Distortion Studios

05/11/2024

Have you seen the latest episode of InCamera? If you look carefully you might see some of our team and our studio being used to showcase some of the special effects from Alien in honour of the new Alien: Romulus film having just come out. Check it out! https://loom.ly/ZOXiFNA

We've wanted to demonstrate the "acid-for-blood" effect for a long time. And with the new Alien: Romulus movie now streaming, what better time to post a scen...

01/11/2024

Keep your eyes peeled for an exciting video later today. We've partnered with the legends at InCamera to create something out of this world!

06/09/2024

A very important person in the running and creation of Distortion Studios is Nick, our Technical Director.

Nick spent many days, weeks, and months squirrelling away back in 2020 learning and setting up our green screen studio to make it into an XR Studio. This was a pivotal moment for us and then the idea to have our own permanent Virtual Production, Distortion Studios, was born. Nick has an immense wealth of knowledge in all areas of VP, from world creation in Unreal Engine, to calibrating lenses, to Touch Designer and so much more. He is the expert that you want to work on your project!

04/09/2024

Next up on our Meet The Team Series, we have Amy and Molly.

Amy is our Marketing Manager. Amy is the one that makes sure that you know about us, whether it’s here on our social media, in monthly newsletter or running our website. Amy can often be found in the Studio on shoot days capturing snippets of BTS for our social media. There is nothing that Amy loves more than seeing our client’s work win awards so she will do everything she can to make this happen (and has a pretty good track record!)

Molly is our Production Assistant and Studio Assistant. Molly helps Pete with the day-to-day running of the studio. She is meticulous and will make sure that every t is crossed and every i is dotted, but she does it all with a smile on her face! Molly is always a delight to work with and remains calm even on the most chaotic shoot days.

Molly and Amy played a big role at our launch back in April, especially Molly who got to spend her birthday celebrating the launch!

27/08/2024

Every member of our team is vital and irreplaceable, however, we would be lost without our Technical Artists, Ed and Stephen. They are responsible for the stunning creative that we put out.

Ed is a long-serving member of the team: He is part of the DNA of Distortion Studios. Ed joined Studio Giggle, Distortion's sister company in 2016. Then in 2021, he completed the Unreal Engine Fellowship which amplified his Unreal knowledge, preparing him for the world of virtual production. Ed has a passion for technical creativity, is endlessly inquisitive, and wants to learn more while always being happy to share his existing knowledge with anyone who needs a helping hand.

Stephen joined us in 2023 when he freelanced on a project for us but he was so good we had to make him a part of the core team! Hailing from the Emerald Isles, Stephen comes with vast knowledge of the 3D world having started out in the industry by creating sets. This has equipped him with all the skills he needs to work in 360-degree Unreal Engine worlds. Stephen is level-headed and calm in the eye of the storm, making him well-suited to busy VP shoots.

19/08/2024

Next up on our intro series, is Bedos Mavambu, our Virtual Production Producer. Before joining us, Bedos worked on numerous high-profile productions including House of the Dragon, Apple TV+'s Masters of the Air and Hijack and if that wasn't enough, he was part of the virtual production team for the 2022 feature film, Death on the Nile. His knowledge is priceless to our team and our clients. Alongside this, Bedos's positive energy and smile are contagious, making every project a joy to work on when Bedos is around!

15/08/2024

Next up on our 'About us' series is Conrad, our Studio Technician. Conrad joined Distortion with many years of technical experience under his belt but he had never worked in VP. However, he is an incredibly quick learner and took to VP like a duck to water! He now has an advanced level of knowledge in lots of different software that we use on a daily basis.
Once a male model, Conrad brings a side of style and flare to Distortion! When he's not troubleshooting and learning more about VP, he can be found serenading the world with his guitar, or working on his motorbike and vintage camper van!

13/08/2024

Another key member of our team is someone whom we imagine a lot of our followers may recognise, it's the one and only Pete Martin! Pete, our Studio Manager, is often the port of call for new business enquiries. He sees every project through to completion and ensures our clients leave with a smile on their faces. He is the smiling face of Distortion Studios and is always there to offer a helpful hand or make a fantastic cup of coffee!

Before joining our team, Pete ran Band Studios for 13 years alongside his brother, Tommy. So he is well-equipped to the life of a studio manager. He was once also an extra in Shaun of the Dead! When he is not busy being a studio manager or having a nice cold pint, and waiting for this all to blow over, he can be found rescuing neglected kittens from our car park!

09/08/2024

As part one of our 'Who we are series', we had to start with two very important people as there would be no Distortion without our very own dynamic duo, Steve Garratt (left) and Jonathan Brigden (right). Steve and Jonathan met in 2013 and decided to combine their talents and resources into one creative powerhouse, Studio Giggle (our sister company!) in 2014. Since then, Giggle has gone from strength to strength, winning multiple awards, including AV Company of the Year and Best Creative Agency in Bristol for 3 years running. In 2021, Steve and Jonathan saw an opportunity to bring film-quality Virtual Production to Bristol. It was a process they had already explored with clients at Studio Giggle, and they could see its enormous potential if they could build the right kind of facility in Bristol...Distortion Studios was born, and the rest is history!

Steve is the Creative Director you want working on your project. Nothing is ever too ambitious or unachievable! Steve is a creative polymath with a Master's degree in Screenwriting and a Bachelor's degree in Directing. He has an extensive background in theatre, film, animation, advertising, live events, and motion capture. Throughout his career, he has consistently delivered innovative and engaging content for diverse audiences and clients.

Jon is a level-headed creative mastermind with a career that spans every art form—from TV commercials to opera, documentaries to West End theatre. His dynamic leadership has brought to life extraordinary immersive experiences, including the Game of Thrones world premiere at the Tower of London to major car unveiling. Always at the forefront of innovation, he quickly understands and improves existing concepts, consistently setting new standards in the creative arts.

08/08/2024

So you've seen some of our work, but who are we? We're a team of technical, creative, and production-savvy people who have extensive experience working in all areas of creative industries who are now working in Bristol's only Virtual Production Studio. We'll be sharing some updates about our team in the following days, keep an eye out.

26/07/2024

We've been busy working on lots of upcoming projects recently, including this very cinematic set-up for a shoot we did for Paul Burke and Rhys Miles Thomas. Watch this space to find out more about the project later in the year!

09/07/2024

05/07/2024

Our client wanted to film the financial district in London. This is very expensive and complicated to do. We recreated a real location in a 3D unreal environment, allowing us to control the extras, weather and film at the golden hour for as long as we wanted. Another simple way of filming if you don't need camera movements film the location with a reduced crew and use the shot as a '2D plate' and bring it in the studio.

25/06/2024

Do you need to film in a scientific lab, but you can't for health and safety, availability, or logistical reasons? Well, now you can create the perfect scientific lab in virtual production and shoot it all in the safety of our studio. We recently did this for a TV commercial shot at Distortion Studios. We created the whole environment in Unreal Engine and then used props in the shot's foreground to blur the worlds together, creating the perfect filming set up.

13/06/2024

It was an absolute pleasure to host MasteredHQ in our studio last week to celebrate the end of their 'XR for Culture and Creative' programme. Our MD, Jonathan Brigden, spoke to the students about Giggle, Distortion and his immersive creative experience. We were also joined by our friends at World, who spoke to the students about the creative ecosystem. It was a pleasure to chat with the students and hear all about the immersive projects they were working on as part of the programme.

12/06/2024

We wanted to share some shots from a shoot that we did just before we opened! A TV commercial for a university. The shoot was comprised of 5 different environments, all created in Unreal Engine. This is one of the scenes that we created for the as, a desert scene. The Unreal Engine environment was paired with physical set elements, like a wall, plants and sand to blend the realities. In the photos you can see all stages of development all the way through to the final shot.

11/06/2024

We can't believe it's been a month since we had our launch event! It was so much fun to finally be able to open our doors and show what we've been working on.

08/04/2024

And with that, the big blue box is outta here! This officially marks the end of stage one of renovation! We're back in the studio and ready for our next shoot! Launch details coming soon!

28/03/2024

Want to know more about Interrogation, our short film shot in virtual production? Check out this BTS making of video explaining the process!

https://vimeo.com/789043303?share=copy

This is "Interrogation - Behind the Scenes" by Studio Giggle on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

26/03/2024

We're taking a quick break from sharing news of our refurbishment to share Interrogation, a short film written, directed, produced by our team and filmed in our studio. It was our first foray into virtual production and was an incredible learning opportunity! We haven't posted about it before now, because it was doing the award circuits, and we are thrilled to announce that it won Best Short Film at Cannes Short Film Festival, Best Short at Best Film Awards, Selected Short Movie at the Maverick Movie Awards and nominated for Best VFX &CGI and Best Sci-Fi at Film Haus! We are so proud of the film and the awards it won! Thanks to all the cast and crew involved!
https://vimeo.com/788584689?share=copy

Detective Kove: Sarah Bennington
Alix: Robin Hemmings
Written & Directed: Steve Garratt
Producer: David Humphreys
Executive Producer: Jonathan Brigden
DOP: Sarah Smithers
Post Production: Rodrigo Sanchez
Technical Director: Nick Diacre
VFX: Edward Vosper, Iina Kuula, Sophie Panteli
Assistant Director: Lee Rayner
Gaffer: Dave Anderson
Sound Recordist: Graeme Willets
Focus Puller: Raf Lisbon-Hochenberg
Make Up: Naomi Lake, Claudia Lucia
Set Designer: Zoe Squire
Set Builder: Jeff Cliff
Set Painter: Nina Raines
Prop Makers: James Ashwell, Charlotte Cooke
Sound Design: Andrew Doig
Special Thanks to West of England Combined Authority and the entire Studio Giggle, Distortion Studios, Distortion Productions team.

This is "Interrogation" by Studio Giggle on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

13/03/2024

We're seeing some serious progress this week at Distortion Studios! Having spent the last couple of weeks ripping out walls, gutting the bathroom and removing the balcony, we're now pleased to see walls going back in and the shell of a new kitchen and bathroom coming together. When complete, we want the communal studio space to feel welcoming and relaxing, so it's important that we take this time to really make sure it is right! Only a couple of weeks to go and then we can get the LED wall back in and start on our next Virtual Production shoot.

07/03/2024

Some clips of what has been happening at Distortion Studios over the last couple of weeks as we get underway with out renovation. Having completed out first VP shoot in the space, we decided to close the doors for a number of weeks and to give the studio a bit of a renovation. We're making good progress and hoping to be open again in a couple of weeks! Watch this space!

04/03/2024

A couple of weeks ago, before we closed the doors for stage one of our renovation, we filmed our first TVC in our Virtual Production Studio. It involved 5 different worlds created by our in-house digital artist in Unreal Engine. Take a look at our BTS to find out a little bit more about it. If you would like to know more about virtual production and how you can use it, please do get in touch by emailing [email protected]

28/02/2024

One of the priorities for the renovation of our virtual production studio was the roof. We needed to make sure it was not only leakproof but soundproof. Both things could ruin a production filming in our studio and we don't want that. Thankfully the weather gods have been kind to us and we managed to get up on the roof this week to sort it out! The rest of the renovation is coming along nicely, and we're looking forward to getting back into the space in a couple of weeks!

20/02/2024

Renovation of our VP studio has well and truly begun this week! We've ripped out lots of the old studio, including the balcony! One of the big reasons we did this was to maximise the studio and open it up. Even though this is just a small change, we can already feel a huge difference in the Studio and we can't wait for our first production back in the space!