University of the Arts London (UAL) and Sony have partnered on a specialist virtual production (VP) research stage, housed within the Fashion Textiles and Technology Institute (FTTI) at UAL’s new East Bank campus—a hub for research, innovation, creativity, and learning—in London. This facility features a Crystal LED wall powered by Brompton Technology’s advanced LED processing, delivering exceptional visual quality and flexibility. The VP stage will play a key role in advancing transdisciplinary, practice-led research in Virtual Production (VP) and XR textiles and dress, offering a dynamic environment for experimentation and creative exploration.
The studio is equipped with a seamless horseshoe-shaped Sony’s Crystal LED display that has a total size of 64x13.1 feet (19.5x4m), made up of 312 Sony’s VERONA panels in two pixel pitches. The 27.9-feet-wide (8.5m) middle section consists of fine pitch Sony’s VERONA 1.5mm pixel pitch panels, flanked by 11m of the 2.3mm pixel pitch panels, for an impressive total resolution of 22,557,760 pixels. Both screens integrate with Brompton Technology's advanced Tessera LED processors, with the primary screen running on four 4K Tessera SX40 processors, and the secondary powered by two additional SX40 units. The entire setup is managed by 12 Tessera 10G data distribution units, offering a seamless and efficient workflow.
[The Evolution of Virtualized Production]
Brompton LED processing offers innovative color management and flexibility, making it ideal for large-scale LED displays in VP environments. The Tessera SX40 processors ensure accurate color reproduction and real-time image optimization, crucial for creating lifelike visuals in virtual production. With the latest Tessera v3.5 software, content creators can unlock advanced features such as Dark Time Insertion, which builds on Brompton’s ShutterSync technology to improve viewing experiences for human audiences, not just cameras. Additionally, the Enable Brightness Limit feature allows users to cap maximum brightness in Global Color, maintaining visual consistency while protecting the integrity of the display. Other features, including ShutterSync, Frame Remapping, ChromaTune, and PureTone, further elevate the creative potential of UAL’s VP stage.
“University of the Arts London selected our Crystal LED VERONA for their robust, future-proof technology, offering exceptional color accuracy and detail. We're proud to support UAL's vision and can't wait to see the groundbreaking research and creativity that will flourish with this new installation,” said Chris Couzens, channel account manager, Sony Europe.
[How 33 Epson Projectors Power Immersive Learning for Medical Students]
“We conducted an extensive and rigorous series of camera and screen tests,” explained Peter Hill, technical manager, 3D and Material Science, UAL. “Ultimately, the combination of Sony’s Crystal LED VERONA and Brompton Technology’s LED processing perfectly met our requirements, delivering a flexible VP stage with exceptional visual quality and versatility.”
“We are excited to see our Tessera SX40 processors at the heart of UAL’s state-of-the-art VP facility,” concluded Rob Fowler, director of business development at Brompton Technology. “The VP Stage will give students enrolled at FTTI a hands-on experience with industry-standard VP technology and workflows, inspiring innovative ideas and practice-led research through VP and XR.”
