For those who don’t know the companies: ARRI develops, builds and sells cameras, lenses and lights for high-end productions on sets and son tages. Riedel Communications builds live production networks and intercom gear, so the handshake targets end to end capture and delivery.

What actually changed

Thomas Riedel, founder and owner of Riedel Communications, acquired ARRI, the Munich-based manufacturer of camera and lighting technology for motion picture and live entertainment (Just a point: ARRI is literally 8 minutes on foot from the Digital Production Headquarters).

The acquisition links ARRI closely with the Riedel Group, with the goal of expanding expertise across the production chain from camera optics to distribution. ARRI’s camera, lgihting, and systems technology are complementary to Riedel group’s audio, video, and data technology portfolio used in broadcast, live event, and sports productions.

Ownership, headquarters, and who stays in charge

ARRI remains headquartered in Munich. The company keeps independent operations. The existing management team continues to lead the company and continues its ongoing transformation under the new ownership.

Thomas Riedel describes the acquisition as the most significant personal milestone of his career so far, and says his entrepreneurial path has been closely tied to ARRI for years.

The near term production hook: Eurovision

The first named milestone is a planned debut of ARRI camrea technology at the Eurovision Song Contest, in a setup where NEP oversees production and Riedel serves as the technology provider. The release positions this as an early example of the collaboration’s focus on live entertainment and sports, with an intent to develop integrated solutions by combining respective technologies.

ARRI in one paragraph

ARRI was founded in 1917 and has been family owned since then. Dr. Walter Stahl, Managing Director of ARRI GmbH and a member of the founding family, states that the company’s success story will continue and remain in German ownership.

The company is a global player in motion picture and live entertainment industries, named after founders August Arnold and Robert Richter, with headquarters in Munich and additional subsidiaries in Europe, North and South America, Asia, and Australia. The group structure is Camera Systems, Lighting, and Rental business units. The product portfolio includes digital cameras, lenses, lighting fixtures, apps, and accessories, plus services via a worldwide distribution and service network. ARRI’s virtual production and workflow solutions are described as boosting efficiency for studio operators, producers, and corporations.

Awards include 20 scientific and technical awards from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and six Engineering Emmys from the Television Academy and the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. As well as a literal wall of others.

Riedel Communications and the live production angle

Riedel Communications is a provider of live production tools spanning distributed video and audio networks, intercom and replay solutions, and WAN and MPLS applications.

The company is headquartered in Santa Clarita, California, with global headquarters in Wuppertal, Germany, and employing over 1,000 people in 30 locations across Europe, Australia, Asia, and the Americas.

The post Thomas Riedel buys ARRI first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

LOOKSfilm brought Overmind Studios in as the sole VFX vendor for all six episodes of A World Divided, a historical drama following six real figures from World War II through the 1960s. The series blended archival material with recreated drama and moved across locations from New Mexico and China to Russia, Israel and French Algeria.

Shot in Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Poland, the project demanded constant geographic reshaping and period-authentic cleanup to sell multiple continents and decades, all while working to rolling episodic deadlines.

Tobias Kummer was VFX lead on A World Divided at Overmind Studios. He supervised on set on key shoot days, built the project pipeline and delivered the work alongside André Gerhardt as a two-person VFX team. (Site | IMDB | Linkedin | Xing)

DP: How did you come onto A World Divided, and what was the overall scope?

Tobias Kummer: LOOKSfilm brought us in as the sole VFX vendor for all six episodes. We’ve worked with them before, so there was already trust there. The series was a historical drama following six real figures from World War II through the 1960s. It wove archival material together with recreated drama and jumped across locations from New Mexico and China to Russia, Israel and French Algeria.

André Gerhardt and I handled the VFX work as a two-person team, with me also covering on-set supervision on key days. Across the season, we delivered around 125 shots in total.

DP: What were the main categories of VFX work across the season?

Tobias Kummer: Most of the work fell into a handful of categories. The biggest chunk was geographic transformations and set extension work. The show was shot in Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Poland, but it needed to represent locations across multiple continents, so we were constantly reshaping the world. We made the Pustynia Błędowska desert in Poland read as New Mexico in some scenes and as Israel in others. We replaced window views with believable locations and extended sets to fit both the period and the geography.

Period cleanup was the other constant. Removing anachronisms took up a steady portion of the workload, such as power lines, phone masts, wind turbines, modern signage, contemporary vehicles, basically anything that didn’t exist between the 1940s and 1960s. Some removals were straightforward paint-outs, while others required proper tracking and reconstruction for moving shots, especially given the anamorphic lens characteristics to account for.

Beyond that, there was a lot of environmental and atmospheric work. We added snow to summer shoots where winter was required, enhanced practical smoke and explosions with additional elements, and built the nuclear explosion sequence. There were also the smaller, problem-solving shots that always appeared on a show like this, including window inserts, moon replacements, damage work, retouching visible wig seams and removing on-set facilities from reflections. Many shots weren’t just one technique. A single exterior might have needed cleanup, set extension and atmos all layered in one comp.

DP: What constraints shaped the work most?

Tobias Kummer: What shaped the work was the schedule and the fact that we were a two-person team delivering an episodic shot count with rolling deadlines. Episodes moved into colour on a rolling basis, which meant we had to work sequentially and finish each episode properly before moving on to the next. We couldn’t cherry-pick shots across the whole season when we needed breathing room. There was a clear rhythm to the work. However, we had to maintain strict discipline.

“What shaped the work was the schedule, and the reality of being a two-person team delivering an episodic shot count with rolling deadlines.”

DP: How did the anamorphic photography affect VFX, especially cleanup?

Tobias Kummer: The anamorphic photography added complexity in places you might not expect. Distortion and breathing made tracking more challenging than it would have been with spherical lenses, particularly on handheld or more dynamic shots. We had everything from locked-off tripod plates to dolly moves, cranes, and handheld coverage, so even simple cleanup could have become complicated if you wanted it to sit cleanly while preserving the anamorphic feel.

DP: What did on-set supervision change for you in practical terms?

Tobias Kummer: On-set supervision helped in practical ways. Sometimes it was about making sure we had clean plates and tracking markers. At other times, it was flagging modern details before they became post problems. Or it was a small camera placement decision that saved hours of rotoscoping later. We had an initial planning phase with the DOP and directors in May 2023, and on-set supervision ran through the shoot from May to July.

Then there was a long gap. We didn’t receive VFX plates until May 2024, nearly a year after wrapping, because production was working through the edit in the meantime. That delay reinforced something I always try to stress. Write everything down during on-set supervision. No matter how certain you are that you’ll remember something, you won’t a year later. Good notes made it possible to pick the work up again without having to guess.

DP: How did the schedule work once plates started arriving?

Tobias Kummer: Once plates started arriving, we had roughly two weeks per episode, regardless of complexity. VFX production ran for over 12 weeks across the six episodes. Shot complexity varied widely. Some cleanups were quick, while sequences with multiple iterations took longer, but the template system helped. The first shot of a new type might have taken time to establish the approach, but similar shots afterwards moved much faster.

Approvals were efficient. Most shots were approved in versions 1 or 2, and only a handful needed additional revisions. When revisions did happen, they were usually about creative direction rather than technical fixes, which came back to communication and understanding intent early.

DP: How did you split responsibilities as a two-person team?

Tobias Kummer: André and I divided the work in a clear way, but we kept shot ownership flexible. I handled on-set supervision, project planning, client communication and pipeline setup, and I also did shot work as well. André focused on shot execution and handled the motion graphics. We didn’t rigidly assign shot types. It was more fluid. Whoever was free took the next thing that needed doing. Because we were working remotely, communication was essential. We stayed connected throughout the day, and if one of us got stuck, a quick call and a screen share often solved what might have taken hours otherwise in minutes.

DP: What did you use for project management?

Tobias Kummer: For project management, we used Ramses by RxLaboratory. That was our central truth for what was in progress, what was out for review, and what was approved.

I wanted to avoid the usual folder wrangling that came with episodic work, so I built a small Fusion plugin that connected directly to the Ramses API. In practice, it meant that when you opened a shot, the setup was already done. Correct plates, correct naming, correct version number, correct saver paths, and comp settings that matched the show spec. It wasn’t glamorous work, but it prevented mistakes and kept us moving. Templates were the other foundation. I kept them rigid where mistakes were expensive and flexible where a shot needed freedom.

DP: Can you break down the plate specs and colour pipeline?

Tobias Kummer: Plates came from Avid as 4K MXF containers in DNxHR HQX 12-bit with a 1.8 anamorphic squeeze, in ARRI Wide Gamut 4 and LogC4.
We composited in scene-referred linear, so the input linearisation was standardised. Output was standardised too. For review, we rendered previews in Rec.709 using the client reference LUT, so the work looked close to the intended look. Finals went out in ARRI Wide Gamut 4 and LogC4 so the grade could treat VFX shots like any other plate. The LUTs were helpful for context, but we couldn’t bake them into the finals without limiting the colourist’s downstream options.

DP: Why Fusion Studio, and what tools mattered most?

Tobias Kummer: All compositing happened in Fusion Studio, because it was what we knew and because the node-based approach was genuinely flexible under episodic revision pressure. When notes came back, you could restructure a comp non-destructively. Insert processing, reroute parts of the tree, try alternatives, without rebuilding from scratch.

Fusion’s tracker and planar tracker held up well on the anamorphic plates, which mattered for both cleanup and set extension work on moving shots. Magic Mask helped as well. It wasn’t perfect in every case, but it saved us more than once from manual roto. We supplemented with a handful of Reactor tools and some custom tools we’d built, but the aim was to rely on Fusion’s core toolset and maintain a consistent pipeline for broadcast delivery.

We also used Blender for 3D elements and set extension geometry, EmberGen for pyro and atmospheric simulations, SynthEyes for more complex camera solves and Affinity Photo for detailed paint work. All rendering was done locally rather than on a farm, which gave us more control and faster iteration.

DP: Pick one shot that best represented the season. What was it, and how did you approach it?

Tobias Kummer: If I had to pick one shot that summed up the work, it was a vast desert establishing shot where we turned the Polish Pustynia Błędowska into an Israeli desert landscape. The plate was shot on a crane mount, so there was a slight shake, and the camera racked focus between foreground and background. In the original plate, you could see the forest at the edges of the location, which didn’t sell the intended geography at all.

This was a case where on-set supervision paid off. Had we gone with the initial framing, we would have had the actors’ heads and the car crossing the horizon line, which would have meant rotoscoping them out to replace the background. I asked for a slight adjustment to the camera placement so everything stayed below the horizon. That saved hours of roto later and made the background replacement much cleaner.

In Fusion Studio, we used a few point tracks to stabilise and reapply the move, and we paid close attention to the rack focus because anamorphic lenses can shift and breathe, causing the background to drift if you ignore it. We built a matte painting from Israeli desert reference photos for the mountainous backdrop. We added blowing sand using an EmberGen simulation we had created and reused across multiple desert shots, and we added heat haze with a simple Fast Noise feeding a Displace node. The focus rack was matched by hand with keyframes. The shot was approved in version two.

DP: What were the key lessons you took from delivering this as a small team?

Tobias Kummer: If I had to distil it down to what kept us on time while maintaining quality, it came down to a few habits. First, learn some scripting, Python or whatever your tools support, and automate the repetitive, error-prone parts of the job. The time savings compounded quickly, especially for a small team, and you don’t need to build for massive scale to benefit.

Second, organise everything and document it. When you’re juggling episodes, you can’t waste time on version mix-ups or folder hunting, and the year gap between shoot and plate delivery made that even more important. Lastly, don’t waste time being stuck. Fresh eyes solved problems faster and a quick screen share could save hours. And honestly, sometimes the best decision was to stop and sleep. If you weren’t making progress, you’d often solve it faster in the morning.

The post A World Divided: Shaping a Global WWII Epic at Overmind Studios first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

We see virtual production stages everywhere, usually framed by discussions about LED panels, processors, and tracking systems. What gets less attention is what actually happens once the lights are on and clients walk in. Virtual production is not only for blockbuster series or studios with Hollywood-scale budgets, and not everyone is working on the next The Mandalorian. For everyday work, the realities are different and often more interesting.

To look past the tech diagrams and into daily practice, we spoke with the team at Door G Studios in East Providence, Rhode Island. Executive Producer Jenna Rezendes, VP technologist Joe Ross, and Unreal Engine Artist Sam Culbreth walk us through how virtual production functions on real commercial shoots, with real constraints, real schedules, and real clients.

Door G Studios is a creative production studio based in Rhode Island, specialising in commercial content, branded work, and campaigns that blend traditional production with virtual production. They operate an LED volume designed for practical, day to day shoots rather than cinematic excess. You can find them at door-g.com, explore their studio at door-g.com/studio, or keep up with them on LinkedIn.

DP: Hi Jenna, what is Door G?

Jenna Rezendes: Door G is a production studio based in Rhode Island. We have a versatile team of producers, creatives, and artists who love storytelling and keep pushing what’s possible in production. We work on branded content, commercials, and large-scale campaigns. We’re constantly exploring new ways to make production smarter and more efficient, whether that’s through virtual production or traditional filmmaking techniques.

Joe will share more about our physical stage and how it expands what’s possible for our clients, and Sam will get into how our production pipeline supports that. But from a big-picture perspective, Door G is a creative studio that stays ahead of what’s next in technology without losing sight of the human side of storytelling.

DP: What kind of customers use your stage? And what are the usual questions they have when they first come to you?

Jenna Rezendes: We work with a wide range of clients, from agencies and brands to production companies that just need the right space and support. Some clients come to us early on, looking for full creative ideation through production and post. Others already have their concept developed and just need production services, or even a studio rental. We’re set up to scale our support to meet their needs.

When people first reach out, the questions are usually about what’s possible on the stage: how virtual production actually works, what kinds of environments we can create, and how it impacts things like schedule or budget. We have a library of production-ready virtual environments that can be used as is, customised to fit the project, or fully custom-built when needed. It’s exciting to see clients realise that the stage isn’t just a technical tool; it’s a creative space that can open new ways to tell stories.

DP: How has your client communication changed since you started offering virtual production?

Jenna Rezendes: Communication has definitely evolved since we started offering virtual production. A big part of what we do now is education, helping clients understand how this technology changes the flow of a project. The conversations start earlier, and they’re more collaborative from the beginning.

With traditional production, clients are used to making creative decisions once they’re on set or in post. With virtual production, much of that decision-making moves to the front end. We spend more time in previsualization, running test sessions, and showing how scenes will look and feel before anyone arrives on set. That shift has actually deepened client relationships. They’re more involved in shaping the vision early, and they get to see ideas come to life in real time. Once they experience that, they realize how much more efficient and creatively freeing the process can be.

DP: When props are built for a shoot, say a few shelves or counters, can’t they be stored and reused for future productions?

Jenna Rezendes: Absolutely. One of the biggest sustainability advantages of virtual production is that so much of what we create lives in the digital space. Instead of building large practical sets that are used once and torn down, we’re designing digital environments that can be updated, customised, and reused across multiple productions. That dramatically reduces material waste and the carbon footprint that comes with traditional set construction.

For the physical elements, we do need to blend the virtual environments with the practical; we keep things minimal and modular. We’ll often store practical props or set pieces between shoots so they can be repurposed in future environments. It’s a smarter and more sustainable way to work, both creatively and operationally. We’re proud to be certified with the EMA Green Seal for sustainable studio practices, and that really guides how we think about production.

DP: What’s the most common misconception clients have about shooting in a VP stage?

Jenna Rezendes: One of the biggest misconceptions is that virtual production is only for creating worlds that don’t exist “on earth”, like post-apocalyptic landscapes, outer space, or big cinematic settings like The Mandalorian. And yes, it’s incredible for that kind of work, but it’s just as effective for everyday environments that are tricky or difficult to film in. We’ve used virtual production for medical facilities and retail spaces where on-location shooting can be disruptive, expensive, or constrained by logistics. With virtual production, we can easily recreate those environments with total control over lighting, timing, and camera movement.

Another misconception is the “fix it in post” mindset. In virtual production, so much of the decision-making happens on the front end. You’re designing and visualising the environment before you shoot, so there’s less guesswork later. Once clients experience that process and see the world on the LED stage in real time, it changes how they think about production entirely. It’s not about doing everything in post anymore; it’s about getting it right in the moment.

DP: When you prepare a shoot, what do you wish every customer already understood?

Jenna Rezendes: I wish every client understood how much smoother and more creative the process becomes when we’re all aligned early in pre-production.  There’s really no such thing as a perfectly prepared project, but the ones that set us up for success are those where clients share the right materials and collaborate with us early in the process. When communication is open from day one, and everyone is aligned on intent, technical needs, and delivery formats, it creates a strong foundation that saves a lot of time later. Clear references, organised assets, and early creative collaboration give our team what we need to prepare for production as effectively as possible.

Especially with VP, a little extra time up front for pre-production and previsualization makes a huge difference once we’re on set. Our post-production process is already streamlined, so the last thing you want to do is condense your pre-pro and pre-vis phases. That’s where we work through creative and technical challenges before they ever reach the stage, which ultimately leads to a smoother, more efficient shoot.

DP: And just to end on a fun note: you’ve spent quite a few minutes inside that stage. What’s the most amazing thing you’ve seen so far?

Jenna Rezendes: Nothing will ever top the first time I saw virtual production in action. That moment when it clicked for me that this technology wasn’t just for Hollywood but could completely change how we tell stories across all kinds of productions. Seeing a camera move through a digital environment in real time, with everything reacting naturally, was honestly jaw-dropping.

Since then, every project has its own amazing moment. Sometimes it’s watching a client experience it for the first time and seeing that same lightbulb go off. Other times it’s the thrill of seeing our team pull off something that felt impossible a few weeks earlier. The technology is incredible, but it’s those human reactions, the excitement, the surprise, and the creativity, that make it truly special.

DP: How do you manage creative decision-making between physical and digital departments?

Jenna Rezendes: Our production design team, Unreal artists, and DPs are in conversation from the earliest stages of a project so that creative ideas and technical realities stay aligned as things evolve. The goal is to ensure that what looks beautiful on screen also makes sense within the constraints of lighting, camera movement, and real-world space.

We approach it as one unified team rather than separate departments. The virtual art department might start developing the environment while our physical team experiments with lighting or set integration, and those discoveries flow back and forth until everything feels cohesive. That collaboration lets us balance creative freedom with practical execution, so nothing gets lost in translation between the real and virtual worlds.

Joe Ross, our technical director, and Sam Culbreth, our lead Unreal Engine designer, can speak more to how we balance creative with technology. They do a fantastic job creating the bridge between the two.

The Stage & Its Hardware

DP: So Joe, I hear you have a very big TV at work.

Joe Ross: Haha, I actually also refer to the volume as a big TV too! And the Brompton processors are just oversized HDMI adapters. The volume is 17m wide and 4m tall, so unfortunately, you’d probably get whiplash trying to watch TV across the whole thing. Those HDMI adapters I referred to are the Brompton SX40s.

We have three of them pushing pixels to our wall. 17,825,792 pixels to be exact, the full resolution is 8704×2048. We’re using a combination of InfiLED’s DBmk2 and X panels. The Xs are for the curve in the middle, since we have a curved L-shaped wall, which uses curved panels for the bend.

We went with that shape since it allowed us to make the best use of our studio size. It pretty much extends the full length of two sides of our studio. That allows us to shoot longer shots on one side of the volume and wider shots or trucking shots on the longer side of the wall.

Most often, we actually shoot into the curved corner of the wall, since it gives us the most flexibility to move the camera around without catching the edges of the wall, and it makes use of reflections and ambient light from both straight sides of the volume.

In terms of camera: We work with any sort. The refresh rate on our panels is fast enough that most modern cameras have no problem with any tearing or banding while shooting into the volume. We even have some people shoot with their phones with just default settings and have no problem. That said, we have an FX9 as our in-house camera, and mostly rent the Venice 2, RED V-Raptor [X], or Arri Mini LF. The RED Raptor in particular pairs nicely with the volume, since it has a global shutter, which helps even further with any refresh rate problems.

It also ties in with our Brompton processors and allows us to record two separate feeds from one camera: one with the 3D Unreal Scene on the volume and one with just green screen on the volume. The processors just alternate between the 3D scene and green, then the RED captures a separate feed for both, alternating each frame. It’s pretty wild! 

DP: How long does it take to set up and calibrate the stage for a new project?

Joe Ross: That’s definitely an “it depends” kind of question (laughs). If we’re doing a basic shoot with all of our standard in-house gear and well-tested Unreal levels, then everything is pretty much ready to boot up and go. So that may only take half an hour to an hour. We just need to reboot all the PCs to start fresh, connect them all to our Facilis server where the projects are stored, then launch a multi-user server for all of our Unreal machines to sync to.

If it’s a brand new shoot with rental gear and Unreal Projects that we haven’t shot in studio with before, then it can take much more time, up to a full day, to ensure all the pieces are playing nice with each other. The things that would require extra time are things like, calibrating the mo-sys camera tracking offset from the camera sensor to make sure the tracking is accurate, setting up and testing communication between our Unreal editors and render node and any on set tech that needs it, like a robot camera arm or DMX lights, then going through our shotlist and camera moves to make sure the Unreal level is playing nice with the full setup.

The robot arm is a big one, since our studio and Unreal Engine nDisplay config is set up by default to our Mo-Sys star tracker’s map. When we bring in the robot arm, we need to configure our nDisplay config to match the positioning and tracking system coming straight from the robot arm. We could just keep the Mo-Sys on the camera while it’s on the arm, but then we lose some of the benefits of having a robot arm tied into Unreal, plus our model of the Mo-Sys is older and pretty bulky, so it adds some decent heft to the rig.

DP: How do you collaborate with cinematographers who might be new to LED volumes?

Joe Ross: We, of course, do our best to “fix it in Pre” and have the DP and Director heavily involved while building out the virtual scenes, so they have a good idea of what things will look like when they step on set. From there, honestly, we keep things pretty close to traditional production from their standpoint. They just need to work with our virtual gaffer and the practical gaffer when lighting changes are needed in the scene.

That said, we have a few key pointers for first-time VP shooters. One is to try to keep the brightness up on the volume and stop down or ND down in the camera to get the best performance out of the volume in terms of colour and dynamic range. Another is to keep an eye out for any moire; if the focus plane is too close to the wall, you’ll start to see it. 

DP: A stage is more than a screen, a camera, and a server. Can you tell us about the rest of your setup?

Joe Ross: Yeah absolutely. For tracking systems, we use the Mo-Sys StarTracker, so our studio ceiling is covered with tracking dots. Probably more than we need, but that gives us very stable tracking, even when flags and lights get in the way of the Mo-Sys IR camera.

We have a wild wall as well, which we made a custom rolling rig for, so we can move it around the studio as needed for reflections and ambient light that matches our scene. That’s really all we have in-house, but often we will rent robotic camera arms that communicate with Unreal Engine. Those are a perfect pairing with the volume because they allow us to not only have very interesting, repeatable moves, but also to tell Unreal Engine where the camera will be before it gets there, cutting down on any delay between camera tracking and the perspective shift on the volume. 

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DP: You recently shot for a medical imaging company, and I heard there was sand involved. Please tell me you didn’t bring a bucket of it near your panels.

Joe Ross: Haha, yeah, that was my initial reaction when someone wanted to bring sand into the studio as well. There have been a couple of shoots with sand involved, actually. The one with medical equipment was a spot that cut from a hospital scene to a soldier stationed out in a desert. For that one, there wasn’t any physical sand used, but our virtual and physical art teams did a great job making it look very convincing!

The other instance of sand was actually for a music video shot in a sort of dystopian desert, city ruin type scene. For that one, we actually did bring real sand into the studio! I was definitely a little concerned about the grains of sand in the air but we kept it contained on a raised stage and kept it removed from the wall at least a few meters. We made sure no fans were used on set while the sand was there as well, and we had air scrubbers running in front of the volume to pull any particles down and away from the LEDs. 

In terms of keeping the volume clean, it’s tough to regularly clean the whole volume, but when needed, we’ll use compressed air or a vacuum with a gentle attachment to remove any dust or debris that may build up in the shader layer of the LED panels.

DP: When one of those LED panels goes dark, what happens next?

Joe Ross: Ah, the dreaded black panel… Well, it depends on where the issue stems from. So the first thing to do is diagnose whether it’s an issue with the panel/LED diodes, the internal PCB, or even software. If it’s just the LED panel itself, we will just pop it right out and replace it with spare panels that we got with our original order. It’s important to get extra panels with a volume like this because each batch of LED panels will be slightly different when they come out of the manufacturing process. So, having panels from the same batch ensures they match perfectly.

DP: What are the biggest maintenance challenges with LED volumes?

Joe Ross: The heat for sure! It can feel like a sauna in there at times if not managed properly. We definitely underestimated how much of a problem the heat from these panels would be. We’ve run our AC so hard trying to keep up with it that it keeps freezing over, and our facilities manager has had to literally chip the ice off it on the roof to get it back up and running again.

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We also have installed a secondary mini-split because the main AC wasn’t enough! Even now, we’re brainstorming better ways to remove heat from the studio instead of trying to pipe cold air in. We may be installing an exhaust in the ceiling to do just that!

DP: What’s the most creative or unusual technical solution you’ve had to invent on set?

Joe Ross: Ahh, this is the fun part! Don’t tell anyone, but I secretly love it when things break, and I need to scramble to fix them (Laughs). The old reliable workaround for many of our Unreal Engine hitches is to just freeze the image on the wall using our Brompton processors directly, while we work on rebooting or fixing issues or crashing in Unreal, without anyone noticing.

I think most of the more fun/interesting fixes happen in Unreal Engine. When things just aren’t working the way they are supposed to, you just do whatever works. One particularly odd instance was when we had a scene that traversed two rooms in two locations, stitched together in Unreal. The talent in the scene walked from a retail environment straight into their living room. For some reason, the lighting would not stay consistent, and lights from the living room would just pop on once the camera reached a certain point.

So after much head-scratching, we figured out that if we just stretch the frustum (basically the virtual camera’s vision) far out to the right side, so that it just thought that it was always in both locations at all times, then it would render all the lighting consistently throughout the move. Not the most elegant solution, but I always say, “if it’s stupid and it works, it’s not stupid.”

The Brain Bar & Pipeline

DP: Sam, with a job title like “Brain Bar Operator,” do you have the coolest business card in the world?

Sam Culbreth: So there are a few terms for it, and not all of them are as fun, but that’s actually only a portion of what I do. Most of my time is spent in pre-production building the environments and preparing them for a shoot.
Then, when we’re on set, it becomes the “central nervous system” of a virtual production stage. From The Brain Bar, we are loading our environments onto the LED wall, monitoring, and making adjustments to the scene. The scene’s virtual camera is connected with our tracking system, so it constantly updates its coordinates based on where we move the real camera.

DP: When you power up your Brain Bar, what’s actually howling in there?

Sam Culbreth: This is more of a question for Joe Ross, as he built our brain bar setup. But the specs are quite powerful to keep up with what we’re doing on the render node. If I had to make an upgrade.. Well.. I can always use more monitors!

Joe Ross: They are definitely pretty hardy. Most of our PCs were built in collaboration with Puget Systems out in Seattle. They’re always great to work with and are so diligent in testing which parts are best suited to your use case. At the Brain Bar, our machines run AMD Ryzen 9 CPUs and Nvidia 4090 GPUs. Our render node has an AMD Threadripper Pro CPU, which I’ve always wanted an excuse to use (Laughs), and two Nvidia 6000 ADA series GPUs. In terms of upgrades, we’re still running vanilla Unreal Engine and no real media server, so right now we’re looking into a Pixera, Disguise or Assimilate Live FX solution to help streamline and optimise some things.

DP: How do you handle colour management between Unreal, the LED wall, and camera output?

Sam Culbreth: This can be tricky, as we’re diving through multiple layers of colour between the wall, Unreal Engine, and the camera. Unreal Engine has built-in colour management tools for features like ACES. And we try to keep our wall settings consistent for each shoot.
But in the end, what really matters is what we’re seeing through that final camera output. Having that output visible in real time gives us plenty of opportunities to make adjustments before we film.

DP: When Jenna brings you a new project, what do you look for in the Unreal scene setup that a customer delivers?

Sam Culbreth: It all depends! I’m always happy to get references up front so I can start strategising right away. If there are preexisting 3D files, I can often convert them over to use in our scenes. As a general rule for textures, you want powers of twos. For any close or large textures, I like to stick to 4k. You can still get away with lower most of the time, especially if it’s far in the background. I’ll even go down to 256 if it’s a smaller, less detailed object.

DP: How do you document or archive the technical setup for each project?

Sam Culbreth: We have a standard template that we adapt with each new version of Unreal Engine. That way, I’m able to migrate any levels that have been built and keep all of our project settings consistent. I also tend to make a copy of the project before a shoot, in case anything changes dramatically while we’re on set. Once it’s over, we have a process for archiving old projects securely on-site in case we ever need to pull them back up.

DP: If you could write a wish list for your customers, what would it include?

Sam Culbreth: Come in with a solid plan and vision long before we’re on set.  We have some wiggle room to make changes, but your visuals should really be locked in before we’re shooting. If you’re uncertain about something, we can prepare a few options, but knowing that ahead of time gives us a chance to make preparations to adapt that won’t require on-set scrambling or potential crashes. Fewer changes on set means better stability and more precious time getting content.

DP: How do you coordinate real-time updates between Unreal, camera tracking, and lighting?

Sam Culbreth: That’s the neat part, you don’t! Once our motion tracking system is connected and the project is launched, the camera tracking handles itself. Most updates I make to the scene are typically immediately visible on the wall. Though occasionally I’ll have to save the scene to push the changes. As for latency, we test our scenes ahead of time to make sure they’re meeting our goals. We have a process for dividing up and disabling parts of our map when we need to improve our performance. 

DP:  What’s your favourite Alignment / test pattern?

Sam Culbreth: True Neutral, or Chaotic Good. – Oh test pattern, I don’t have one. But I tend to gravitate toward a synthwave aesthetic for screensavers.

DP: Gaussian splats are picking up momentum. Can you simply load one into your scene?

Sam Culbreth: We’ve experimented with a few different scan methods, and there is a bit of a process required to make it possible without totally overloading the system. Gaussian splatting is a very powerful technique that I’m hoping we can make more use of in the future, but it hasn’t been necessary for our builds. 

DP: What tools or plugins have become indispensable in your workflow?

Sam Culbreth: Of course, we have the necessary Virtual Production Tools like nDisplay, LiveLink, and Mo-sys. But I’ve really enjoyed using PolygonFlow’s Dash plugin and NVIDIA’s DLSS plugin. These tools really speed up my workflow when it comes to building environments, performance, and rendering. 

DP: And finally, the question every reader is thinking: can you game on the Door G stage after hours?

Sam Culbreth: I certainly hope to! We’ve tested a few things on it before, and it can absolutely serve as a massive monitor for maximum immersion. Furthermore, we’ve got plans to utilise our motion-tracking systems and VR environments to create some interesting options for virtual scouting and other experiences. 

The post Virtual Production Without the Disney Budget first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Out of the Box

The box contents are, refreshingly, complete. The Kamvas 13 (Gen 3) arrives with everything you’d expect — and a few nice surprises: the display itself, a foldable ST300 stand, the PW600L pen, ten replacement nibs, a 3-in-1 cable. No accessory hunting required, except for a Thunderbolt capable US-C-toUSB-C. Build quality leaves a good impression. The casing feels sturdy, doesn’t creak, and at 865 grams it’s light enough to throw into a backpack. It feels more “tool” than “toy,” which is a good start.

The Kamwas 13 Display

Huion advertises the Kamvas 13 (Gen 3) as factory-calibrated to ΔE < 1.5 … our unit, however, came in at ΔE 2.5 (Adobe RGB, Measured with our Datacolor Spyder Pro). Not bad, but not “color-critical.” You’ll want to calibrate it yourself if you work on anything that depends on color accuracy, and big grading jobs or Onset-Livegrading are not recommended. Why we are saying that? For that price, you’d think you could just put it onto your DIT-Cart. You can, but you wil lhave to check the colors more often.

That said, the anti-glare surface deserves genuine praise. It’s the nicest we’ve seen so far: it kills reflections without dulling the image or killing contrast, and it feels wonderfully smooth, like a high-quality matte paper, not sandpaper. The screen itself is Full HD (1920 × 1080), which is perfectly fine for a 13-inch panel. It’s not a retina display, but at typical viewing distances it looks crisp enough for painting, layout work, or even quick note-taking.

Pen & Performance

The PW600L pen uses Huion’s PenTech 4.0 system, and it’s battery-free, a small victory in an age of rechargeable everything. During testing across Rebelle 8, Photoshop and Microsoft Ink, the pen behaved as expected: accurate tracking, no real lag, and pressure sensitivity that feels natural once you fine-tune it.

That “once” matters. Out of the box, the settings we made were too hard, and we initially thought the pressure curve was off. Turns out the issue was “idiot user”, not “hardware”. The Huion driver lets you adjust the curve quite precisely, well worth the five minutes of tinkering before judging it. After six weeks of daily sketching and note-taking, the original nib still showed no wear. The replacement nibs included should last a good long while unless you’re carving marble in Krita.

From the Left

As some of you know, one of our key ergonomics features is that we can actually use the device. And yes, I’m a Southpaw. A leftie. If you’ve ever wondered why some hardware never makes it into Digital Production, that’s the reason (Well, one of the reasons). If it’s not usable for us and the other 10% of humanity, it doesn’t get tested. Simple rule.

The Huion Kamvas 13 (Gen 3) passes this test with flying colors. In the driver software, flipping the orientation is literally one click, rotate, mirror, turn it upside down if you feel like it. There’s no directionality to the chassis and the ports, no fixed edge, angle or cable trap that dictates how you have to work. So if you’re one of us, this tablet won’t force you to contort your wrist or flip your brain to right-handed mode. And for the others: Did you recognize that the featured image above this article is a leftie drawing? No? I thought so.

Ergonomics & Workflow

The left edge holds two mechanical dials and five customizable buttons. They’re easy to reach and satisfyingly quiet. Macro assignment is limited, you can’t yet chain multiple actions (like “new layer + color switch”) but the basics are there.

Switching between monitors took a few days to get used to. In our dual-screen setup, toggling the pen focus from the Kamvas to the main monitor isn’t instant muscle memory. After a while, though, it becomes second nature. Mirroring the main display didn’t quite work in our configuration, but that’s likely a Windows quirk or a driver limitation. For most use cases, drawing, annotation, or light compositing, extending the desktop is the better option anyway.

As for Thunderbolt, a word of warning: not all cards are equal. We discovered that Thunderbolt expansion cards vary wildly between workstation manufacturers. Mixing an (Random example) Asus add-in card with a Lenovo board, for instance, another random example, is an exercise in frustration (see XKCD’s “Standards” comic). Not Huion’s fault, but worth noting if you’re planning a clean single-cable setup. Make sure your USB-C ports are Thunderbolt-capable!

Everyday Use

Once configured, the Kamvas 13 (Gen 3) simply behaves. It works as a secondary screen, a sketchpad, or a small presentation monitor. For productivity use, it’s perfectly fine: crisp enough for text, light enough for travel. The anti-glare glass remains a highlight: even after hours of drawing, the surface stays clean and non-sticky, with minimal fingerprint buildup. And because the tablet has no fan, it’s completely silent and stays cool.

One disclaimer, though: as with every tablet, it will not make you a good artist. You’ll still have to bring the talent yourself. If you’re wondering why we didn’t warn you earlier: we thought it was obvious, until we tried proving otherwise. For evidence, please refer to our attempt at a one-line house drawing. Don’t laugh — we’re mouse users by habit, idiots on top of that and it took eight failed tries to get that one semi-straight roof. There’s a reason this magazine focuses on tech, not concept art.

Verdict of the Kamwas 13

After a solid six weeks with the Kamvas 13 (Gen 3), we can confidently say this: it’s a sensible tablet. The display might not be colorist-grade, but it’s bright, balanced, and consistent. The pen feels natural, the build is solid, and the included accessories make it a ready-to-go package straight from the box. If you’re looking for a mobile, lightweight pen display that doesn’t break the bank, the Kamvas 13 (Gen 3) is easy to recommend.

Software quirks aside, it’s an ideal entry point for new artists, or a travel companion for experienced ones who don’t want to risk their main display in a backpack. We were genuinely surprised by how much performance you can get for €239 on Huion’s official store. And since our test went so well: should we ask Huion for one of their Android tablets next? Let us know, we’re curious ourselves.

The post Huion Kamvas 13 (Gen 3): Welcome to Sensible Pen Tablets first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Xencelabs introduces the Pen Display 16 Lite, a 4K OLED mobile tablet positioned as a travel-ready counterpart to the company’s larger studio panels. The device arrives with a 12 mm chassis, a weight of 1.2 kg, and a panel that outputs 1.07 billion colors across Adobe RGB, sRGB, P3-D65, and Rec.709. Pricing starts at US$799, while the full Pen Display 16 Bundle with power hub and Mobile Easel comes in at US$1249.00. The optional Xencelabs Desktop Easel for Pen Display 16 is available separately for US$179.00.

The fanless display uses a 4K OLED 10-bit panel with 3840 × 2160 pixels at 60 Hz. Super AG Etching reduces reflections without introducing the usual crystalline artefacts common to aggressive matte coatings. According to Xencelabs, this allows long sessions under bright environments or ceiling lighting without visual noise on the panel surface. Brightness reaches 300 cd/m² when used with the hub included in the bundle.

The device integrates Kensington NanoSaver security, USB-C (DP alt mode) connectivity, and an EMR input stack shared with the company’s recent pens. Both the 3-Button Pen + Eraser v2 and Thin Pen + Eraser v2 are bundled, each offering 8192 pressure levels, ±60-degree tilt, and 5080 LPI resolution. The pens remain cordless and battery-free. The optional Quick Keys remote adds an OLED UI, up to 44 shortcuts per application, and up to 53 hours runtime.

For portability, the 410 × 259.4 mm chassis fits into typical backpacks or soft cases. The Mobile Easel included in the Pen Display 16 Bundle supports 18- and 32-degree working positions.

Specifications include a 344.2 × 193.6 mm active area, 13 kWh/1000 h power consumption, and compatibility with Windows, Windows ARM64, macOS, and Linux, with an internet connection required to install the Xencelabs driver.

Specs: Xencelabs Pen Display 16 Lite

Category	Specification
Product Name	Pen Display 16 Bundle / Pen Display 16 Lite
Color	Carbon Black
Warranty	2 years
Stand	Mobile Easel in Bundle (Desktop Easel sold separately)
Stand Angles	18° and 32°
System Requirements	Windows 7+, Windows 11 ARM64, macOS 10.13+, Linux; internet required for driver download
Model Number	LPH1612U-A
Dimensions	410 × 259.4 × 12 mm
Active Area	344.2 × 193.6 mm
Resolution	3840 × 2160 @ 60 Hz
Weight	1.2 kg
Security	Kensington NanoSaver Slot
Displayable Colors	1.07 billion
Gamut Coverage	98% Adobe RGB, 99% sRGB, 98% P3-D65, 99% Rec.709
Surface	Super AG Etching
Brightness	300 cd/m² (with hub, Bundle only)
Energy Class	F
Power Input	90–264 VAC, 50/60 Hz
Power Output	Hub: 12V/2.5A (Bundle only); USB-C DP alt: 5V/3A
Power Consumption	13 kWh / 1000 h
Pens	3-Button Pen v2 + Thin Pen v2
Pressure	8192 levels
Tilt	±60°
Resolution	5080 LPI
Type	EMR, battery-free
Quick Keys Model	K02-A
Quick Keys Display	3.12-inch OLED
Orientation	0° / 90° / 180° / 360°
Quick Keys Battery	Up to 53 hours
Buttons	Up to 44 shortcuts per app
Dial	Up to 4 modes

The post Xencelabs Pen Display 16 Lite: 4K OLED in a 12 mm Shell first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.