£100m studio makes Belfast global hub for virtual production
It is a popular location for box office movies and television drama, but Northern Ireland is set to become a global hub for virtual production.
A £100m virtual production studio in Belfast will incorporate a research and development lab, helping revolutionise the UK’s film, television and performing arts industries.
Professor Declan Keaney, interim chief executive at Studio Ulster, said: “This is a new chapter for Northern Ireland, but it’s a new chapter for the whole industry right across the UK and Ireland.
“It gives access to technologies under one roof that are currently unavailable almost anywhere else in the world.
“We’ve 2,000 crew here in Northern Ireland that can deliver that, but we need to make sure that they’re ready for the future and that they have the tools that they need to be able to play in that global market.”
From Barbie to Batman and House Of The Dragon, filmmakers and television producers are using groundbreaking technology to generate virtually the most realistic of environments.
Ulster University led the consortium behind the research and development facility, driving the next generation of visual effects technologies.
The £100m virtual production studio in Belfast
It is part of a UK government plan to create one million jobs in the creative industries by 2030, generating £50bn for the economy.
Frank Lyons, dean of research and innovation at Ulster University, said: “The talent pipeline of young graduates that’s required to feed this vast growing industry is the priority of the university.
“We’ve invested heavily in a virtual production stage in our Belfast campus but also across the region. We’ve cinematic arts degrees, screen production degrees, we’ve got animation degrees and these all take big investment.”
Laura Livingstone, visual effects executive at Netflix in LA, has high hopes for this project in her native Northern Ireland.
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“I see a world where there’s going to be lots of blockbusters still going to Belfast, as usual, lots of TV shows, but also an industry that might benefit is commercials,” she said.
“We all know that there’s a lull between big productions, you know when Game Of Thrones went away, we were waiting on the next big thing, but commercials could keep crews busy in between.”
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The film and television industry has contributed £330m to Northern Ireland’s economy in the last five years, thanks to shows such as Game Of Thrones.
It is building on that success by offering producers any backdrop in the world and the cost-effective option to move location without moving location.
A woman who was stabbed to death in north London has been named by police – as a man was arrested on suspicion of murder.
Pamela Munro, 45, was found with a stab wound and died at the scene in Ayley Croft, Enfield, on Saturday evening, the Metropolitan Police said.
A 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder on Monday and is in custody, the force added.
Detective Chief Inspector Neil John said: “Investigating officers have worked relentlessly across the weekend to investigate the circumstances around Pamela’s death.
“We continue to support her family who are understandably devastated.”
Police at the scene at Ayley Croft in Enfield
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The Met Police has asked anyone with information or who was driving through Ayley Court between 6.30pm and 7.30pm on Saturday and may have dashcam footage to contact the force.
A “British man” has died after being beaten and set on fire by a mob in Ecuador, according to reports by media in the South American country.
According to reports, the man – who has not been officially identified – had been detained by police after being accused of being involved in a fatal shooting.
Ecuadorian news outlet Ecuavisa reported that the man had been taken to a police station Playas del Cuyabeno, a remote village in the Amazon rainforest.
While there, a group broke into the station and took the man away. He was then set on fire in the street, it is reported, and died from his burns.
The incident reportedly happened in the Playas del Cuyabeno area of Sucumbios province
Another local report, from EXTRA.ec, said that specialist police units had been slow to arrive due to the geographical conditions of the area – which is accessible by river.
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According to reports, police officers at the station apparently decided they could not intervene when the mob arrived out of concerns for their own safety.
It is understood the UK Foreign Office is following up reports about the incident and working with local authorities to confirm the details.
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