Virtual Production at TAFE NSW St Leonards

Developed in collaboration with ULA Group, Mo-Sys Engineering, and a team of leading technology partners, the project delivers a commercial-grade learning environment that prepares students for the future of screen production.

Designed to mirror a commercial virtual production environment, the upgrade to Studio A at TAFE NSW St Leonards gives students access to the same technologies, production methodologies, and collaborative workflows used across today’s film, television, and live production industries. Developed with best-in-class technologies from leading industry partners, it represents one of the most advanced virtual production learning environments in Australia’s vocational education sector.

At the heart of the project is a fully integrated virtual production environment featuring a VuePix LED volume with Brompton processing, Mo-Sys StarTracker camera tracking, Unreal Engine real-time rendering, and ARRI camera systems. These technologies are supported by the media, networking, lighting, and control infrastructure that enables every element to operate as a single production ecosystem.

The TAFE NSW St Leonards LED volume was funded through the Australian Government’s TAFE Technology Fund, ensuring students across TAFE campuses in Australia have access to contemporary, industry-standard technology.

As lead systems integrator for the project, Gencom was responsible for designing, integrating, and commissioning the technology that brings these individual systems together into an intuitive, reliable, and scalable production environment in collaboration with TAFE NSW.

David Barnard, Managing Director of Gencom Technology, said virtual production relies on a complex relationship between multiple technologies.

“Every element needs to communicate seamlessly with the next,” Mr Barnard said. “Our role was to design an environment where that complexity disappears, allowing students and educators to focus on production, collaboration, and creativity instead of the technology itself.”

The project draws on Gencom’s decades of experience delivering complex broadcast, production, and media technology systems throughout New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific. While the technologies continue to evolve, the engineering principles remain the same: designing production environments that are robust, intuitive, and built around the people who use them.

James Uren, Chief Technical Officer at Mo-Sys Engineering, said the success of virtual production depends on carefully balancing technical sophistication with creative flexibility.

“Virtual production is a cocktail of technologies,” Uren said. “You have to be quite clever in your engineering because you don’t want to take away flexibility. Ease of use is often a trade-off against creative power.”

Jake Horsburgh, National Virtual Production Specialist at ULA Group, said authenticity was central to the vision for the studio.

“The facility has been designed to reflect a professional virtual production environment, from the LED volume and camera tracking through to the supporting infrastructure.”

Jory Enright, Technical Sales Executive at ULA Group, said the project demonstrated the importance of investing in the engineering foundations that underpin every successful production environment.

“Quality is what gives a facility like this longevity.”

Lutfi Hady, TAFE NSW Head Teacher of Film, TV and Live Production, said students can now develop in-demand skills in virtual production through training delivered on campus at TAFE NSW St Leonards.

“This cutting-edge, multi-purpose facility gives TAFE NSW students across the state access to industry-standard technology used in leading production environments worldwide,” Mr Hady said. “It enables students to experiment, create and collaborate while developing the skills and confidence needed for careers in screen, live production, entertainment, gaming, and the broader creative sector.”

The St Leonards project demonstrates Gencom’s ability to bring together best-in-class technologies, trusted partners, and decades of systems integration expertise to create production environments that are both technically sophisticated and designed around the people who use them. As virtual production continues to reshape film, television and other forms of content creation, facilities like the new environment at TAFE NSW St Leonards will play an increasingly important role in preparing the next generation of creative and technical professionals.