Distortion Studios

24/12/2024

And that’s (almost…) a wrap on 2024 for Distortion Creative Group! What a year it’s been! 🚀

Studio Giggle kicked off the year with a return to the World Economic Forum (we're already working on WEF 2025 — watch this space!), creating some beautiful visuals. Then in April, we proudly launched Distortion Studios, Bristol's first-ever virtual production studio! Since then, Distortion Studios has hosted a range of exciting shoots, from a nature documentary and TVC to a short film and even a stunning recreation of the SFX in Alien: Romulus.

Meanwhile, Studio Giggle has continued to deliver exceptional animations, films, and events for our clients, agencies, and collaborators. Our brand has also undergone a transformation, with a fresh new look and the addition of our new Group CEO, Rob King, who brings invaluable leadership as we continue to grow.

As we look ahead to 2025, we are excited about the future and all the new opportunities it will bring. But before we move forward, we would like to take a moment to thank all of our wonderful friends, families, suppliers, clients, and partners. Your support has been vital to our success, and we couldn’t have reached these milestones without you.

Here’s to another year of creativity, collaboration, and growth. We can’t wait to see what lies ahead!

02/12/2024

Last week at Distortion Studios was a whirlwind of creativity and innovation! We kicked things off with a fun test shoot using Sisu, the robotic arm, then we gave our LED wall a full recalibration to ensure top-tier visuals every time 🌟 (it’s a process we do regularly to keep things perfect!). We ended the week with an incredible shoot that literally flew through our studio - more on this soon!

19/11/2024

Last week, we had the pleasure of hosting Boxclever Media in our studio for an exciting filming session. Together, we brought their client's vision to life in our virtual production studio. Here's what we created:

- 📽️ One day, five stunning 2D scenes
- 🚐 A dynamic van car wash showcasing 5 locations
- 🌞❄️ Showcasing various seasons, even a little bit of rain!

This project showcases the power of virtual production in creating dynamic, multi-location content without the need for extensive travel or set changes. Our team pulled out all the stops to create a visually captivating story. We can't wait to see the final campaign and be transported to their client's world.

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.