Bringing Event Experts Together - Behind the Scenes of the AVRO XR Studio
Since AVentPro was founded 20 years ago, our team has been passionate about working closely with and supporting other event professionals.
Through the relationships we’ve built with meeting planners, venue teams, local organizations, technicians, and other vendors, not to mention through our membership in CAVPA, we’ve seen firsthand how everyone thrives when event experts are brought together, work collaboratively, and are able to build trusting relationships.
Recently, the AVentPro team embarked on a new adventure with a new partner - and this time, the focus wasn’t solely on live events. We began our partnership with CoPilotXR, a creative technology company, to create AVRO XR Studio as part of the new AVentPro facilities. The purpose-built space was designed with both in-person and virtual events, as well as high-end film production, in mind. As Manitoba’s first ground-level virtual production studio, AVRO XR has created an opportunity for filmmakers and production companies that, until doors opened last summer, didn’t exist in the province.
Keep reading to learn more about how we came to partner with CoPilotXR to create this space and its benefits.
Identifying the Opportunity.
Everything started when our team began designing our new space. We had a large, ground-level room that we believed gave us the perfect opportunity to deliver a service our clients wanted: a space to produce smaller in-person events, as well as virtual and hybrid meetings. Because the space is in our existing office, we could have certain infrastructure, like lighting, sound, and even an LED wall, permanently set up, reducing set up times for clients and making it extremely easy to use.
Having dedicated spaces, especially ones that are set up for virtual and hybrid events, was a need that became obvious during the pandemic. However, the demand for these spaces, just like the desire to have hybrid and virtual events, never went away.
Of course, we wanted to find a way to utilize this space to deliver as much value to existing and future customers as possible.
Based on the types of technology and the set-up we’d need to really optimize the space for in-person, virtual, and hybrid events, we realized that the space could easily be utilized as a virtual production studio as well.
Virtual production is a filmmaking technique that blends physical and digital elements using LED walls, motion-tracked cameras, and game engine technology. This allows production teams to see the near-final shots in-camera, while also reducing time and production costs.
Our team began to look at the software and hardware required to make the space suitable for virtual production. Essentially, we wanted to know what exactly we would need to really make the magic happen.
Following a tradeshow, President Garry Hale had narrowed it down to two technologies. However, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that there was a film production gap that may be hard to bridge. The team members at AVentPro are event experts, and while much of the same technology may be employed, the learning curve in a different industry would not only be a challenge to overcome, but it would take quite a bit of time to do it.
Connecting with CoPilot.
One day, Garry brought a long-term client in to show him the new space. He shared what his vision was for the studio, but also shared that, in all his research, he realized that having an expert involved would be important.
His friend immediately asked, “Do you know the team at CoPilotXR?”
Introductions were quickly made, and it wasn’t long before Austin was standing in the studio, touring the space. The next day, he returned, this time with his business partner, Reid.
“All of us saw the benefits of this partnership instantly,” shared Garry. “We had the space, as well as the desire to build this multi-functional, purpose-built location. And while having the best gear to run it is important, just like with live events, expertise is needed to utilize the gear correctly and in a way that brings the final product to the next level.”
The CoPilotXR team was just as eager to get started as AVentPro, and it wasn’t long before the partnership was made official and the teams started working together.
“CoPilotXR has consulted with different organizations, quite literally, around the world. They aren’t new to the technology. They have experience building, operating, troubleshooting, and filming on the same kind of LED volumes we envisioned for our space. But there’s never been a ground-level one in Manitoba before, which made it a great opportunity for everyone.”
The fact that the space was here, already built, and essentially ready to go, with so much live event infrastructure in place as part of the AVentPro plan, made it easy to make progress.
The Significance of a Ground-Level Studio.
Part of the reason CoPilotXR was so excited to partner with the AVentPro team for this project was the fact that the studio is ground-level.
While this makes so many logistics easier, from bringing gear in to accessing the space, the most notable benefit is that cars are able to enter the space.
“We’re completely set up for car processing and can film a number of scenes involving cars without having to worry about any external factors.”
Filming driving scenes has been, historically, a very challenging thing to do. Whether or not filming can take place as scheduled depends on the weather, the time of day, and access to locations that fit the location and time period of the film, not to mention the permits needed to shut down streets, the limitations of peak traffic times, and the logistics required to get the crew to the filming location in the first place.
In addition to the car being filmed, a pilot vehicle, flatbed truck, and camera crane that allows the car to be filmed from several angles are needed.
The studio eliminates all of that. The car can simply be brought in, set up on dollys, and the technology takes care of the rest. The moving background on the LED wall makes it look like the car is really moving, saving crews time, money, and logistical headaches compared to filming traditionally on a road.
The Benefits of This Kind of Studio.
Because this type of space is so new, not just in Manitoba, but in general, one of the biggest challenges the teams have faced is communicating just how cutting-edge and impactful the technology and space is for filmmaking.
“There is a huge learning curve,” Garry shared. “The educational piece of this is really important.”
The AVentPro and CoPilotXR teams have found that the best way to bridge this gap is by showing people what the studio can do. Through hands-on demos, studio tours, and bringing people in to show them the possibilities of the space, it’s starting to click. Filmmakers have been getting excited about the opportunities it presents.
Traditional filmmaking is very time and labour-intensive, with full sets, different locations, permits, and crews. Filming at AVRO XR can make film productions much more efficient. Instead of resetting the crew and building new sets or traveling to different locations, two (or more) scenes with wildly different backgrounds, during different times of day, and with different actors, can reasonably be filmed within one dedicated filming day.
“The level of efficiency we’re seeing this space bring to film productions is almost hard to believe,” Garry noted.
Are you interested in learning more about the AVRO XR Studio for your upcoming events or filming projects? Reach out to us at studio@avroxr.com or info@AVentPro.com to learn more!