Despite being awkwardly named, The Infinity on Disney Stage 1 is actually a really noteworthy addition to the arsenal of Disney General Entertainment Content and Disney Television Studios. The virtual production facility uses the StageCraft toolset by Industrial Light & Magic on historic Stage 1 at the Disney Lot for episodic television production.
What is it? The new production facility is composed of 700 state-of-the-art LED panels to create game-changing resource in the world of production. The LED screens create a 1,600 square foot canvas—including doors—or approximately 16,000 cubic feet on the main Volume, plus 800 square feet of doors.
The technology allows production crews to capture special effects in-camera, requiring less work in post-production. Plus, it gives actors a more convincing immersion into an environment compared to more traditional green or blue screens. Filmmakers are able to more cost-effectively shoot everything from routine driving shots to creating worlds that only exist in the imaginations of our creators or even transport production to both well-known and remote locations around the world all from the same dedicated stage in Burbank.
The stage has already been used for high-profile upcoming television series including the Hulu Original series HOW I MET YOUR FATHER from 20th Television, which premieres early next year; it was used to recreate the Brooklyn Bridge.
The industry implications for this technology are huge not just for Walt Disney Company television productions but also as a rental to other studios and production entities. The facility will also be used as a training platform for production craftspeople to learn more about the possibilities unleashed by virtual production technology.
Stage 1 is part of the original studio lot built in 1940 and was perhaps most famously used for sequences of FANTASIA. It was also home of the original Mickey Mouse Club in 1954. It’s evolution will continue to pave the way for more groundbreaking works in the future.
