With its high-definition, low-cost, shorter production cycle, and immersive shooting features, virtual shooting has rapidly become a popular emerging application in the LED display field in recent years.
In the domestic market, LED virtual shooting technology developed relatively late, but its projects have grown rapidly in recent years. According to incomplete statistics, as of September 2024, the total number of LED virtual shooting studios nationwide had reached 42. Globally, the demand for LED virtual shooting technology is also continuing to grow.
According to the "2025 Global LED Display Market Report," with the booming development of virtual filming in Southeast Asian countries, the increasing demand for cinematic concert production, and the overall expansion of the virtual filming industry into film, television, theater, music, and advertising, the market value of virtual filming LED displays is projected to reach US$311 million in 2024.
In response to the growing popularity of virtual filming, domestic LED display companies continue to launch large-scale and innovative LED virtual filming projects around the world, further driving the film and television industry towards an era of efficient and high-quality production.
Leyard builds 4,700㎡ virtual shooting base in Beijing
On May 16, Leyard announced the official launch of the virtual shooting base of the Beijing Smart Media Convergence Innovation Center, which it jointly built with Shangyicheng (Beijing) Technology and Culture Group Co., Ltd.
Image source: Leyard
The base utilizes Leyard's LED screen display technology and virtual camera control system, which can meet the application needs of film and television production, game animation, e-sports live streaming, variety shows, and other fields.
The base boasts a 1400㎡ VP studio, featuring an LED curved screen, an electric lifting and hoisting system, and camera tracking equipment, ideal for large-scale scene shooting and production. Additionally, the base has a 730㎡ XR studio, which, with its panoramic screen, combined ceiling and floor screens, and comprehensive professional film and television lighting, enables real-time filming without a green screen, making news broadcasts, advertising shoots, and other creative processes more efficient.
It is understood that Leyard has developed a complete "motion capture + display" xR virtual shooting solution. Through a fully integrated virtual shooting technology solution, filmmakers not only improve shooting efficiency and reduce post-production time, but also significantly reduce overall shooting costs, ensuring a high level of visual effects.
In its 2024 earnings report, Leyard mentioned that in the future, the company will continue to strengthen the development of emerging application scenarios such as virtual shooting.
Aoto Electronics and Toei Animation jointly launched Japan's largest virtual film studio.
On May 30, AOTO Electronics announced that the Toei Virtual Studio, jointly built with the well-known Japanese film production company Toei, has been officially launched. This is the first large-scale virtual production base in Japan operated by a film company, with a scale of 640 square meters, making it the largest virtual studio in Japan.
Image source: Aoto Electronics
Toei revealed that in the future, 60% of its TV dramas and web series, and 27% of its film projects will be filmed here, significantly shortening the post-production cycle. The studio will also attract global film and television teams to Japan, promoting content production.
It is reported that the studio features an immersive space constructed with a 270° circular main backdrop and a complete canopy system. This visual system is created by AOTO Electronics' independently developed RM1.5 main screen and MXH series canopy screen. The main wall is 30m long and 5m high, and is made up of 600 LEDs with a pixel pitch of 1.5mm seamlessly spliced together; the 11m x 10m canopy is constructed with 236 panels with a pixel pitch of 3.7mm.
The studio's LED display supports the DCI-P3 cinematic color gamut standard with a peak brightness of 6000 nits, a 7680Hz ultra-high refresh rate, and a 170°+ ultra-wide viewing angle, solving problems such as ghosting and tearing. Furthermore, AOTO Electronics effectively suppresses moiré interference through its Mini 4-in-1 packaging technology and low-reflection design.
With the launch of Toei's virtual studio project in Japan, AOTO Electronics has completed the construction of more than 100 LED virtual studio projects worldwide.
Unilumin Technology creates the first XR virtual shooting platform for exhibitions in China
On May 30, Unilumin Technology announced that the first XR virtual shooting platform in China deployed in a world-class convention and exhibition complex has been officially put into operation at the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center's multimedia studio.
Image source: Unilumin Technology
As the core technology provider, Unilumin Technology provided the project with a complete XR virtual shooting solution, including preliminary design, hardware and software services such as LED facade screens, floor tile screens, XR rendering engines, and intelligent lighting matrix systems, as well as personnel training.
It is reported that the core of the exhibition XR virtual shooting platform is a curved giant screen spliced together from thousands of high-resolution LED modules by Unilumin Technology. The screen boasts an 8K resolution, supports a 10000:1 ultra-high contrast ratio and HDR technology, and features a 7680Hz ultra-high refresh rate, enabling high-speed lenses to deliver clear, motion-free images. Unilumin's self-developed self-emissive floor screen system uses a nano-level anti-reflective coating, allowing for seamless integration with the main screen.
The platform also uses UniRender's real-time engine, which can complete complex lighting and shadow calculations in 0.2 seconds; and is equipped with an intelligent lighting matrix system that automatically matches the scene color temperature through AI algorithms.
It is reported that Unilumin Technology and its subsidiary brand Radiant have been making continuous efforts in the field of xR virtual production, and have successively built a large number of xR virtual studios around the world.
Currently, Unilumin Technology has built more than 100 film and television-grade digital studios worldwide, forming a complete virtual film and television full-chain solution with "XR virtual shooting system + digital special effects assets + DCI certified LED cinema screen" as the core.
Summary <br /> Although the current market size for LED virtual shooting applications is relatively small, its popularity is increasing year by year. Its applications are no longer limited to large-scale film and television productions; the demand for LED virtual shooting technology is also growing in more low-cost film and television sectors.
Looking ahead, with various film and television projects continuing to pursue more efficient film and television production methods, the application scope of LED virtual shooting technology is expected to expand again, and demand is expected to increase again.
