonny Slow. “PXO L.A. has a new home, fantastic new teammates, and creative services, all supported by one of the strongest technology companies in the world. The adaptability of the volume on Stage 7 will bring a new dimension to virtual production in L.A.’s creative ecosystem.”
Following the transition of the stage operation, SIS will continue to develop new technologies for creative industries.
“Sony Innovation Studios has been spearheading Sony’s virtual production technology since its inception in 2018,” said SIS senior vice president and head Masaki Nakayama. “We built the LED volume for creatives to be able to realize their vision without limitations. It has been an exciting collaboration with Sony Corporation and Sony Pictures, leveraging all the technologies and motion picture/TV production know-how that Sony has to offer. SIS is excited to continue innovating in entertainment technology and is looking forward to seeing the Stage 7 volume evolve and flourish.”
SIS is an award-winning entertainment technology company established in 2018. Following its acquisition of Nurulize in 2019, SIS continues to develop the patented Atom View technology that revolutionizes the use of high-quality photorealistic 3D content. SIS holds dozens of patents in the virtual production and volumetric technology field.
PXO’s creative legacy includes work on films such as Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning Hugo, multiple seasons of HBO’s Emmy-winning Game of Thrones, recent series including SPT’s The Boys, House of the Dragon, and Winning Time, and the recent theatrical releases John Wick Chapter 4 and Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story.
Source: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.
