Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1436481
www.postmagazine.com 10 POST NOV/DEC 2021 BITS & PIECES NEP VIRTUAL STUDIOS & TRILITH STUDOS TO BUILD VIRTUAL PRODUCTION STAGE IN ATLANTA ATLANTA — NEP Virtual Studios (www.nepgroup.com/virtual-studios) and Trilith Studios (www.trilithstudios.com) announced plans for a new virtual production facility in Atlanta. The Prysm Stage at Trilith Studios is being built from the ground up for virtual production, and will offer filmmakers stable and advanced realtime workflows and technology, all operated by experienced virtual production pros. The new operation will be led by global president of NEP Virtual Studios, Cliff Plumer, virtual production pioneers Lux Machina Consulting (LuxMC), Trilith Studios president and CEO Frank Patterson, and Trilith Studios' director of creative technologies, Barry Williams. NEP Group recently an- nounced the formation of NEP Virtual Studios after acquiring LuxMC, Halon Entertainment and the Prysm Stages brand, accelerating its strategic vision for virtual production. NEP Virtual Studios is committed to building a global network of perma- nent stages that are designed and operated by LuxMC. The first Prysm Stage is coming to the Creative Technologies District at Trilith Studios, one of the largest purpose-built movie studios in North America and home to projects that include Black Adam and Loki. Trilith Studios recently expanded to 24 pre- mium sound stages, including five sound stages purpose-built as permanent homes for the latest technol- ogies in filmmaking. The Prysm Stage (www.prysmstag- es.com) at Trilith Studios will be one of the largest virtual production facilities in the world, featuring a fully-enclosed 80-foot-by-90- foot-by-26-foot virtual production volume in an 18,000-square-foot sound stage. This footprint can accommodate large set pieces wrapped 360 degrees with LED panels, including an LED ceiling, equipped for the deployment of game engine-driven video playback and designed to immerse filmmakers in large-scale, realtime digital environments. The facility will also include a process stage designed for automotive shoots, opening in Q1 of 2022. ASSEMBLY LAUNCHES IN NYC NEW YORK CITY — Assembly (Assembly.tv) is a new post production compa- ny in Manhattan that will span two downtown locations once construction is completed in February. According to Brian Sullivan, who serves as the com- pany's director of cloud engineering, the company will offer a range of dailies services, as well as offline editorial, DI, VFX, color grading and finishing for commercial and feature clients. Sullivan's background includes time at Light Iron and says the time was right to start a new venture that could take advantage of virtualization technology — including that outside the entertainment industry — as well as a clean slate that's not beholden to legacy infrastructures. Assembly's parent company is North Six (https://northsix.com), which has locations in Los Angeles, London, Milan, Madrid and Paris. "We [saw] so many things wrong with the existing post landscape in New York City and LA," Sullivan explains, noting that larger studios had a tough time being nimble when the COVID shutdown hit. "We do a lot of in-house development," he continues. "One of the things that I personally am very proud of is, we utilize a full enterprise development lifecycle for our development, which means we're basically able to leverage a lot of the enterprise technologies that exist outside the film industry to do a lot of that heavy lifting. I like to make technology work for us." Forty percent of Assembly's current work is supported through AWS, he notes, which has allowed the company to shift its post applications into the cloud. The company's location at 159 Bleeker Street is home to four DI edit bays, as well as administrative offices. The company's SoHo location, set for completion in February of 2022, will feature a 4K DI theater and offline editorial suites. Gear will include Avid and Adobe editing set ups, and Baselight, Resolve and Colorfront color grading tools. In house talent includes senior colorist Lez Rudge, senior digital intermediate colorist Sean Dunckley and VFX supervisor John McIntosh. "I can tell you…there's no shortage of work in New York right now," says Sullivan. "And in fact, the studios are basically telling us, 'Hey, we're glad these guys are coming into existence.'"