Facilities
Study and experience film and media in the David Puttnam Media Centre. This training centre has a 4K-UHD virtual studio, a broadcast-standard HD TV studio, and the Spark Sunderland radio studio. It's also an office for Fulwell Entertainment, BBC Newcastle, and LOCAL TV Tyne & Wear.
Our 4K-UHD virtual studio is a new facility that brings your creative ideas to life. The £300k Real Time Virtual Production setup includes a handheld Viewfinder and refreshed Chroma Wall. It also includes a Mo-Sys camera tracking unit, which can be used with our Blackmagic cameras. Using Unreal Engine, you can create virtual worlds and film real actors in them. This technology is used on Disney’s The Mandalorian and BBC coverage of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. We’ve also added new LED studio lights to improve our kit and make the studio more eco-friendly.
Next door to our new Virtual Production Studio, you’ll find the TV Studio, which has had a recent investment. This broadcast-standard HD TV studio has a 10m by 3.5m LED Volume. It includes real-time virtual production, camera tracking, and a full lighting system. The equipment is the same as what’s used at Pinewood Studios, so you’ll get access to industry-standard tools from day one. You’ll experiment with multi-camera recordings, TV studio lighting, and sound recording. All this will help you create, write, and produce your own films and television shows. You’ll gain experience in every aspect of off-camera roles in TV production in our sound and video gallery. This includes vision mixing, auto-cue, sound mixing, producing and directing.
Post-production, you can edit your films and TV shows using our editing rooms. In our colour grading room, you can create the stylistic look for your project. In the sound production room, you'll use Pro Tools to mix your soundtrack and audio dialogue in surround sound.
If you're interested radio, you can get involved with Spark Sunderland, our community radio station. In summer 2021, Studio 5 was upgraded with £85,000 worth of new equipment.
New gear includes a Lawo Crystal 12-channel digital mixing desk with touch screens to control the RCS Zetta playout system. It also has CallerOne software for handling talk show calls and CameraOne software for video recording and streaming. This controls four Panasonic 4K PTZ cameras, meaning shows are streamed live or recorded for later.
The studio has a custom desk with clear sight lines between guests and presenters. All controls are easy to reach without blocking the cameras. The desk is adjustable, suitable for wheelchair access or for DJs to present standing up.
Following a recent £1.3m investment, our cinema has been refurbished and upgraded. It boasts 120 seats and has a top-of-the-range laser projector and Dolby Atmos sound system.
We've also received funding from Film Hub North as part of their Spotlight Sunderland campaign. This will support a series of public screenings at the cinema. These will celebrate independent cinema, north-east filmmakers, and the wider region.
