Extended reality training studio pushing Manitoba’s film industry forward

A first-of-its-kind training facility and production studio using extended reality has opened in Winnipeg.

New Media Manitoba’s Studio lab XR uses innovative technology that uses a video game software called Unreal Engine to create immersive worlds for film and television.

The non-profit received provincial and federal funding to open the studio last March. Its goal: training Manitoba’s film industry to become leaders in this cutting-edge technology.

“We want to see Manitobans embrace this technology and know that they have a future here in Manitoba,” said Louie Ghiz, the executive director of New Media Manitoba.

“We want to train the future workforce, so this is a situation where we think that Manitoba can lead in terms of the country, and having a studio like this is a big goal for us in terms of training for Unreal Engine skills in the virtual production space.”

The software can create a plethora of realistic backgrounds that are lived in and appear in real time, as performers move around the space, allowing productions to film the scenes in multiple different locations, from city streets to outer space, without ever having to leave the studio.

“It basically works by combining the benefits of game engine technology from a fabulous game known as Fortnite, with fabulous on-set actors and set decorators to blend the physical and digital worlds together to be able to film in not only familiar worlds but unfamiliar worlds,” said Matt McMahon, Unreal Engine instructor and technology lead with New Media Manitoba.

Ghiz says, “It could be 1920’s Paris, it could be a lake in the Whiteshell, it could be a boxing ring, a tennis court, you name it.  You have that, and you have actors and props, and with the camera synced up to the Unreal Engine software, when you shoot it, you have a seamless shot, and you wouldn’t necessarily know it’s in a studio.”

Since its inception, a new commercial virtual production studio in Manitoba has recently opened as well. With another existing studio also planning to bring in the technology. With the tech rapidly growing, the sky is the limit for the future of film production in the province.

“It’s continuously evolved over the years, and I think you’re going to continue to see tools improved upon, and artificial intelligence, of course, is going to become a part of that as well,  where things can be rapidly sped up and there will be even more ability to push the line,” said Ghiz.