Studio Ulster has officially opened its doors in Belfast.
Developed by Ulster University in partnership with Belfast Harbour with support from Northern Ireland Screen, the virtual production facility aims to enhance production capacity for the UK and Ireland. Part-funded via the Belfast Region City Deal, the £72 million pound facility spans 75,0000 square feet and integrates real-time engines, in-camera VFX, volumetric capture and motion tracking, aiming to transform how stories are created, rendered and delivered, said the company.
The facility is the only virtual-production studio of its kind across the whole of Ireland, with an ecosystem including everything from 3D/4D scanning and motion capture to full-scale LED volume stages and post production facilities. Additionally, Studio Ulster provides a home to the CoSTAR Screen Lab, part of the UK-wide CoSTAR initiative.
Commenting, Professor Declan Keeney, CEO of Studio Ulster, said “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.”
“Virtual production has truly come of age at Studio Ulster,” added Richard Williams, CEO of Northern Ireland Screen. “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.”
Laura Livingstone, VFX executive at Netflix, added, “This is a pivotal time for our industry, where innovation is not just accelerating but fundamentally reshaping how we create and experience stories. Studio Ulster has the potential to shape the next generation of storytelling and I’m proud to have helped launch this studio.”
