Questions producers ask · Burbank & Albuquerque
Virtual Production Studio FAQs
Straight answers on renting our turnkey virtual production studios in Burbank and Albuquerque: what is included, the sets, the crew, pricing and the New Mexico credit.
- 250+ sets in every rental
- Virtual system operator included
- Quoted to your shoot, no rack rate
- Albuquerque: 30% refundable NM credit
Or call 818-934-3775 Burbank 818-861-7317 Albuquerque
Productions that have trusted us
The networks, the streamers and the studios have all shot here.
Hart to Heart, Aquaman 2, Inventing Anna, Bosch, The Mummy, Greenland, Deadliest Catch and national spots for T-Mobile, Amazon and Domino's. Full credit list
Virtual production studio rental, in three short answers
- Can we shoot it here?
- Features, series, talk shows, game shows, news sets, commercials, host wraps, press junkets, music videos and vertical drama production all shoot here, single- or multi-camera. The location is a photoreal virtual set that appears around your talent live, in camera, on our stage.
- What comes with the rental?
- The studio, 250+ ready-to-load virtual sets, lighting, grip and audio, the teleprompter system, dressing rooms, makeup, green rooms and production offices, and the operator who runs the virtual sets. A camera crew is optional, or bring your own.
- How do we ask?
- Send the format and your dates in the form on this page or call either studio. You hear back from a producer with availability at both studios and a quote built on your shoot.
The technology
Virtual production and the technology
- What is virtual production?
- Filming where the location is a photoreal virtual set that appears around your talent live, in camera, on our stage. You see the finished shot on the monitor while you film, with no background added later in post, and the location can change between takes. See our virtual production studio in Los Angeles, how CastleVision works or the technology behind it.
- What is CastleVision?
- Our patented method for filming a real place, with its real light and movement, and bringing it onto the stage, so actors perform inside it and the camera can move as if it were there. Pioneered in 2007, now protected by two U.S. patents: one for filming with a video game engine, and one for CastleVision itself. Read the CastleVision deep dive →
- Can you recreate our own restaurant, store or office?
- Yes. Send photographs, plans or the address and we build it or capture it with CastleVision, then configure it for filming, so walls that block the camera come out, windows face the light and the business never has to close. You shoot it in our studio in Burbank or Albuquerque. How any location gets on camera →
- Do you shoot on an LED volume / LED wall?
- No. Neither studio shoots against an LED wall or LED volume. In Burbank, a giant LED screen is the video village, where the whole team watches the finished composite live. We deliver what productions want from one, the final composited image live in camera, on a green screen stage with our patented real-time compositing. Each camera gets its own render, so all three cameras can move in different directions at once and each sees the set from its own angle. Cameras moving in different directions cannot each see their own view of the same space on one LED wall. More on virtual production beyond LED walls →
- Do you offer XR, AR, VR and MR production?
- Yes. Augmented, virtual and mixed reality are all part of the extended-reality spectrum both studios handle, single- or multi-camera. See XR production →
The rental
Renting a virtual production studio
- What does a studio rental include?
- Every rental is turnkey: the studio, 250+ ready-to-load virtual sets, the CastleVision pipeline, lighting, grip and audio packages, the teleprompter system, dressing rooms, makeup, green rooms and production offices, and the virtual system operator who drives the virtual sets in real time. A camera crew is optional. You bring the script and the talent. See the support spaces on the facility page, what that means for a feature on film studio rental, or how a production studio rental works.
- Is a virtual system operator included?
- Yes. An experienced virtual system operator is included in every rental and drives the real-time pipeline for you, so your team can focus on the shoot rather than the technology. A camera crew is optional: our crew package adds three camera operators, one of them on the jib, plus a teleprompter operator. Or bring your own team.
- What are the studio specs in Burbank and Albuquerque?
- Burbank:
- a pre-lit green screen cyclorama under a 20-ft ceiling (15 ft to the grid), silent HVAC, isolated power, stadium-style audience seating, drive-on load-in and 20+ parking spaces. On the floor: a 13-ft encoded CamMate jib and Mo-Sys camera tracking.
- Albuquerque:
- a green screen cyclorama stage lit by 36 Aputure Nova P300c fixtures, three ARRI Alexa 35 cinema cameras with Fujinon cinema zooms, a carbon-fiber telescoping crane, extensive parking, easy load-in and a furniture and prop warehouse.
- Do you seat a studio audience?
- Yes, at both studios. Burbank has stadium-style tiered seating built into the stage, and a giant LED video village where the whole team watches the finished composite. Albuquerque seats an audience too. Seating is offered for talk shows, game shows and any production that wants a live audience. See TV studio rental for multi-camera tapings.
- Do you rent office space?
- Yes, in Burbank. Private production offices sit on site at the Burbank studio, furnished or unfurnished and month-to-month, with high-speed internet, conference rooms, production parking and studio access for tenants. See Burbank office space for lease.
- How much does it cost, and how do I get a quote?
- We price each production against its actual format, scope and schedule rather than a rack rate. The number depends on shoot days, crew size, set complexity and which studio you use. See virtual production cost and rates, then send the format and your dates and a producer replies with availability and a quote. If you are new to virtual production, a studio tour with a live demo is a good first step.
- Can I shoot multi-camera?
- Yes. The pipeline was built for multi-camera capture: three cameras can shoot at once on green, and each camera gets its own render, so you get coverage in a single take. That is why talk shows, game shows, news and episodic TV shoot here alongside features.
- How do I book a tour or demo?
- Studio tours are for producers with a project, by appointment, at either studio, and include a live CastleVision demo. Request a studio tour, or call 818-934-3775 (Burbank) or 818-861-7317 (Albuquerque).
The sets
Virtual sets and what you can shoot
- How many virtual sets do you have?
- A library of 250+ ready-to-load virtual sets, from a Lisbon square to a space station, with new sets added regularly. Any of them loads in seconds, and the whole library is available at both studios. Browse the virtual set library →
- Can any scene happen in your studio?
- Nearly any. 250+ virtual sets are ready to load, our artists build any place you can describe, and CastleVision captures real places. A courtroom in the morning, a Lisbon square after lunch, a spaceship by evening, without leaving the stage. How we put any location on camera →
- Can you build a custom set?
- Yes. Alongside the ready-to-load library, our in-house set builders and artists build custom virtual environments to a production’s spec in our Unreal Engine virtual production studio, and custom looks can carry your branding.
- Can we come back for pickups months later?
- Yes. Sets live on drives, so there are no set storage fees and nothing to rebuild. We reload the exact set, lighting and framing, even months later, the way a virtual standing set works.
- What kinds of productions do you handle?
- Feature films and series, talk shows, game shows, news sets, commercials, corporate and branded content, vertical drama and micro-series, sci-fi and spaceship sets, host wraps, press junkets and music videos, single- or multi-camera.
The studios
Studio locations and the New Mexico film tax credit
- Where are your studios?
- Two locations. Burbank, California: 154 S. Victory Blvd, Burbank, CA 91502, in the Media Capital of the World, directly across from Nickelodeon Studios. Albuquerque, New Mexico: 8610 President Pl NE, Albuquerque, NM 87113, about 10 minutes from the Sunport. Both run the same pipeline, so a production can split between them without losing continuity.
- Does shooting in Albuquerque qualify for the New Mexico film tax credit?
- Yes. Our Albuquerque studio is a New Mexico Qualified Production Facility, so eligible productions qualify for the state’s 30% refundable film tax credit on qualified in-state spend: a 25% base credit plus a 5% uplift for shooting at a qualified facility. Refundable means the state pays the credit out after the spend is reviewed and approved; in our experience that takes roughly 6 to 12 months, and timelines vary. We are not tax advisors, so confirm eligibility with your production accountant and the New Mexico Film Office. How the New Mexico film tax credit works →
- Who have you worked with?
- Abstraction (2025) shot entirely on our stages, and Mr. Spaceship, a feature captured almost entirely in camera in Albuquerque, is now in post. Aquaman 2, The Mummy and Greenland also shot here, alongside Hart to Heart, Bosch, Inventing Anna and Deadliest Catch, national commercials for T-Mobile, Amazon and Domino’s, and work for Warner Bros., HBO, Netflix, Universal, BET, Paramount and Hearst. See the full credit list →
Don’t see your question? Ask it in the form below with your dates, or book a studio tour with a live CastleVision demo.
Check availability
Ask the question we didn’t answer, and send your dates
Tell us the format, your dates and what you need to know. A producer reads it, not a sales queue, and replies by email or phone with the answer and availability at both studios.
- Turnkey: the studio, the sets, lighting, grip and audio, the teleprompter system, support spaces and the operator who runs the virtual sets
- Studio tours and live CastleVision demos by appointment, at Burbank or Albuquerque
- Quoted against your actual shoot, never a rack rate
Rather talk it through? 818-934-3775 · Burbank
818-861-7317 · Albuquerque
Got it. Thank you.
Your inquiry is in.
A producer will reach out to talk through your project and next steps. Need us sooner? Call 818-934-3775 (Burbank) or 818-861-7317 (Albuquerque).
Faster than reading
Six of these questions, answered on camera
Raw green on the floor and the finished frame, CastleVision bringing a real plaza onto the stage, a real home rebuilt as a set, a talk show, feature scenes and a walk through the Albuquerque studio. Hover to preview; click to play with sound. Tap to play with sound.
From the set library
The sets behind “nearly any scene”
A courtroom in the morning, a Lisbon square after lunch, a spaceship bridge by evening, plus talk-show, news, house, street and office sets. Every one loads in seconds and comes with the rental, at either studio.
Where these answers go into more depth
Each page below takes one of the questions further: the technology, the studios, the sets, the cost and the credit.
- Virtual production in Los Angeles The full picture of the Burbank studio for someone new to virtual production.
- Unreal Engine virtual production How the Unreal Engine sets render live, one camera per render.
- How CastleVision works The patented method behind the live, in-camera composite.
- Virtual production technology Unreal Engine, camera tracking and live keying, one camera per render.
- Virtual production beyond LED walls How a green screen composite compares with an LED volume.
- Virtual production cost and rates What drives a quote and what every rental includes.
- Burbank studio 20-ft ceiling, 15 ft to the grid, stadium-style seating and drive-on load-in.
- Albuquerque studio The feature film studio, on the New Mexico 30% track.
- New Mexico film tax credit 25% base plus a 5% facility uplift, refundable.
- Browse 250+ virtual sets Every set in the library comes with the rental.
- Any location, real or imagined Custom builds and CastleVision captures when the library does not have it.
- Film studio rental Features and episodic work at both studios.
- TV studio rental Multi-camera shows with audience seating.
- Talk show set rental Three cameras at once, the home of Hart to Heart.
Still deciding? Send the format and your dates. A producer replies with availability at both studios and a quote built on your shoot.
Read more
