London’s Garden Studios has launched what it describes as its most advanced virtual production (VP) stage to date, with a key focus on delivering driving shots.
The stage has been designed to accommodate a wide range of vehicles, from cars and motorcycles to large stunt vehicles, buses, and specialist transport, enabling productions to bring complex sequences into a controlled studio environment.
Garden Studios said the new LED volume represents a significant investment in next-generation production infrastructure, designed to support the growing adoption of virtual production across film and high-end television.
Since launching its first virtual production stage in 2021, Garden Studios has delivered more than 150 projects spanning commercials, documentaries, high-end television drama, and feature films.
Central to the upgrade is a fully motorised LED ceiling featuring a 2.6mm pixel pitch panel from Absen, prioritising resolution and black levels to deliver clean, realistic reflections on windscreens and bodywork.
The ceiling can tilt up to 90° to operate as a front LED wall, creating a full 360° volume, and can travel up to 18 metres front to back. This allows rapid reconfiguration from a fully enclosed ceiling to a rain-ready setup. The ceiling area has also been doubled compared to the previous stage.
According to Garden Studios, the stage layout reduces vehicle repositioning, with approximately 90% of camera angles achievable using a single 180° rotation, significantly reducing downtime between setups.
Sam Kemp, Virtual Production (VP) Supervisor at Garden Studio, said: “Lighting integration is key to selling simulated travel on an LED volume. The new stage provides a bespoke image-based lighting workflow that plugs into existing control desks. This allows Garden to replicate a wide range of lighting states, from inner-city neon night to hard sunlight on a winding country lane.”
Garden Studios recently doubled its sound stage footprint with the opening of four new sound stages, bringing the total to eight. Discover more here.
Disney+ takes global rights to Formula E
Disney+ is to become the global streaming home of Formula E, the all-electric motorsports championships.
Google TV upgrades Freeplay streaming service
Google is upgrading its US free streaming service Google TV Freeplay, adding on-demand video to its FAST channel offering.
iPhone users outspend Android users on booming micro-dramas
iPhone users spend around 40% more on micro-drama apps than Android users, according to Omdia research, challenging common assumptions about who consumes and pays for the rapidly growing form of entertainment.
.jpg)
Full IBC2026 conference agenda: Innovators and technology leaders take to the stage
Exploring the three core pillars of IBC2026 – shifting business models, transformative tech, and people and purpose – this year's free-to-attend showfloor content programme will address the biggest issues impacting the global media and entertainment community.
OBS to receive IBC2026 International Honour for Excellence
IBC will present the International Honour for Excellence (IHFE) to Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) – recognising the company’s decades of innovation in live sports production and its far-reaching impact on the global broadcast industry.
.jpg){kind=tracking}
