World’s first Crystal LED VERONA installation at the University of the Arts London
Sony and the University of the Arts London (UAL) partner on a specialist Virtual Production (VP) research stage featuring a Crystal LED wall offering incredible quality, unbelievable low reflectance, and flexibility.
- Innovative new university virtual production research lab needed a highly accurate and long-term display solution for groundbreaking ICVFX research on textiles and materials.
- A horseshoe shaped Crystal LED wall that is 19.5 meters long and stands 4 meters tall, made up of 312 Sony VERONA Panels of both 1.5mm and 2.3mm pixel pitch.
- Highly flexible virtual production solution using panels with exceptional levels of brightness, incredibly low levels of reflectance, and unmatched black levels.
Sony VERONA really stood out, in every category the Sony Crystal LEDs really excelled in returns on our tests.
Peter Hill
UAL Technical Manager of 3D and Material Science
Innovation in XR Textiles and Dress
UAL, through its Fashion, Textiles and Technology Institute (FTTI) is developing a state-of-the-art Virtual Production (VP) lab facility at its new East Bank campus. Funded by UK Research & Innovation, Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), this facility will advance research in the digital rendition of textiles and dress, spanning wide ranging cultural contexts, and the integration of these assets into screen, real-time, and live environments to create innovative digital material experiences.
‘’This is the first facility of its kind in the world’’, says Professor Jane Harris, UAL Director of Research and Innovation. ‘’We’re working with leading specialist software developers and collaborating across the Creative Industries’’.
Rigorous Testing
The testing program that UAL embarked on was extensive.
“We undertook an extremely thorough and demanding series of camera and screen shoot-outs,” confirmed Peter Hill, Technical Manager, 3D and Material Science, UAL. “VERONA… in 1.5mm and 2.3mm pixel pitch fulfil our remit of creating a fantastic, flexible VP stage with incredible quality, unbelievable low reflectance, and flexibility.”
Sony VERONA panels exceeded the expectations of the UAL team. The Deeper Blacks and Anti-Reflection Surface Technology, the high brightness and wide cinematic color gamut and the refresh rates up to 7680Hz allowing for high-speed filming.
There were other compelling factors. The research lab will also benefit from solutions like the Virtual Production Tool Set, which could prove to be extremely useful for researchers, allowing them to pre-visualize scenes and creative concepts using the Virtual VENICE for Unreal Engine to develop, pre-visualise and configure the Crystal LED displays for rapid deployment of VP projects.
However, it wasn’t just the panels that helped with the decision-making process; it was the comprehensive end-to-end support from Sony, which streamlined the workflow, and was another significant consideration.
Moving Forward
“Our partnership with UAL has been over 12 months in the making,” commented Sebastian Leske, Head of Cinema Business Development at Sony Europe. ”Through rigorous testing, VERONA came out on top, making a huge statement in the Education sector about the potential application of virtual production to support innovation in research and development contexts, and future learning experiences.
The collaboration to date between UAL and Sony has proven highly successful for all involved, laying the foundation for the future.
We are thrilled to be partnering with Sony for our incredible new Virtual Production Research Volume… The VERONA display is strikingly different and will deliver a huge leap forward in our research aims, pushing at the very fabric of what is visually possible in the exciting emergent field of in-camera visual effects (ICVFX).
Marcus Saunders
Associate Director, Technical Resources, UAL
