A new £72m virtual production studio facility developed by Ulster University has been launched in Belfast.
Studio Ulster, which is said to be the world’s most advanced virtual production facility, spans 75,000 sq ft and has been designed to support productions at every scale.
It is the result of a £72m investment part-funded through the Belfast Region City Deal and developed by the university in partnership with Belfast Harbour with support from Northern Ireland Screen.
The facility offers large-scale virtual production stages, whilst integrating real-time engines, in-camera visual effects, volumetric capture and motion tracking into a sustainable pipeline.
It has been designed to elevate the UK and Ireland’s capacity for commercial studio production and is also home to the CoSTAR Screen Lab, one of five national research labs created under the UK-wide CoSTAR initiative.
This programme, backed by £75.6m in funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and £63m in new industry investment, positions Studio Ulster at the centre of global R&D in screen and creative technologies.
“From the docks that built the Titanic to the LED stages that now build entire universes, Belfast has always punched above its weight,” said Professor Declan Keeney, CEO of Studio Ulster.
“The launch of Studio Ulster marks a new chapter, one where cutting-edge virtual production, motion capture, and digital scanning converge to give filmmakers, game developers, and creatives the power to shape worlds in real time.
“We’ve taken the spirit of Belfast’s shipyards, precision, ambition, and pride in what we build and applied it to the future of storytelling.
“This isn’t just a studio. It’s a global platform for imagination, powered by some of the most advanced creative technology anywhere in the world.”
Studio Ulster is the only purpose-built virtual production campus of its kind in Ireland. The facility includes features from 3D/4D scanning and motion capture, to full-scale LED volume stages and post-production suites.
Richard Williams, CEO of Northern Ireland Screen, added: “Virtual production has truly come of age at Studio Ulster. While many filmmakers are aware of the basics, few fully grasp how radically the technology has evolved.
“Studio Ulster is a genuine game-changer, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible on screen and enabling directors to bring any imagined world to life, right here at Belfast Harbour.
“Northern Ireland Screen is proud to support this landmark facility, which redefines the studio offering not only in Northern Ireland but across the UK and Europe.”