Why We Built a Virtual Production Stage in Brooklyn — And What We Learned

By Brais Revalderia, Founder & Director, 100 Sutton Studios

When we opened 100 Sutton Studios in 2020, virtual production was still a niche conversation. Most indie and mid-budget commercial productions were nowhere near considering LED volume stages. The technology was expensive, the talent pool was thin, and the workflows were unproven outside of tentpole features. Three years and hundreds of shoots later, our Greenpoint campus runs one of the few dedicated virtual production stages in Brooklyn — and the lessons have been worth every dollar and late night.

The Case for LED Volume in Commercial Production

Virtual production with LED volume and real-time rendering (we use Unreal Engine) eliminates entire categories of production cost and complexity. Need a sunset in Santorini for a luxury brand spot? Instead of flying a 15-person crew to Greece, permitting locations, managing weather holds, and paying for travel days, you light a subject on our stage and composite the environment in-camera — in real time. The client sees the final look on set, not three weeks later in post.

For the director and DP, that changes the creative conversation entirely. You're not guessing at what the composite will look like. You're lighting the talent with the actual environment wrapping around them — the bounce, the color temperature, the reflections are real. That's the difference between a convincing final frame and something that looks like stock footage with a green screen cutout.

What Actually Matters When Choosing a Virtual Production Facility

After shooting dozens of projects on our LED volume — from HBO content to Nike campaigns — here's what separates a capable virtual production stage from a marketing gimmick:

Pixel pitch and panel quality. Cheap LED walls create moiré patterns on camera. The panels need to hold up at cinema-grade resolution with proper color reproduction. We invested in high-density panels specifically because our clients shoot on ARRI, RED, and Sony Venice systems that expose every flaw.

Real-time rendering pipeline. The Unreal Engine operator is as critical as the gaffer. If your virtual production team can't adjust environments on the fly — matching camera movement, shifting time of day, swapping backgrounds between setups — you're not doing virtual production. You're doing a slide show.

Motion control integration. This is where our setup gets interesting. We pair the LED volume with a Bolt motion control robot. The robot executes repeatable, precision camera moves while the virtual environment tracks in sync. That means you can run the same camera move across multiple takes with different talent, different products, or different environments — and every pass is identical. For commercial production, where clients often want multiple variations from a single shoot day, this combination is a genuine multiplier.

The Cost Reality

Virtual production is not cheap, but it's often cheaper than the alternative. A typical commercial shoot requiring three distinct locations might cost $80K–$150K in travel, permits, location fees, weather contingency, and additional shoot days. The same project on our LED volume stage — with pre-built environments, controlled conditions, and no weather risk — can come in at 40–60% of that, with faster turnaround and more creative control.

The key variable is pre-production. Virtual production front-loads creative decisions. The environment design, lighting references, and camera blocking need to happen before the shoot day, not on the fly. Productions that invest in proper pre-vis and environment prep get exponentially better results — and save money in the process.

Why Brooklyn, Why Now

New York production has always been concentrated in Manhattan and Long Island City. Greenpoint offered us 15,000 square feet at a price point that made it feasible to build six studios, a theater, and a virtual production stage under one roof. The neighborhood is accessible — 10 minutes from Williamsburg, 20 from Midtown — and the building supports 24/7 production without residential noise complaints.

More importantly, the production community here is ready for it. Directors and DPs working in commercials, branded content, and episodic television want virtual production access without booking a stage in Atlanta or LA. Having a fully equipped LED volume stage in Brooklyn — with motion control, professional lighting infrastructure, and experienced operators — fills a gap that's been obvious to anyone working in New York production for the last few years.

What's Next

We're continuing to expand the virtual production pipeline — adding environment libraries, improving real-time tracking, and integrating AI-assisted pre-visualization tools. The technology moves fast, and the studios that stay current will be the ones that production companies trust with their most ambitious work.

If you're a director, DP, or producer exploring virtual production for your next project, we're always open for a walkthrough. Come see the stage, meet the team, and let's talk about what's possible.

100 Sutton Studios is a full-service production campus in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Book a tour at [email protected] or call (332) 263-3622.