
Branded cinematic shorts and documentaries have surged in popularity as more companies strategize out-of-the-box ways to connect and engage with audiences. While these projects benefit from higher-end technology, they often come with tighter budgets and same-day turnaround expectations. To address these challenges, Masterwork Films CEO Biro Florin built a green screen virtual production studio in the heart of Brighton, England. It houses all the equipment to streamline and accelerate production on branded storytelling projects, including a workstation running Epic Games' Unreal Engine, an AJA ColorBox for color management, and AJA GEN10 for sync gen, among other equipment.
Fusing technological expertise with a passion for creativity
Channeling a passion for filmmaking, cinematography, and gear, Biro established Masterwork Films in 2024. Today, he runs the company and acts as DP (Director of Photography) on client shoots for branded storytelling, film, commercial, and masterclass projects. In addition to servicing clients in the UK, US, and Canada, Biro and team run a green screen virtual production studio and a kit rental business.
Biro sees green screen virtual production unlocking new doors for brands looking to deliver believable compositions quickly and affordably. He explained, Virtual production can prove costly if you're building sets and virtual worlds from scratch, which is why we try to strike that middle ground with our new studio, where we can get a nice output with stock and marketplace type assets. Another big benefit of executing green screen virtual production, especially with a tool like AJA ColorBox, is that it minimizes post production work so we can reduce costs and production times for our clients all around.
Envisioning a green screen virtual production studio
Recently launched, Masterwork's u-shaped green screen stage is six meters wide and three and a half meters deep. It features up to 3 cameras that send a REDWideGamutRGB (Log) SDI signal of the talent and the green screen to its keyer while a PC sends another SDI signal transporting the Unreal Engine virtual camera feed that also uses REDWideGamutRGB (Log). The keyer receives the camera signal as the foreground feed and keys out a flat-looking green backdrop, leaving an alpha foreground layer of the talent. The same keyer also receives the Unreal Engine SDI signal as the background feed and applies it as the background layer of the foreground keyed talent.
Given both foreground and background signals are REDWideGamutRGB, the composited image on the keyer has the same flat look. Biro's team sends that flat video signal via SDI to an AJA ColorBox and uses Assimilate Live Looks to color correct and grade it. They then send the graded output to director and talent confident monitors using the ColorBox SDI output, and the loop out to a focus puller and for low-latency critical tasks.
Whether on a virtual production or traditional set, there's something magical about being able to use a device like ColorBox to upload a LUT and get a rough view of how things will look, plus have the control to tweak the color and contrast in real time. It gives you an extra layer of confidence as you light the scene and confirm that you structured it the right way, he explained. I also love that ColorBox is integrated with so many great color grading and correction tools to support live grading on set and that I can easily export changes to a LUT or a grade and send them down the pipeline in post to editors and colorists; it's very useful.
ColorBox, Biro said, also saves the team time because they're able to do everything on the computer without having to process the 4:2:2 10-bit signal they're shooting; it receives the feed and outputs the exact same signal with its LUT. And Biro's team can do an SDI loop out or pass through, so he can send a signal from the ColorBox to two recorders one with the color grading and the original signal as it comes out of the compositing server.
In addition to ColorBox, Masterwork Films uses an AJA GEN10 sync gen generator because its cameras and lens trackers have genlock and SDI reference inputs. Biro explained, Prior to GEN10, the background would stutter when we'd move the cameras. I quickly found that we needed a device to synchronize all these devices doing genlock, so I installed GEN10, and the stuttering disappeared; it's been amazing.
Laying a solid foundation for the future
Biro anticipates client demand for more distinctive backdrops for brand videos will only continue to grow, which is partially why he created the studio. We saw this new studio as a solution to help diversify the look and feel of projects, especially for our more consistent clients, without it costing an arm and a leg like most LED studios do, he added. So far, they like the variety of options we can offer at an affordable price point, as there aren't many non-LED options in the south of the UK.
For the time being, as Biro continues to grow the business, he's keeping an eye on AI developments related to virtual production, game development, and motion tracking. He concluded, We're heading into a very disruptive world, especially with the advent of generative AI. Virtual production presents an opportunity where AI, green screen, and motion tracking developments can converge to truly reshape how we create content. As we experience this shift and take on more new clients, it's very possible we may start taking more of our studio equipment, like ColorBox, on location, as I could see it being useful for real time visualization of color grading and correction on projects outside our studio.
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
10/12/2025
With the Federal Communications Commission working on new rules for the deployment of NextGen TV, next year promises to be an important one for both the future ...
10/12/2025
DENVER Tom Rutledge, director emeritus and former president and CEO of Charter Communications, will be honored with the 2026 Bresnan Ethics in Business Award by...
10/12/2025
NEW YORK Novocap's Cadent has acquired VuePlanner, a YouTube video ad planning, optimization, and measurement company in a deal that will help Cadent expand...
09/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Pam Oliver, Sideline Icon Who Redefined t...
09/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Technology Exhibits Preview, Part 2By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 - 7:17 am
Print This Story | Subscr...
09/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Cloud Production Workshop Spotlights Live and Non-Live ...
09/12/2025
Next-generation content protection: Multi-technology security is integral to com...
09/12/2025
CBS Sports Provides One-of-a-Kind Production' for UEFA Champions League Cro...
09/12/2025
Spanish Professional Basketball League Relies on NETGEAR AV, MAM Tech for Seamle...
09/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: St. Thomas's Mike Gallagher and Casey Eakins on the Tommies...
09/12/2025
Free Registration for the 2025 SVG Summit Closes Today at 5 p.m. ET!After the deadline, tickets will cost $150 to attend the eventBy SVG Staff
Tuesday, Decemb...
09/12/2025
University of St. Thomas Ushers in Division I Era With New Arena and a Broadcast...
09/12/2025
For decades, music videos have done more than just accompany a song; they've shaped style, started conversations, and helped us fall in love with our favori...
09/12/2025
For decades, customers have turned to L3Harris capabilities in electronic warfar...
09/12/2025
L3Harris propulsion systems enable agile maneuvering and resilience for U.S. spacecraft, supporting national security and mission success in the evolving space ...
09/12/2025
L3Harris Technologies' imaging and sounding instruments will play a critical...
09/12/2025
LOS ANGELES James Shears has joined ThinkAnalytics as senior vice president, advertising, tasked with leading global strategy and commercial expansion of the co...
09/12/2025
VIENNA, Va. The Media Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization specializing in communications policy and the First Amendment, has named Kathleen Kirby o...
09/12/2025
Throughout its century-plus existence, the motion picture industry has had to fight battles on multiple fronts to protect its content from piracy. From protecti...
09/12/2025
NEW YORK Fueled by football season, ad supported TV viewing in Q3 peaked in September, representing 74.7% of overall TV viewership in that month, per Nielsen...
09/12/2025
LYNDONVILLE, N.Y. Digital Alert Systems has introduced the DAS3-DC-PS, a new DC power supply option for its DASDEC-III emergency alert system. Designed to meet ...
09/12/2025
Advanced Systems Group, LLC (ASG), a technology and services provider for media creatives and content owners, announced the appointment of Macky Beheshti as Dir...
09/12/2025
Triveni Digital and Device Solutions Inc today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted them a new patent for their novel ATSC 3.0 r...
09/12/2025
ThinkAnalytics, the global leader in AI-powered data analytics for TV and streaming, today announced the appointment of James Shears as Senior Vice President of...
09/12/2025
European data management specialists appointed as SingleStore champion partner, bringing unified real-time transaction, vector and analytics capabilities to org...
09/12/2025
Broadcast Solutions, the leading systems integration group, has launched a new business, aimed at providing consultancy and design services across the media ind...
09/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Media Bureau has once again delayed implementation of sponsorship identification requirements for foreign...
09/12/2025
WASHINGTON #GALSNGEAR has announced two major leadership retreats in early 2026 that the group said are designed to equip women in media, entertainment, and tec...
09/12/2025
WASHINGTON With a Dec. 15 deadline looming for a new retransmission consent and carriage deal between Cox and Verizon, the two parties have started trading barb...
09/12/2025
SAN FRANCISCO Samba TV has announced that it has secured new financing from Horizon Technology Finance Corporation, an affiliate of Monroe Capital, with an init...
09/12/2025
Many cord-cutters looking to reduce their monthly cable or satellite bills are also cutting back on streaming costs, according to new research from All About Co...
09/12/2025
LAS VEGAS and NASHVILLE, Tenn. Shure technology played a critical role during the broadcast productions of the 59th Annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena i...
09/12/2025
Unveiling of new CV1, web-browser workflows and Milan roadmap for mission-critical AV environments
Nixer Pro Audio will return to Integrated Systems Europe (IS...
09/12/2025
Spring Forward Are you ready to spring forward? The following steps will automate your transition from Standard Time to Daylight Saving Time.
Ensure all WO Aut...
09/12/2025
Tuesday 9 December 2025
Judy Murray calls for PE to be a priority for all schoo...
09/12/2025
Kyocera and Rohde & Schwarz demonstrate OTA characterization of mmWave PAAM at C...
09/12/2025
Wuppertal December 9, 2025
Riedel and Racing Electronics Announce Strategic Pa...
09/12/2025
Verified: LinkedIn crosses 100M member milestone From LinkedIn Published on Dec 9, 2025 Categories: Company News, Featured News
LinkedIn Corporate Communi...
09/12/2025
Another year, another 12 months of amazing adventures.
We are pleased to bring you our Highlights of the Year 2025.
We've worked hard and played hard this...
09/12/2025
Original article published in TV Tech: https://www.tvtechnology.com/equipment/bmg-redefines-remote-production-through-cloud-connected-workflows
When I started ...
09/12/2025
DPA Microphones today announces the immediate availability of its new N-Series Digital Wireless Microphone System for customers throughout the U.S. In addition ...
09/12/2025
Jason, before we get into the detail, what first got you involved in retail media standards? And how did you come to chair IAB Europe's Retail and Commerce ...
09/12/2025
Current Rose of Tralee Katelyn Cummins has been revealed as the third contestant...
09/12/2025
An easier approach to recreate the powerful nerve-blocking molecule found in shellfish A Scripps Research-led study resolves the challenge of synthesizing saxit...
08/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Technology Exhibits Preview, Part 1By SVG Staff
Monday, December 8, 2025 - 6:56 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The 2025...
08/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Bill Rasmussen, the Entrepreneur Who Drea...
08/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Live Production Innovation Workshop Goes Deep on ST 211...
08/12/2025
#GALSNGEAR Announces East, West Leadership Retreats for 2026By Ken Kerschbaumer
Monday, December 8, 2025 - 9:10 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story High...
08/12/2025
MediaKind Acquiring Harmonic's Video Business to Create New Streaming-Video ...