On a soundstage at Studio Ulster, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, June 19, 2025. CHARLES MCQUILLAN/GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP
The immersive effect is striking: legendary peaks, clouds drifting across the sky and tents in the foreground. The Everest base camp unfolds across the LED walls lining a vast soundstage at Studio Ulster in Belfast. "Thanks to these facilities, production teams can film in landscapes they couldn't otherwise access, due to cost or logistics. We can create highly realistic scenes in just a few hours," explained Alyssa Boyle, the young commercial director at these state-of-the-art film studios.
Opened in July, the studios claim to offer the most advanced virtual sets in the world: the LED walls interact with actors, and full face or body scanners are available to create avatars and shorten filming and post-production phases. Car scenes? "There's no need to block off the street: the scenery moves past the windows. No point waiting for nightfall to film nighttime scenes – we shoot them during office hours," said Boyle. Built in the port of Northern Ireland's capital, the studios appeared empty on September 12. A TV production was due to arrive the following week, with others expected to follow.
