RecodeXR delivers turn-key services from their virtual production studio in Manchester, designing a precise, agile production for each customer to suit very specific requirements.
RecodeXR delivers turn-key services from their virtual production studio in Manchester, UK. They have over two decades of expertise in creating game-engine and VFX-based content for broadcast clients like ITV, Sky, Netflix and Manchester City FC, and various advertising agencies.
RecodeXR was co-founded by Technical Director Gareth Turner and Virtual Production Director Paul McHugh and handles projects ranging from real time content creation, to a fully serviced virtual production shoot, to visual effects and post-production. Consequently they can design and integrate an efficient, agile service for each customer to suit very specific requirements.
The RecodeXR team are passionate game engine artists with games industry experience and 23 years of VFX production behind them, giving them a key advantage when producing highly original XR content. They have also recently been appointed as ambassadors to Aximmetry Software, developers of the Aximmetry Virtual Production Platform and workflow.
Scaling Up
The studio recently relocated to Space Studios, a purpose-built facility for television, film and commercial production, allowing them to scale their resources across multiple stages. The LED setup features a 10m by 4m curved LED wall comprising Absen 2.5mm LED panels, purchased through PSCo, and is powered by two 4K Tessera SX40 LED processors and three Tessera XD 10G data distribution units.
The data distribution units are used with LED processers when setting up large scale LED display systems. Trunk connections – network access carrying multiple signals simultaneously – from Tessera XD units use a 10G Ethernet-based backbone to reduce the required number of home-run connections to the processor.
The Tessera XD uses a proprietary multiplexing algorithm, built on top of standard 10G Ethernet, in order to meet precise timing constraints and keep all fixtures in sync. Each 10G trunk supports up to ten independent 1G connections, which keeps cabling simple and affordable, and is compatible with off-the-shelf switches should the signals need to be split further.
Brompton Speciality Features
“We were keen to use Tessera software features like Frame Remapping and Custom Markers. Frame Remapping allows us to insert green screen frames, capturing a scene both with a background and against green screen, with a single camera,” said Paul McHugh. This feature supports a multi-camera shoot by multiplying the screen’s refresh rate but leaving the cameras’ frame rate to match the footage. Separate content can be displayed simultaneously for the different cameras by offsetting the exposures, interleaving the content frames, and offsetting each camera’s frame rate to match the rate of only the desired content for that camera.
Custom Markers use a related process. Arrows, marks, words or text can be sent to LED wall or floor during a broadcast as real-time cues to the presenter about where to look or move. They can be shown for a fraction of the frame period, in the time that the camera shutter is closed, meaning that the frame rate of the project does not need to be increased and the markers, though visible on set, are not recorded.
Camera Gear
The team also uses extremely powerful scanning computers, equipped with NVIDIA RTX 6000 ADA graphics cards, fast AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO processors, and 256GB of RAM. “These machines achieve enormous rendering power. Combined with Brompton’s LED processors and Absen screens, they make the content look very attractive on-camera,” Paul said.
Regarding camera equipment, the team uses professional 3D camera rigs to GoPros to the Insta360 to create content. “We have just added a RED V-Raptor X to our kit to use on higher profile productions,” Paul said. “We bought it specifically to work with the Brompton LED processors to enable us to utilise Frame Remapping. At 8K res and with a huge dynamic range up to17 stops, it is an exciting acquisition.
“The current LED screen setup suits our clients, so we don't require hundreds of square metres of LED panels. However, we have the capacity to scale up by using the Sound Stage room for larger configurations if it were ever needed.”
Hydra Calibration – Colour and Brightness
The screens are calibrated using Brompton’s Hydra combined measurement and calibration system, able to access the full potential of the panel’s LEDs regarding brightness and colour saturation. Instead of a fixed, factory-specified calibration for all content, this calibration is dynamic, taking into consideration the dynamic nature of LEDs and LED panels, and variations in displayed content.
For example, extremely bright areas of video content make full use of the LEDs brightness, and smooth areas are displayed with high uniformity. Skin-tones are balanced for authentic, lifelike colours. In the case of vivid areas of colour, the calibration adopts the widest available gamut of the LEDs.
In particular, Paul noted that they have been using Brompton’s HDR processing to achieve greater brightness and colour ranges with a higher bit depth, delivering more detail within the shadows and highlights. “Brompton LED processing gives us such fine control over the image,” he said. “Its colour correction tools – 14-way Colour Corrector, Colour Replace and Colour Curves – support precise adjustments and corrections to the colours on-the-fly.”
TV Series
Recent productions include the TV series Brassic for Sky Original, released in September 2024. “The team built a custom LED configuration to house and shoot a large bus from all angles. Not only was this very effective but it meant that we could capture the large cast, only available in restricted periods, at one studio for all sequences. It’s a huge benefit to avoid travelling to remote locations and trying to work around the weather. We did a lot of testing and everything worked perfectly,” Paul said.
RecodeXR will also be working on the long-running TV soap Coronation Street for the third time, along with several commercial projects. “By using Brompton LED processing on Coronation Street, we have been able to produce the dark scenes they were after,” said Paul. “The dynamic range of the Absen panels with Brompton’s Tessera SX40 meant we could achieve the elusive deep blacks.
Frame Remapping was also used on this show to accommodate any changes to be made in post, serving as a safety-net. Paul believes that being able to make both of these features available demonstrates the level of flexibility Virtual Production lends to productions.
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