Virtual Production | Thunder Studios Long Beach, CA

thunder studios

Virtual
Production

Where the world's biggest productions come to life.

Film stages. Virtual production. Live events. All under one roof, built for productions that can't afford to compromise.

Why LED Volume?

Total Control Over Every Frame.

See It In Action

Real light.
Real reflections.

The LED wall casts natural light onto talent and props, making it ideal for realistic driving scenes and productions where reflective surfaces are key to make the shot real.

Thunder Studios Stage 14 LED volume wall for virtual production

Any location.
Same day.

Tokyo skyline. Arctic tundra. Desert highway. Switch environments between setups without leaving Long Beach.

Director monitoring virtual production shoot at Thunder Studios

See the final shot in real time.

No waiting weeks for a comp. Decisions happen on set, in real time. Productions move faster and environments adapt to the director's vision live.

On-set filming with LED volume backdrop at Thunder Studios virtual production stage

the stage

Stage 14, in frame.

Curated shots from recent productions on the new Stage 14 LED volume. Full work archive linked below.

Stage 14 XR LED volume interior at Thunder Studios Long Beach

Talent performing in front of LED volume during virtual production shoot

Production crew operating XR control station for real-time virtual production

Director reviewing footage on monitor during LED volume production

Wide view of Thunder Studios Stage 14 with LED wall displaying virtual environment

See all the specs for Stage 14

14 stages, each with its own footprint. We'll match the right one.

See Stage 14 →

Book a tour →

Know the difference

Two modes. One wall.

Virtual production workflow at Thunder Studios

LED

Real-time rendering technology for virtual production at Thunder Studios

XR

Live 3D · Tracked

LED

Plate Playback · Fast

Live 3D · Unreal engine

Rendering

Pre-rendered plates

sType tracking

Camera tracking

no tracking

Full parallax

Depth

Flat 2D plate

DYNAMIC SCENES, STYLIZED ENVIRONMENTS

Best for

Driving plates, STATIC SCENES, PRODUCT

Still deciding? We'll help you pick.

Start the call →

how it works

Concept to reality in five steps.

Pre-production

Tech Call

30 minutes with our XR team. You walk us through script, environments, camera moves — what happens in-camera vs. post, and we strategize an approach.

30 min · No charge

Build

World Building

Optional Step. Some clients bring their environments, others task us with helping us develop them. Both LED and XR Asset Creation services are available.

1–4 weeks

Pre-call

Camera Calibration

Scheduled a day before prelight for all XR productions (Not required on LED). sType technician syncs your camera and lenses to our system.

Day before shoot

On set

Shoot Day

Our XR operator + Unreal engine techs run the wall. Swap environments between setups. Director sees the final frame live, and adjusts as needed while we move along.

Full XR crew on-site

Wrap

Wrap & Delivery

Footage ships with minimal post. Most shots deliver in-camera. You leave with finished frames, not post tasks. If tracking was used, we deliver assets with data to your post team.

In-camera VFX

Essentials

Booking FAQ

We know every project is unique, and you might have some questions before getting started.

Do we need to build our own Unreal environments?

Not necessarily. You can bring your own assetes or utilize our World Building partners to source, create, and polish assets. We'll cover the right approach during the tech consultation

How far in advance do environments need to be ready?

For XR Shoots, we recommend environments finalized and cdelivered to us 4 days before shoot day. For LED Shoots, the day before prelight is enough. This allows time for us to pre-load, tech test and color calibrate before you have a full crew on set.

What cameras and lenses work best on Stage 14?

Stage 14 works with virtually all professional cinema cameras, the key is for them to genlock or have global shutter so they can sync to the wall. Lenses with strong native focus breathing can complicate sType tracking — we'll walk through your specific kit on the tech call. Ultra wide lenses typically do not work well.

Can Stage 14 be used for live events and streaming?

Yes! Stage 14 is fully broadcast-ready and has been used for live streaming, virtual event backdrops, and hybrid in-person/broadcast experiences — with dedicated fiber, A/V support, and live streaming ready to go.

Is Stage 14 bookable for less than a full day?

All stages including Stage 14 are booked on a day-rate basis — 12 hours minimum. Given the technical setup required for XR production, most productions find a full day to be the right minimum regardless. We have a 2 minimum day for XR, and 1 for LED Shoots.

What's the fundamental difference vs. green screen?

With green screen, your background is added weeks later in post. With the LED volume, it's live on set — the director sees the final shot in real time, the wall emits actual light onto talent, and you leave shoot day with a dramatically lighter post pipeline.

What's the difference between XR and LED?

The main difference is where and how the environments are run on the wall. XR usually involves building complex Unreal scenes, combined with precision camera tracking and playing live on stage with Unreal Engine. LED does not include camera tracking, as the environments are playback assets and do not contain tracking data. LED can simulate depth and reactivity too, we just can't track it.

Ready when you are

Let's make something big.

Tell us your dates and stage size — we'll come back with availability and a quote the same day.

Check availability →

Capabilities deck

Clients