Introduction: A New XR Studio Opposite East London’s Emerging Film Hub
There’s a buzz in East London’s education community – Brook 6th Form & Academy has just unveiled a state-of-the-art XR LED studio on campus, installed by Dynamo LED Displays. This isn’t your typical school drama stage; it’s a cutting-edge extended reality (XR) LED volume comprising high-resolution LED walls and floor, similar to those used in top-tier virtual production studios. Uniquely, the academy sits in Barking and Dagenham directly opposite a brand-new film studio complex currently under construction. Brook 6th Form’s new XR studio is perfectly positioned to equip students with hands-on experience in virtual production technology.
The installation showcases Dynamo’s expertise in LED displays and our commitment to empowering educational institutions with professional-grade technology. In this blog post, we’ll take you through the technical details of the XR LED stage we built, the additional hallway screens we installed, and why we firmly believe that omitting camera tracking, Unreal Engine integration, and RGB lighting was a major missed opportunity. We’ll also explore the XR studio’s performance, its potential uses in virtual production, and how such setups can inspire students to pursue creative and technical careers in line with booming industry trends.
Building a Virtual Production Studio on Campus
Brook 6th Form & Academy’s leadership understood the potential of being neighbours with a world-class film studio. They envisioned a bespoke Media Suite complete with a virtual production LED screen and Dynamo was brought in to deliver on this vision. The result is an immersive XR LED stage inside the school – essentially a mini LED volume like those used in Hollywood, but dedicated to the students of Brook sixth form college.
The XR stage consists of two LED screens forming an L-shaped wraparound environment plus a digital LED floor. We installed high-resolution 1.9mm-pitch Dynamo DRE series LED panels for the walls and floor. This fine pixel pitch was selected for its superior image quality at close viewing distances – offering excellent contrast, colour reproduction, and durability in an XR setting. The LED floor adds a layer of immersion, allowing performers to stand directly in their virtual environment.
Resolution & Setup
- 2304×2304 pixels – LED Floor
- 2304×1280 pixels – Left & Right Walls
To power the display, we deployed two NovaStar COEX MX40 Pro controllers using 10G fibre outputs, ensuring stability and perfect synchronisation across the large canvas. Behind each LED panel sits a NovaStar A10s Pro receiver card, enabling HDR support, low latency, and pixel-level colour calibration – the same technology used in professional film-grade XR setups.
We also supplied a NovaStar ET4000 media server, capable of ultra-high resolution output, real-time content blending and irregular screen mapping. Together, these technologies form a powerful real-time visual delivery system that can drive the 10+ million pixel LED volume.
Outside the studio, we installed two additional high-resolution hallway information screens, giving Brook 6th Form a tech-forward digital signage solution for daily announcements, student showcases, or live event feeds.
- 1536×960pixels – LED Display 1
- 1536×960pixels – LED Display 2
Technical Highlights of the XR LED Stage
What sets this installation apart is its uncompromising technical quality for an educational environment:
- 1.9mm DRE LED Panels: Perfect for close-up filming, delivering high contrast and true colour reproduction.
- MX40 Pro Controllers: XR-ready processors with HDR, genlock, fibre connectivity and up to 240Hz refresh rates.
- A10s Pro Receiver Cards: Pixel-level brightness and colour uniformity with ultra-low latency and advanced calibration.
- ET4000 Media Server: 8K resolution playback, irregular screen mapping, multiple content layers and live playback.
This setup would be at home in any professional XR stage – and it’s now available to the next generation of filmmakers, creators, and AV professionals at Brook 6th Form.
A Missed Opportunity: Camera Tracking, Unreal Engine Integration, and RGB Lighting
While we’re incredibly proud of the XR LED stage installation, we must address a significant missed opportunity. Dynamo’s original specification included a Mo-Sys camera tracking system and Unreal Engine integration via nDisplay – both vital components of a complete XR virtual production workflow. Regrettably, these were omitted due to budget constraints.
Why It Matters
Camera tracking allows the virtual environment on the LED screens to move and shift in sync with the camera – creating proper parallax and depth. Unreal Engine renders real-time 3D environments, generating the correct view dynamically as the camera moves. Without these, the screens can only display static or pre-rendered backgrounds – limiting the immersive, responsive experience that XR is known for.
This is the same technology used in The Mandalorian, where LED walls and real-time engines enabled entire worlds to be created live, in-camera. Many top film schools, like SCAD, have already adopted this workflow in their XR stages. Our intention was to bring this very same level of industry realism into an educational setting – preparing students not just to learn theory, but to practise real-world XR filmmaking techniques.
Unfortunately, the system as delivered, while robust, does not yet allow students to learn about camera perspective synchronisation, real-time rendering pipelines, or in-camera VFX workflows – skills that are rapidly becoming essential in modern film production.
RGB Lighting Recommendation Also Overlooked
In addition to the omitted tracking and Unreal integration, Dynamo also recommended using RGB lighting fixtures instead of conventional lighting. RGB lighting allows for colour-accurate, dynamic ambient lighting that matches the virtual environments displayed on the LED walls. This is an industry best practice in XR environments – ensuring lighting continuity between the screen content and the physical space. Unfortunately, this too was not adopted.
Had these components been included, Brook 6th Form would have had a fully functioning virtual production studio – not just an LED backdrop. We remain hopeful these enhancements can be introduced in future phases, especially given the strong hardware foundation already in place.
Performance and Use Cases
Even without full tracking and engine integration, the XR stage already offers a huge range of applications:
- Media Production: Film, TV and animation students can shoot scenes against realistic LED backdrops with live lighting – significantly reducing the need for green screen work.
- Performing Arts: Drama productions can benefit from rapidly changing immersive backgrounds without physical set changes.
- Educational Content: STEM and humanities classes can explore virtual environments (historical scenes, scientific simulations, interactive graphs).
- Promotional Media: The school can create dynamic marketing content in-house with professional-grade visuals and lighting.
- Community Engagement: Opportunities exist for partnerships with East London’s film industry, offering training, workshops and even potential rental use of the space.
The system is also ready for future expansion – including full virtual production workflows – and we believe this XR stage will grow alongside the school’s ambitions.
Inspiring the Next Generation of Creators
Brook 6th Form & Academy’s new XR studio is more than an investment in technology – it’s an investment in future talent. Students are no longer limited to imagining the film industry from afar; they now have the tools to start creating immersive content today. Whether they go on to become directors, producers, engineers or artists, the skills they develop in this environment will be immediately relevant.
At Dynamo LED Displays, we believe that education and innovation must go hand in hand. By building professional-grade facilities in schools and universities, we open the door for the next generation to engage with cutting-edge industries – right from their classrooms.
We look forward to seeing how Brook 6th Form continues to use this space, and we stand ready to support future upgrades that will elevate this already incredible studio into a truly world-class XR production facility.
