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BITS & PIECES www.postmagazine.com 6 POST JULY/AUG 2026 PIER59 EMPLOYING VIRTUAL PRODUCTION FOR COMMERCIAL WORK NEW YORK CITY — Pier59 (https://pier59studios.com) has completed work on a number of projects that take advantage of the studio's virtual produc- tion space. Louis Vuitton's "La Beauté" campaign is a clear example of the versatility offered through virtual production. The Pier59 creative team built four desert worlds from scratch in Unreal Engine in roughly two weeks, then ran them on Stage C against an eight-meter rotating platform with the LED background gen-locked to the turntable's speed. As the practical decor spun, the virtual environments could be moved and rotated independently, which also included a sweeping camera move. A crane-mounted Molebeam, handled by a three-person team and a dedicated lamp operator, wrapped a moving sun around the hero and cast matched shadows on the talent and wall together. Practical sand was col- or-matched to the virtual rocks and dunes. Integration of the practical and VP elements were judged on a monitor. "To shoot the whole campaign in a virtual production studio was the only solution to execute," explains director Damien Krisl. Another example of the studio's recent virtual production work is a cam- paign for luxury beauty brand Shiseido featuring Anne Hathaway. The video's effects were shot in-camera in realtime. Cinematic lighting was paired with photoreal LED environments to create the warm glow that surrounds the ac- tress, showing off her perfect skin. The virtual environment evolved from stock footage references into Unreal Engine, where it was art directed and overseen by the Pier59 team to ensure the blend of real and virtual remained consistent and true to the original cre- ative intent and director's vision. On stage, the curved LED wall wrapped the talent in light from behind and the sides, while the movable, articulated LED ceiling functioned as a tunable softbox. "It was nicer on her face," explains cinematographer Nicola Loir. "I could real- ly change the colors and the speed of light." PLAYHOUSE POST LAUNCHES FOLLOWING HALO ACQUISITION LONDON — Irish media production company Playhouse Studios (www.play- housestudios.ie) has acquired Halo Post's Noel Street facility and assets, and is launching Playhouse Post. The facility is undergoing an extensive refurbish- ment that will be completed this summer. The new company will become a unified post division within its studio infrastructure. In 2025, Playhouse acquired UK post production company LipSync, with the latter's Mark Foligno heading up Playhouse Post as CEO. The merger of legacy post brands Halo and LipSync under one roof reflects the group's strategy to build an advanced and agile European production, post production and con- tent financing group. Playhouse Studios has offices in Dublin, Belfast and London, and offers a fully-integrated production ecosystem to support projects from develop- ment through to delivery. This latest move combines the expertise, talent and heritage of two established post businesses to create a strengthened creative proposition for producers, broadcasters, streamers and brands across both scripted and unscripted work, as well as commercials and feature projects. Halo Post was founded in 2004 and has built a reputation in the UK as a reli- able facility for delivering picture and sound post services. The studio's credits includes contributions to Poor Things and Polite Society — both of which were mixed there — the drama series Bookish, The Jetty, Tell Me Everything and We Are Lady Parts. Some of its premium factual series credits include Our Universe, Surviving Black Hawk Down and Pole to Pole. The studio also contributed to Queen Rock Montreal IMAX and Cypress Hill with The London Symphony Orchestra. Playhouse Post will be headed by former Molinare managing director Mark Foligno. Together, the combined resources will offer comprehensive, end-to- end post services spanning picture finishing, sound, VFX, color grading, online editing and delivery in Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision. At the heart of the Soho facility is the flagship Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision theatre — a 17-seat screening and finishing environment. Focus Capital Partners Ireland are the corporate finance advisers and fund- raising partners to Playhouse Group. "The addition of Halo Post to LipSync represents an important step in the continued growth of our post production & VFX production arm, Playhouse Post," states Foligno. "The team has an outstanding reputation for creative ex- cellence and technical expertise, and together we are building a high-end post production offering that is equipped to support projects of every scale."