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L.A. Castle Studios
& ABQ Castle Studios
Earth seen from an orbital window in a virtual spaceship set, a frame from the XR stage reel at L.A. & ABQ Castle Studios

XR studioAR / VR / MR

XR Stage & Extended Reality Production

Your talent performs in a photoreal virtual world, composited live in camera and finished on set, at our XR studios in Los Angeles and Albuquerque.

  • Three cameras, a render for each
  • Virtual system operator included
  • 250+ virtual sets ready to load
  • Pioneered in 2007, two U.S. patents
Check Availability Book a Studio Tour

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

  • HBO
  • Netflix
  • NBC
  • CBS
  • Amazon Prime Video
  • Disney
  • Fox
  • BBC America

What you get

XR stage rental in Los Angeles and Albuquerque, turnkey

Rent an XR studio where the world your talent performs in is built, lit and composited in real time. The location is a photoreal virtual set that appears around your talent live, in camera, on our stage. You see the finished extended reality shot on the monitor while you film, not six months later in post, and the world can change between takes.

We pioneered this kind of production in 2007, with our CastleVision method, at our virtual production studio in Los Angeles. It is now covered by two U.S. patents, and we have run it on real film, TV and broadcast productions ever since, at two studios: Burbank, in Los Angeles, and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

A host on an Unreal Engine virtual set beside a motion-captured character, composited live in camera at ABQ Castle Studios
A virtual set and a motion-capture character, composited live

The XR spectrum

AR, VR and MR looks, composited live for camera

Augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality: they're all ways of placing a real performer inside a digital world. Our XR studio handles the full extended reality spectrum on one pipeline: real-time graphics, precision camera tracking, Unreal Engine environments, and live compositing, captured single- or multi-camera. Physical pieces such as a desk, a table or a sofa can sit in the foreground and blend with the virtual world, and the composited image can go out live in a stream as well as to the recorders.

  • Real-time extended reality you see finished on set
  • Precision camera tracking with parallax that responds to the lens
  • Unreal Engine worlds and 250+ ready-to-load virtual sets
  • Multi-camera capture: coverage in a single take
  • CastleVision, pioneered in 2007 and now patented
  • Two XR studios, Burbank and Albuquerque. Albuquerque shoots can qualify for New Mexico’s 30% refundable credit

Included in every XR stage rental

  • The XR studio, with the virtual system operator who runs the virtual world in real time
  • 250+ ready-to-load virtual sets, swapped between setups
  • Lighting and audio packages, with grip already on the floor
  • The teleprompter system
  • Dressing rooms, makeup, green rooms and production offices

Optional

  • Crew package: three camera operators (one on the jib) and a teleprompter operator. Or bring your own team
  • Custom virtual worlds built to your spec by our in-house artists
  • A real place captured with CastleVision and brought onto the stage
The ivy-covered castle facade of L.A. Castle Studios in Burbank

The XR floor in Burbank (Los Angeles)

  • Three Unreal Engine systems, three Ultimatte 12 keyers, Mo-Sys StarTracker camera tracking
  • Three Panasonic Varicam 35 cinema cameras with Fujinon Cabrio zooms
  • A 13-ft CamMate Encodacam jib, encoded Vinten heads and dollies for tracked moves
  • Pre-lit green screen cyclorama, 20-ft ceiling, 15 ft to grid
  • Multi-camera ISO and composite recording
  • A giant LED video village, where the whole team watches the finished composite
  • 154 S. Victory Blvd, across from Nickelodeon, about 5 minutes from Warner Bros.
The Burbank studio →
The ABQ Castle Studios building in Albuquerque, New Mexico

The XR floor in Albuquerque

One of the largest virtual production stages in the world.

  • Unreal Engine render machines and three Ultimatte keyers
  • Three camera- and motion-tracking systems
  • Three ARRI Alexa 35 cinema cameras with Fujinon cinema zooms calibrated to the tracking
  • A carbon-fiber telescoping crane with dolly
  • Green screen cyclorama lit by 36 Aputure Nova P300c fixtures
  • 8610 President Pl NE, about 10 minutes from the Sunport
The Albuquerque studio →

Our Albuquerque studio is a Qualified Production Facility, so qualifying spend there can reach 30% under the state's refundable credit. See the New Mexico film tax credit guide. Every rental is quoted to the shoot: days, crew size, set complexity and which studio you use drive the number. See what drives the cost.

Watch the reel

Extended reality, shot in our studios.

Talent inside a world that is built, lit and composited in real time. Hover to preview; click to play with sound.

Future L.A. Rooftop — Built from scratch, shot at L.A. & ABQ Castle Studios

Future L.A. Rooftop

Built from scratch

The City — Built block by block, shot at L.A. & ABQ Castle Studios

The City

Built block by block

CastleVision — Old Town Albuquerque, live, shot at L.A. & ABQ Castle Studios

CastleVision

Old Town Albuquerque, live

Émilie Simon: Secret — Music video, sci-fi world, shot at L.A. & ABQ Castle Studios

Émilie Simon: Secret

Music video, sci-fi world

Sci-Fi & Spaceship — Virtual sets, shot at L.A. & ABQ Castle Studios

Sci-Fi & Spaceship

Virtual sets

Airport Terminal — No company move, shot at L.A. & ABQ Castle Studios

Airport Terminal

No company move

See the Full Video Gallery →

Worlds for the XR stage

Stylized, surreal and far-⁠off worlds, ready to load

Extended reality shines where no location exists: neon, fantasy, orbit. Each of these loads behind your talent in seconds and changes between setups.

Browse sci-fi and space sets →

Check availability

Tell us about your XR shoot and we'll check both studios

Say what you're making, how many cameras, and the world you need. A producer replies with availability in Burbank and Albuquerque and a quote.

Rather talk it through? 818-934-3775 · Burbank
818-861-7317 · Albuquerque

We reply to this address.

A producer will get back to you about your project. No spam, ever. By sending this you agree to our privacy policy.

Track record

Why producers pick our XR stage

Plenty of studios have added an XR stage in the last few years. We've been running ours for more than a decade and a half, with the track record and the credits to back it: the feature Abstraction, shot entirely on our stages, Aquaman 2, The Mummy, Greenland, Hart to Heart, Bosch, Inventing Anna, and years of network broadcast work. When the shot has to be right the first time, experience is what counts. See the full credit list.

An XR studio on green screen, not an LED volume

Many XR stages are built around an LED volume that the camera shoots against. Ours is not: the virtual world is composited around your talent on a green screen, and each camera gets its own render. On a single LED volume, cameras moving in different directions can't each see the same space from their own angle. Here three cameras can, so you get coverage in a single take, and there is no wall edge to frame around. Virtual production beyond LED walls goes deeper, and the technology on the floor lists the tracking, keyers and render systems.

Worlds that don't exist, and real places that do

The XR studio draws from the full virtual set library: a space station with a planet view, a cyberpunk interior, every space station set and nightclub and lounge set. If the world you need isn't there, our artists build it, or we capture a real place with CastleVision and bring it onto the stage. Sci-fi productions should also see sci-fi and spaceship set rental.

On the floor

The XR stage, photographed

Green screen on the floor, the finished extended reality frame on the monitor, while the camera is still rolling.

Click any photo to enlarge.

XR stage questions

What is an XR stage?
An XR (extended reality) stage blends live action with computer-generated worlds in real time, so the final composite is created in camera rather than in post. Our XR stage uses patented CastleVision real-time compositing with Unreal Engine and precision camera tracking.
Does the XR stage handle AR, VR and MR looks?
Yes. Augmented, virtual and mixed reality are all ways of placing real performers inside a digital world, and we composite each one live for camera. What you walk away with is a finished camera image, single- or multi-camera, recorded on set or sent out live, in Burbank or Albuquerque.
How is your XR stage different from a newer XR studio?
We pioneered this method in 2007, years before most XR studios existed, and have run real film, TV and broadcast productions on it ever since, including network and major-studio credits. The method is now covered by two U.S. patents and runs at two studios: Burbank, and Albuquerque, one of the largest virtual production stages in the world.
Does your XR stage use an LED wall?
Not as the background. We do not shoot against an LED volume. Our XR stage is a green screen where Unreal Engine draws the virtual world and composites it around your talent live, in camera. Each camera gets its own render, so three cameras can move in different directions and each sees the world from its own angle. You see the finished shot on the monitor while you film, and in Burbank the whole team watches it on a giant LED video village.
What is included in an XR stage rental?
Every rental includes the studio, the 250+ virtual set library, lighting and audio packages, the teleprompter system, dressing rooms, makeup, green rooms and production offices, and the virtual system operator who drives the virtual world in real time. Camera crew is optional: our crew package supplies three camera operators (one on the jib) and a teleprompter operator, or bring your own team.
How much does XR stage rental cost?
Every production is quoted individually; there is no rack rate. Shoot days, crew size, set complexity and which studio you use drive the number, along with cameras and any custom world building. Send your dates and a producer replies with availability and a quote. Tours with a live CastleVision demo run by appointment for producers with a project.

Before you book extended reality production

The method behind the live composite, the two studios, and the formats producers shoot in XR.

Tours and live demos run by appointment at both studios. Send your dates and a producer replies with availability and a quote.

Check Availability

Read more

Reading on XR and real-time production

Apr 2022

L.A. Castle Studios, Production Home for XR, VR, MR and AR

Jul 2021

Unreal Engine: The Future of TV & Film at L.A. Castle Studios

May 2020

Tilting Up -- Amazing Technology for Standing Sets

All Studio Updates →
Call Check Availability